The higher the ISO the less light you need, I have had some good results with 400 ISO, when using the flash if your camera is on automatic it slows the shutter speed down, you need to set it manually

Garin,

cheers for that, i'll get a few rolls of ISO 400 today.

salty

It is possible to get really fast film up to ISO 1000 which will often allow you to take night time shots wthout the use of flash at all but it's worth remembering that the faster the film the poorer the picture quality. The reason why you need to adjust your settings if using fast film with flash is that if you're not careful the shutter speed will be faster than the flash - ie the camera will 'shoot' before the flash has actually come on. So before buying faster film do check that you've actually got the camera set properly for both the film speed and the use of flash.

Knowing a bit more about the type of camera you've got would help others offer more specific advice. For most holiday snapshots I now just use a compact Canon digital Ixus but I still have the trusty Olympus OM1 SLR which still gives fantastic results for eg portraits because it allows me to use slow film with a wide aperture so giving a slightly soft focus which generally gives a very flattering result.

SM

Go digital (D-SLR preferably) then you'll have the advantage of having selectable ISO's from 100 (Nikons are generally 200) all the way up to 1600/ 3200 depending on the camera model. It's far easier than taking loads of different rolls of film with you.

Darren

Hi Salty, it all depends on what you are doing. Are you snorkeling or diving? In the past I have used kodak ultra film and had some fantastic shots. I supply photo libraries so I take a lot of pics, this next visit I am taking 4 cameras, 1video recorder and my Ewa Marine under water housing.
xxsbxx

cheers for all the advice, i've opted for an iso400, only snorkelling, may do a half day "try dive"...........23 hours to go!!!!

salty_seadog,

ISO400 is not a bad starting point for natural light. However you may find it a little grainy. I normally use ISO200 but you need clear water and a bit of sun for that. Try and avoid mid day, its too contasty and you'll end up with dark areas beneith rocks etc unless you use fill flash (preferably from a strobe because backscatter is a real pain in water). Underwater photography isn't the easiest of past-times but quite rewarding when you nail it. I use video these days but I would definately recommend you make the step from snorkelling to scuba. You won't regret it.

Have a great time,

Darren