Just Starting - Help Wanted !

[Diving Dave]

My wife and I have a Sea and Sea MX-5. It's ok for photographing mid-sized things at 2 to 5 feet but now we want something nicer. My biggest complaint about it is that I can never tell what I'm photographing. It has one of those plastic, flip up viewfinders.

We're not pros by any stretch, but would like something nicer, that can take a strobe and a macro lens. We usually send our uw photos to Kodak for the blue removal processing, but are also wondering how well the blue reduction filters work. Basically, we just want to take a big step up.

We both prefer film for the photo quality, but digital is not out of the question. In fact, at the end of our last dive a Southern Ray swam right toward us to about 2' before noticing our presence. Of course, we shot the last frame about 3 minutes earlier and I was wishing I could take a few hundred more pictures.

The LDS only carries Sea and Sea, and that's really the only brand of underwater camera and housing we're familiar with. Of course, we're always willing to branch out!

Any tips about what to look for, good brands, etc. would be appreciated. Also, I'm guessing that a new system will cost around $2500. Is this in the ballpark?

 

[raxafarian]

There are tons of threads recommending various cameras... just do a search.

Everyone has their "favorite" brand.

Stay away from sea and sea's digital setup. You'll get better quality with a housed camera. The best quality and versatility in a digital would be with an SLR-style camera (nikon, canon, kodak, fuji, etc). You'll spend 2000.00 and up (emphasis on 'up') for just the camera body.

Next in line would be the nikon, olympus, canon and sony 4 and 5 mp cameras.

see these 2 sites to compare various cameras:
http://www.dpreview.com/
http://www.dpreview.com/


all cameras have advantages and disadvantages. You have to decide what is important to you.

The olympus and canon cameras have housings made by their respective companies that are cheaper than 3rd party housings, if cost is a factor.

 

[buff]

If you got the bucks go digital.

That's from someone with a Sea and Sea MXIIEX with dual YS60 strobes.

I wish I had a digital camera.

 

[Diving Dave]

Oh my gosh. I started reading about digital cameras with the expectation that they would be simpler than film! Boy, do I have a headache.

 

[blacknet]

Hello,

A few questions.

1) do you have a land camera that you use?
2) what type of film are you using?
3) what type of subject(s) are you planning on shooting?

These are some very basic essential questions that need be addressed before comitting to *ANY* setup.

Ed

 

[Dee]

I think you'll be surprised at the print quality of the 4 and 5MP digital cameras. The National Geographic Channel has a segment on their photographers and it's interesting to hear their reasons for using digital cameras in the 4 corners of the earth!

Have you used any camera but the MX-5? The results you expect will play a big part in your camera purchase. I would definitely recommend digital. For beginners in digital photography, I would suggest no less than a 3MP camera with the 5MP as the top of the affordable line. My experience is with the Olympus cameras but Canon also makes a good entry level camera. Both companies also make housings for their own product. With your budget, you could easily get an Olympus C-5050, PT-015 housing, and Sea & Sea YD90DX (or Ikelite model) strobe as well as the accessories needed....rechargeable batteries and charger, multiple memory cards, etc.

Rax gave you and excellent link to compare the various camera models commonly used for u/w photography.

 

[RICHinNC]

i bought the ReefMaster digital camera and it is the most worthless piece of equipment i have ever spent a fortune on.

the screen is so dark (no matter how you adjust it) that you can not see your image. plus, and this is the killer, everytime you take a pic, it will process it then come up with a screen asking for about 10 seconds if you would like to delete the pic. what makes this a pain is... i have missed so many good shots because my dang camera was locked up asking me if i wanted to delete the last pic i just took. since i use a large capacity memory i dont need that feature.

now for all you who are going...hey you can turn that feature off... sure you can...so long as you are willing to turn the camera on....turn off the feature...leave it on...and let the batteries drain. since it is a good hour to most dives off the nc coastline...that means the batteries are so weak when i get there i get one or two shots....or...none at all. once you turn the camera off...it reverts back to asking you about deletion again

i emailed the company and the answer i got was....open the water proof case when i get on site and turn off the feature. obviously that person that answered never dives because on a nc dive boat in the atlantic....it is dryer under the water than it is on the boat....

stay away from this camera.....just an opinion!

 

[Diving Dave]

The dpreview site and other posts on this forum have a wealth of information. So much so that I'm getting "big menu" syndrome. (When you go to a restaurant with a really big menu and see tons of stuff you like, and it takes you forever to decide, and in the end you would have been just as happy if the menu had 6 or 7 items and you could have made a quick decision!)

Anyway, the great thing about a site like this is that you get hardcore technical information and comments from actual users, people who already plopped down a big chunk of money on different rigs.

Thanks again,
David

 

[raxafarian]

It's fairly straighforward to narrow your choices to a manageable list.


What is most important to you?

Macro ability? Nikon wins. Olympus got closer with the 5050, but supermacro, or whatever they call it, locks your zoom at midrange.

Cost? Olympus and Canon win

Wide angle? Nikon 5000 wins without addon lens (and it's even better with an addon lens)

Fastest lens? Olympus wins (not a feature I put too much emphasis on, but some do)


The most popular cameras that are being housed are probably:

olympus 5050
olympus 4040

Nikon 5000 (the 5000 is better for u/w use than the 5700)

Canon G3
Canon A40/s40 (not sure of their model numbers)

Sony DSC-f717 (707)
Sony P9


then you could look at some older cameras that might be cheaper...
Olympus 3040, etc. I'd stay away from any older cameras that do not have cheap housings available.


Pick a price range (remember to include housing costs... if a manufacturer has it's own housing, they are cheaper than 3rd party housings). Compare features, emphasizing what is important to you.

Oh yea... don't forget about strobe cost... they can run more than the cameras and housings.

 

[bholbertii]

Dave, don't know if I'm too late, but you can get a Canon G2 for less than $600 and an Aquacam housing for under $500. Go to www.aquatix.com for a look at their universal housing. I have a G2, great camera and a Sony TRV camcorder and use the aquatix video housing for underwater video and get great results.
Good luck