time for a new camera - ultra compact P&S?

[mike_bayer]

Hi everyone,

It is time for a new camera and I'm hoping to get some advice.

I would like to get a ultra compact P&S and housing that I can fit with a wide conversion lens.

My last setup was an S400 & WP DC800 which actually produced some decent macro images.

So I'm wondering what model camera, housing, conversion lens, flash combination's are working well?

Many thanks!

regards,

Mike

 

[CompuDude]

"Ultra compact" and "wide angle lens" tend to be oxymorons, in my experience. If you add any reasonably-performing wide angle lens to an ultra compact camera, it's not going to be ultra compact anymore. Does that bother you? Ditto once you start adding external strobes. (Although there are fairly compact (but limited) options like the Fantasea Nano that can help with this)

As for ultra compact cameras, I've been impressed by the Canon SD990is and SD960is, to the point where I'm considering picking one of them up for ultra-light travel needs, and perhaps as a pocketable WA/Macro option when I go DSLR. The 990 actually has a real manual mode (with limitation) in a true ultra-compact camera format. Plus wide angle (sorta) at 28mm, which can deliver some quite nice results. For true wide angle, however, you need a fisheye lens, which might work with the 960 (with an adapter) but probably not the 990. Thus my dilemma between them. The 960, however lacks manual mode. Big strike against.

 

[mike_bayer]

No it does not bother me - I want the ultra compact for topside use and I'm not concerned about the extra gear while diving.

Are there any other recent compact or ultra compacts with full manual controls?

Any opinions if the ikelite cases are worth the difference over the canon or olympus housings?

thanks

Mike

 

[gustele]

Although not ultra compact, the Sea&Sea DX-1G (and the soon to come DX-2G) has full manual control, 10 megapixels and the option to shoot RAW format. Combined with a Wide Angle lens this camera allows you to take pictures from macro to wide angle in one dive. Because it is a camera in a housing, you can use the camera for topside pictures too.
I have this camera and have taken several thousand pictures with it and am still very happy with it.

 

[CompuDude]

No it does not bother me - I want the ultra compact for topside use and I'm not concerned about the extra gear while diving.

Are there any other recent compact or ultra compacts with full manual controls?

Any opinions if the ikelite cases are worth the difference over the canon or olympus housings?

thanks

Mike

There aren't many ultra compacts out there with real manual controls, no, that's why I've been so intrigued by the SD990is. The main limitation I mentioned is there is no true aperture control. There's no iris, just a 3 stop (if memory serves) ND filter that drops into place internally, and you essentially flip between f2.8 and f.8, which works for lighting but won't change DOF. Frankly, that's probably the only reason I haven't pulled the trigger. Still, it does have the best manual controls on a true ultra compact that I've seen in quite a while.

If you can step up to a bit larger camera, you can get true manual controls in all A series Canons, of course in the G10, and probably quite a few other manufacturers as well. No longer ultra compact, but still small, and with a vastly increased featureset.

The A series in particular (such as the A570) is known to work quite well with add-on lenses, both macro and WA. Inon makes a good fisheye lens for it. My buddy used that rig to great effect until it was stolen just recently, and she's currently waffling between replacing it with an identical setup or going to sd990is.

Ikelite cases are bigger, certainly, and more expensive, but they BLOW the Canon cases out of the water in terms of quality. After using Ike cases for several years, I can't really say I feel fully confident in any of the Canon housings anymore. And actually, with the newest range of compact Ikelite housings, they're not quite as expensive as they used to be and they're a LOT more compact than they used to be. I know Ikelite has an adapter for their newest compact housing for the sd990is that specifically works well with the Inon fisheye lens.

Best shot I could find of my friend's A570 rig (with Canon case, Inon fisheye WA lens, Inon Z240 strobe, ulcs arms and tray):

I think I have a better one at home somewhere, if I turn it up I'll replace this with a clearer shot.

 

[xaveri]

That is great advise CompDude. Unfortunately, the A570 is no longer being manufactured by Canon and most of the retailers don't have it on stock anymore. You may find it on eBay, but i suspect that will be a thing of the past pretty soon.

There is however an alternative to the A570 which is its spiritual offspring the Canon A590 IS. This camera offers full manual controls. Shutter speed can be controlled up to 1/2000 of a second and f-stop control ranges from about f2.5 to f8. Not all f-stops, but quite an useful range for such a compact camera. It even has a meter on Manual mode that tells you if the photo is properly exposed as you change the settings, a feature that you rarely see in a compact model.

The CHDK hack is supported for this camera, which provides special functionality such as RAW, Histograms, Overexposure warnings and a lot more. It uses the same image processor (Digic III) as the G9 & G10!

The thing about the A590 is that Canon doesn't make a housing for it. Ikelite does one and it's not of the compact type, still it is of a reasonable size. You can get both the camera and Ikelite housing for around $400, and as CompDude said, you can also use external wide and macro lenses from Inon, Ikelite and others.

Check it out. Hope it helps.

 

[mike_bayer]

If I make the compromise of not having full manual controls what are the best options. The compact or ultra compact form factor is the most important aspect for me.

thanks,

Mike

 

[xaveri]

Well, in that case then the world is open for you. There are many cameras out there that don't offer manual controls and have underwater housings. If you are looking for a compact setup, then stay away from traditional Ikelite housings. Ikelite has some new compact housings that are really good but only for a few cameras.

I guess your best bet would be to get the camera with the manufacturer's housing which is usually smaller and more compact.

The only experience I had with one of those was with the Intova IC600 which is pretty much a beginners camera. It's really cheap ($150) housing included, and it takes pretty good pictures. All the photos in my gallery were taken with that camera.

Intova has new models almost as cheap (IC800, IC10) but if you got the $$ then go for a better brand of camera. I didn't when I started diving but still Intova cameras offer a lot of bang for the buck.

A couple of Intova links for you:

Intova IC800
Intova IC10

 

[CompuDude]

If I make the compromise of not having full manual controls what are the best options. The compact or ultra compact form factor is the most important aspect for me.

Depending on your wide angle needs, I'd still look either to the Canon sd990is or the Canon sd960is. The 990 will be easier (and cheaper) to add wetmount true wide angle lenses to, while the 960 already is somewhat wide angle with a 28mm lens (but will cost considerably more to add a true wetmount wide angle lens to, should you want one). Either should be able to take wetmount macro lenses, with the appropriate housing adapters.

Screw the digic III/IV/whatever chip, all current Canon cameras have that, the key thing about the 990 is it uses the same sensor as the G10.

 

[peebee]

I'd recommend getting at least aperture control (aperture priority) in any camera you buy, that will make it work better with any external strobes. And if you take enough underwater pictures, sooner or later you're going to want an external strobe.