Please help to choose a photo/video starter kit

[Johanan]

Hi, I am considering a new all purpose camera. Very likely that I will use it more often on land than underwater. So far I did only stills but would like to try video, too. I have practically no experience or knowledge in underwater photography or video. Not a good state to choose equipment on my own. May be it would be wiser to take a course first and then look for the equipment. However, now is a chance to get it as a present. I just have to say, which one. After some reading my choice seems to be Sony RX100 wiht the Recsea housing. But may be I'm making a big mistake? May be I should look at something else?

I know, I should start with something basic, but what else would be good for a starter kit? I've got a Sola 1200 Dive Light. Tray? Some lenses, Filters? Will be helpful for any advise.

J.

P.S. I was reading, what an engineering miracle is the RX100 and what magic it was to fit such a large sensor in such a small body. That makes the housing look overpriced as it costs twice as much as the camera.

 

[LiquidDivingAdventure]

I use a Nikon P7100 with Fantasea housing and Sea & Sea strobe. Very Nice. Also Olympus E-PM1 PEN with the PT-EP06 housing is a nice kit. The Oly package can be had for about $500 USD.

 

[Johanan]

I use a Nikon P7100 with Fantasea housing and Sea & Sea strobe. Very Nice. Also Olympus E-PM1 PEN with the PT-EP06 housing is a nice kit. The Oly package can be had for about $500 USD.

Thanks, both seem really nice sets, and much cheaper. I will have a closer look at these.

 

[tamas970]

The Oly setup gives you the possibility to upgrade later with WA lens+port. IMHO strobes/lighting are more important than the camera itself. At 20m/80ft depth a fullframe camera produces much worse pics without strobes than a compact with a single strobe.

I also start with an olympus cam (e-pl5) - more importantly with two inon S2000 strobes & an Archon D32VR video light on long arms.

You mentioned video. Here you have to be confident, that your camera of choice delivers the same IQ & autofocus capabilities you expect. (=try it dry first, and get rid of it before buying an uw housing if you don't like it). The RX100/any recent sony models supposed to be better this case.

 

[Interceptor121]

Sony rx100+nauticam housing is a good choice the video mode is solid and the stills superb
No need to change lenses and once you compare to some mirror less there is little or no difference
The Olympus mirror less take superb stills but the video is pathetic that's because Olympus doesn't have the same tradition of camcorders of other brands like Sony or panasonic

 

[Johanan]

Many thanks for advise!

After some reading I also came to conclusion that Sony RX100 will be the one. It is expensive but since it's a gift from the boss... why not? There will be no chance to try it before buying, however...

Do you think that Nauticam is better than Recsea?

Regarding lights - I have a Sola 1200 but the world of strobes is alien to me. They are used for stills, right? Would be thankful for any tips.

J.

 

[Hetland]

Regarding lights - I have a Sola 1200 but the world of strobes is alien to me. They are used for stills, right? Would be thankful for any tips.

Strobes are for still photography, and good lighting is arguably more important than your selection of camera. Your camera was obsolete before it ever left the factory, but a good strobe will stay with you through generations of camera changes.

Ideally, you want two strobes. One to light the scene, and the other to balance, and to eliminate shadows produced by the first strobe. You can certainly get by with a single strobe, but if money were not a consideration, you want two.

I'm partial to the Inon brand. I like the Sea and Sea line, but I've heard there are problems with reliability and flooding. Some folks like Ikelite strobes, but I have no personal experience using them.

 

[Interceptor121]

I recommend Nauticam over Recsea for the RX100
For strobe I recommend a sea and sea YS-D1 or an Inon Z240 as starter with a single sola video 1200 you can take macro video too
I have not experienced or seen any floods with Sea and Sea and I have had their products for years
I have seen directly users flooding Inon and Ikelite strobes on my own trip so based on my personal experience I would say Sea and Sea are very sturdy and difficult to flood

The YS-D1 has had some firmware issue and the old YS-110 was a failed product, other than that the rest of the range is fine

For the RX100 do not bother with sea and sea YS-01 or Inon S2000/D2000 the RX100 as a large chip and pretty shallow depth of field you will take all wide angle at f/8 or smaller and you need a strobe that can support it

 

[Johanan]

Hi, thank you for the advise! Part of it exceeds my current level of understanding, but helps me to grow in knowledge.

What do you do if you want to shoot both video and stills during one dive?

 

[Interceptor121]

Shooting video and stills on the same dive is mentally difficult to impossible as the approach is different
I use a single sola as focus light and if I get some ambient light wide angle or some macro worth taking I give it a go
Using two strobes and two video lights with a triple clamp is possible but again mentally confusing
Diving for video and diving for photos do not marry up for me
This is my compact photo rig with this I can take video as described
Panasonic LX7 Photo Rig | Interceptor121 Underwater Video