Camera setup for my situation (advice)?

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AGNZ

Contributor
Messages
74
Reaction score
17
Location
New Zealand
# of dives
50 - 99
Hi,

I only got into Scuba Diving around a year ago, although have been involved in Free Diving and Spearfishing for quite some time. My experience on these forums has been very good so far and all the gear recommendations that I ended up purchasing have proved to be up to the task. I would also like to add that until I started Scuba Diving I probably never appreciated the underwater world as much as I do now……Even though I spent countless hours in and on the ocean my goals were usually just to see how deep I could dive and hunt for the biggest fish.

As a result, my goal posts are now shifting in favour of hanging up the Speargun and replacing it with a camera. The first thing I therefore did was buy a Hero Go-Pro and didn’t give much thought to anything else. In terms of getting some basic filming and photos it has proven great as I could just slap it on my mask or end of the Speargun. The problem is the results can be quite variable and often you miss a key moment, not to mention the camera is so small and you cannot really see the back screen when trying to take a photo.

The next thing I did was jump on Google and community forums and start looking at professional underwater camera reviews. These do a great job of explaining the pros and cons and give general recommendations, however being an amateur you are never really quite sure what is ‘nice to have’ and what is a ‘must have’ i.e. quality auto focusing is probably quite important for an amateur? Not to mention the prices vary wildly and my general philosophy is that its better to buy and cry once than realise you really need something different in a few years’ time (failed on that with the GoPro). My final thought on that is, what is going to work best in my local environment (yes, I will talk to fellow divers in my area too), but it does not hurt to talk to a community that has access to all the products on offer.

Primary Goal: Take photos

I want to get to the point where I can make picture books of my adventures and eventually choose the best and turn them into large wall canvases around the house or give them away as gifts. Obviously being an amateur, features that can automate some of the more challenging aspects of taking great photos has its appeals. I also assume these cameras can be used out of the water too?

Local Conditions: New Zealand

Most of my time practicing will be done in New Zealand. The far North of New Zealand can be classified as ‘subtropical’, however the vast majority of the country falls into the Temperate Zone. This means light can be an issue and water clarity is not always great. For example, in my home town 10-12m visibility would be considered a 5-star day (usually 5-8m). The local Dive Club also does quite a bit of Night Diving so it would be nice to have setup that can work in this environment too. Some of the most spectacular diving is further south in Fiordland, where in the inner Sounds there is often a silt layer that can further restrict light penetration. Despite the sometimes-imperfect conditions, what I have seen is that New Zealand’s marine life is both vibrant and plentiful relative to most other countries I have visited.

What do I need?

What I think I need is the following:

Camera

General purpose lens

Waterproof housing

Lights


Budget?

I don’t really have a budget per say, however from what I have seen I cannot afford to buy the best of everything. Not to mention I am unlikely to get the most out of every advanced feature (this is a hobby not my livelihood after all). As a result, I am open to suggestions on what you think the most appropriate setup would be for my situation? My main fear is that I will buy something ‘cheap’ that does not deliver or buy something ‘expensive’ that I feel I have paid for features I really won’t ever need.

update: to make it slightly easier to get some advice.....I was hoping to be able to acquire the setup for the equivalent of $1500 USD (new or second-hand).

Sony RX100
Nauticam Housing (assume this is the desired setup: NA-RX100V Pro Package Housing for RX100V including Flexitray, Right Handle, Ball Mounts, and Shutter Release Extension)
Sea & Sea YS-03 Strobes

One thing I am a little confused about is wet lenses and Macro versus Wide? Reading the forums suggests Macro Wet is the best option for starting with close-ups? Is that like an extra lens or something that comes with the housing?

Please let me know if you have any advice and/or would like some additional information :)

p.s. I have no allegiance to any brand as have never needed to buy a proper camera before.

Kind regards,

G
 
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You might want to consider an Olympus TG-5, with a housing. The lens is permanently attached, so you get what is shown in the camera specs, but this particular camera has a built in macro capability that is pretty highly regarded. You can use either video lights (for both videos and still photos) or one or more strobes (for still photos.)

The photos linked here are using an Olympus TG-5, with the Olympus housing, an Ikelite tray and handle, a single Ikelite DS-161 strobe with an optical cable, and a single Gobe 700 lumen video light; taken with the U/W scene (auto focus; auto exposure everything programmed except the need to manually adjust the strobe power; images captured in both "raw" and jpeg formats; color balance and brightness/contrast adjusted with Adobe Lightroom)


All photos taken at Poor Knights Islands in December 2017.
 
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Check Ebay. Underwater photography is an addiction and those of us who are addicts tend to move up to the latest and greatest cameras and housings, selling off our perfectly good gear to lessen the monetary pinch of the new purchase. There are still deals out there. The system I currently use retailed for close to $20,000. I bought it on Ebay for $4100 and sold off the parts I didn't need for another thousand.

The water I dive in is similar to yours. Five meters of visibility is considered a decent day around here. Whichever camera you get should include a 60mm lens or equivalent and a 100-105mm. If you really want to spend money there are a few wide angle lenses and expensive dome ports looking for a new home.

Most of my local photos were taken with a Nikon 60mm, 105mm and Sigma 15mm in a Subal housing with two Ikelite strobes.
 
