Housing Size Comparison - Ikelike Compact vs. Seatool DSLR (XTi or 400D)

[bladephotog]

Actually it was more about a metal housing vs. a plastic one then it became a DSLR vs. a P&S…when the Original Poster started showing samples of a DSLR vs. a P&S images!!! The OP “ hi jacked” her own Thread!!!

But keep laying it on thick!!! Can we say hook, line and sinker!!!

Post 16 is where I see the DSLR vs. P&S hijack starting.

What is cool about the Sea Tool housing is that it is as small as an Ike compact housing. That tells you how tightly they designed the Sea Tool. Pretty neat I think. I still would've chosen the Ike to save money since I'm on a photographer's budget.

 

[f3nikon]

No it started here:

From the OP:

"The above are straight out of the cameras, only converted from RAW and resized. No sharpening or other editing, including cropping. The big difference between the two is it took 8 shots to get the Fuji shot, one with the Canon. If you apply moderate sharpening to the two, in the same amount, it's apparent the Canon's is more crisp and sharp.

Another set of similar shots, this time with a Sexy Shrimp:"
Image, Image, Image etc.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/un...nt-confession-former-compact-camera-user.html

 

[bladephotog]

No it started here:

From the OP:

"The above are straight out of the cameras, only converted from RAW and resized. No sharpening or other editing, including cropping. The big difference between the two is it took 8 shots to get the Fuji shot, one with the Canon. If you apply moderate sharpening to the two, in the same amount, it's apparent the Canon's is more crisp and sharp.

Another set of similar shots, this time with a Sexy Shrimp:"
Image, Image, Image etc.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/un...nt-confession-former-compact-camera-user.html

Then maybe you should have replied to that thread instead of hijacking this one.

 

[f3nikon]

Read the begining of this thread!

"I've been asked about the SeaTool DSLR housing a lot recently since I wrote the "I Was An Idiot" thread, and thought a good follow-up would be to post some pics showing the Ikelite compact camera housing (in this case, for the Fuji F810, but they're using basically the same casing for most of their compact housings) and the SeaTool XTi/400D housing."

You see where the OP LINKED the Threads together as a follow up thread! That blue thingy is a link! Stop it you guys are killing me!

 

[bladephotog]

Sorry, I should have inferred that she wanted to debate the DSLR vs. P&S issue instead of simply speaking about housing sizes, as did everyone else. My bad. Please continue the DSLR vs. P&S debate. You win.

 

[Darnold9999]

I am starting to get annoyed at the P&S -DSLR "debate" - sorry to add to the hijack but I can't stay out of it any more.

As someone moderately new to UW photography and photography in general I take issue with the idea that I have completely wasted my $ buying a DSLR because I could get exactly the same pictures with my P&S camera. In simple terms that is not my experience - not even close. Here is my experience as someone who has never taken pictures before buying an underwater camera - actually diving and actually taking pictures underwater with both.

Bought a point and shoot (DC500 with strobe) - went on a liveaboard took some great shots. Was very happy with the camera, but not completely happy with the results.

Did some local diving with the P&S got some more great shots, but found there were limitations. Most of them lack of control over some aspect of the process. Macro focus was all auto focus so was hit and miss - more often miss in low light. I couldn't tell if the focus was right until I got back on the boat. (I can't look at a 2" x 3" LCD screen under water through a mask, and the housing glass and tell whether or not the picture is in clear focus or not.)

I was also getting frustrated with the number of keepers v. the number of rejects. I would go out on a dive line up some great shots come back up look at them and reject them as out of focus, not the lighting I wanted, not as sharp as I wanted, just not good enough.

Wide angle shots were OK but again not enough control over the process - exposure being the critical factor here. Couldn't get the results I was looking for. Wide angle however is not that interesting up here. The opportunities for wide angle photography are quite limited most of the time so mostly I wanted better macro.

Bought a DSLR (D200 with Ike housing and strobe, 60mm lens, 12-24 lens and 8" dome)- found an immediate significant improvement in the quality of pics I came back with. Way more of them are in focus, more of them are interesting as I experiment with the possibilities of depth of field. I am sure there is more to work with as I explore other possibilities.

Can you take great pictures with a PS - of course - I really like some of the images I got with my first camera. They are what convinced me that I liked to take pictures of what I see and can find while diving. However, I have way more images I like with my housed DSLR - way more.