My advice is to always take it a step at a time.

The first thing to discover is "is your primary dive purpose to take photos?". The answer to this will hugely influence your spend.

My dive buddy wants to take photos - happy snaps of some new fish for identification purposes so she can look them up topside. So I bought her a camera. She does not want a camera. She wants photos. She wants me to take photos of things she is interested in..."Her" camera travels in my bcd pocket...

More feedback to follow...
 
Check Ebay. Underwater photography is an addiction and those of us who are addicts tend to move up to the latest and greatest cameras and housings, selling off our perfectly good gear to lessen the monetary pinch of the new purchase. There are still deals out there. The system I currently use retailed for close to $20,000. I bought it on Ebay for $4100 and sold off the parts I didn't need for another thousand.

The water I dive in is similar to yours. Five meters of visibility is considered a decent day around here. Whichever camera you get should include a 60mm lens or equivalent and a 100-105mm. If you really want to spend money there are a few wide angle lenses and expensive dome ports looking for a new home.

Most of my local photos were taken with a Nikon 60mm, 105mm and Sigma 15mm in a Subal housing with two Ikelite strobes.

I am not adverse to buying second hand, in fact in this case it might be the best option. Having done some more reading I think a camera with the 60mm lens will be more than enough for what I will end up doing. My budget in USD would be around $1500, or at least I am hoping I can get a good setup for that much?

If that is the case what models should I be looking out for?


I am leaning towards something like:

Sony RX100
Nauticam Housing
2x strobes (sea & sea YS-03)
 
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You might want to consider an Olympus TG-5, with a housing. The lens is permanently attached, so you get what is shown in the camera specs, but this particular camera has a built in macro capability that is pretty highly regarded. You can use either video lights (for both videos and still photos) or one or more strobes (for still photos.)

The photos linked here are using an Olympus TG-5, with the Olympus housing, an Ikelite tray and handle, a single Ikelite DS-161 strobe with an optical cable, and a single Gobe 700 lumen video light; taken with the U/W scene (auto focus; auto exposure everything programmed except the need to manually adjust the strobe power; images captured in both "raw" and jpeg formats; color balance and brightness/contrast adjusted with Adobe Lightroom)

All photos taken at Poor Knights Islands in December 2017.

Very cool photos :)

I think I might like a little more flexibilty than the TG-5 offers though.
 
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I personally use a canon g16 with the canon housing for my diving in the South Island. Some of the best photos I’ve seen were taken on an rx100 by one of my customers when I was working in southern NSW which probably gives pretty similar conditions to what you’ll experience.

Whatever you get I’d recommend practicing with it in the housing (wearing gloves if you use them) above water so you’re good to go as soon as you take it in the water and don’t have the frustration of trying to figure things our underwater.
 
I am not adverse to buying second hand, in fact in this case it might be the best option. Having done some more reading I think a camera with the 60mm lens will be more than enough for what I will end up doing. My budget in USD would be around $1500, or at least I am hoping I can get a good setup for that much?

If that is the case what models should I be looking out for?


I am leaning towards one the Sony RX100 models atm

RX100 is kind of a tight stretch on your budget. The older models (I through IV) focus with CDAF only, which adds shutter lag, while model V is expensive - $700+ used, $950 new. The least expensive housings for RX100 series (Meikon and Sony) lack access to the rear dial, which limits your manual mode options, while Fantasea housing costs $400. This would eat most of your budget, and you'll still need a tray with arms, a strobe or two, and possibly wet lenses. Since you're diving with limited visibility, it's likely that you will be shooting mostly macro, and RX100 lens doesn't focus particularly close without diopters, which also cost several hundred dollars. I'd say, if $1500 (by the way, US$ or NZ$?) is a hard limit, go for an Olympus TG-5 - this will give you great macro capability while leaving a good amount of money for lights and accessories. If, however, you're willing to spend more in the future, over the $1500 initial investment, get an RX100V + housing + tray + some cheap light, do a few dozen dives with it, then add strobes and wet lenses.
 
Look at the RX100 or the Canon G7Xii and go for a Fantasea housing.

The housing is great and will sufficiently supply for your needs! It's also a great combination because the housing comes with a flash diffuser so you can use the internal flash of the camera whilst you get accustomed to using a camera underwater and the settings etc.

Then keep your eyes peeled for a used strobe, I bought an inon Z-240 with a pelican case and arm clamps for about $450.

I'd say get used to the camera and when you find a steal on some strobes then go for that, but starting out, the internal flash should be good for you in low-viz dives and close-up pictures :)


P.S this album was taken with a G7Xii in Fantasea housing with only the internal flash of the camera:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/divealot/albums/72157686445133644
 
You can save a lot of money buying the SeaFrogs housing, I own one (along with the Mark V), it is amazingly built and works up to 60 meters ...for $255 (it works for every RX100 from MK1 to MK5):

- Sony DSC-RX100 Series 60m/195ft SeaFrogs Underwater Camera Housing

Contrarily to the believes you can access to all the manual functions, including the manual focus.
You don't need to access to the rear wheel, in fact you can selective use the zoom wheel to change both the aperture and time without changing the shooting mode (you can dedicate a button to select each).
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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