Was it worth the roughly 10 times more that I spent on it. To me - yes but I am way more concerned about results than budget.

I think the bottom line is that if you want to simply have some pictures of your dive trip - grab some shots that will remind you of where you went and what you did then a P&S camera is perfect. Some of your shots will be wonderful most will be OK - some will be awful.

If what you are after is the spectacular, the picture that you go back to and go wow that looks great then you are going to get more of them with the housed DSLR. Do you NEED the DSLR - of course not. With the DLSR some of your shots will be wonderful most will be OK - some will be awful - Pretty much the same as the P&S.

But I found that on a dive trip with the P&S I ended up with 2 or 3 shots that I wanted to print and hang on my wall from a week of diving. With the DSLR I get 2 or three shots from a day of diving that I want to print and hang on my wall.

To go back to the Mustang v Porche analogy. For most every day purposes the Mustang is perfectly adequate. However, learn how to drive, take it out on the track, and there is no comparison - none. Get yourself into a tight situation, on the wrong road at the wrong time - again no comparison. Worth the extra $? Depends on what you are giving up by spending the extra $ and how much you value that extra performance.

 

[zen_man]

Read the begining of this thread!

"I've been asked about the SeaTool DSLR housing a lot recently since I wrote the "I Was An Idiot" thread, and thought a good follow-up would be to post some pics showing the Ikelite compact camera housing (in this case, for the Fuji F810, but they're using basically the same casing for most of their compact housings) and the SeaTool XTi/400D housing."

You see where the OP LINKED the Threads together as a follow up thread! That blue thingy is a link! Stop it you guys are killing me!

The title of this thread is: Housing Size Comparison - Ikelike Compact vs. Seatool DSLR (XTi or 400D)


and the first post sticks to this subject. She stated she had been asked questions about the SeaTools housing in response to the other thread. That does NOT make this thread about DSLR vs P&S. It's pretty simple English.

 

[BurBunny]

The only hijacks I see to this thread were started and continued by a single person - and that person was not me.

I find it interesting that the "narrow minded forum" referred to recently is one on which that hijacker is no longer welcomed. Narrow minded or enlightened? I know which I choose. I've been a member there for about 5 years, all except 2 months of which as a compact camera shooter, and never felt that I was a lesser being or ostracized. They helped me make my choices in the two different cameras and housings I had during that time, the strobes and other options. Assisted me greatly in growing my skills. And many have become close in-person friends with whom I've traveled. They'd tease me about my "itty bitty" camera, but then were quick with praise. Almost without exception they'd all shot some form of P&S too, most coming from the Oly C-5050. Yes, they do tend to lean toward the more expensive options, but they're giving information based on what they feel is best, and are willing to discuss all the options. I'd rather know that by spending $100 more I'll have a better quality result. Wait a bit and buy what I really want.

But yes, this thread was intended to be about housing size, nothing else. It was in answer to direct questions I'd received on that topic.

But since this is hijacked, I never claimed that either silversides shot is exactly right. But the shot taken by the DSLR took one shot to get an "acceptable" image in my mind (not my ultimate shot, but considering the subject and the difficulty factor - 9.5 rating from the Czech judge for difficulty - I'll take it). And it's clearly a better image. Debate all you want why I think that, but it comes down to the fact that to obtain a similar shot with the F810, I had to have double stacked macros, which can degrade the image. Neither shot had any PP except conversion from RAW and resizing - no sharpening, no other changes.

And linking to another post doesn't mean I'm continuing the discussion from there, but giving reference so that someone coming to this thread can see what I was talking about when I mentioned the small size and why it was important.

Now, let's talk about that "golden rule of underwater photography." Nope, you don't want to get closer and closer still just to minimize backscatter. Yes, less water between you and the subject can help with that, but proper strobe positioning is the real key there. The reason to get closer is for color. Built-in strobe on a P&S, one strobe or two, the closer you are, the better job you can do in lighting it.

 

[Rick Murchison]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

This thread has gone hopelessly off-track.
Closed.
If anyone has anything on-subject to contribute w/r/t the original post on the two housings in question, please PM me with it and if it's relevant I'll add it to the thread.
If anyone wants to start a new thread on P&S vs DSLR or Film vs Digital or glass vs mirror or anything else feel free to do so
Rick

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