Use my DSLR or buy a compact for underwater use??

[okiraku_diver]

I recomend to use DSLR.I think there is no choice,if you want to take a good shot.
And I recomend small investment to strobo.

here is a photo taken by Olympus compact
ScubaBoard Gallery - Manta - Powered by PhotoPost
here is the one of CANON DSLR
ScubaBoard Gallery - Barracuda - Powered by PhotoPost
You can see the difference of blue color and gradation.
My friend have used E410 and Olympus Housing.His photo is often awarded in underwater photo magazine published in Japan.

 

[diver 85]

I've got a Nikon D50 and a bunch of lenses and was pretty much in the same boat as you. I couldn't fathom investing over $3k for diving only a few times a year. So I picked up an SP-350 and housing for about $400. Now I can get a good strobe, or two, and have less then 1/3 invested and be able to get almost all that back out of it if I decide to get rid of it.

I also don't risk flooding my dslr and ruining that. The 350 shoots raw and does very close focus macro. Another benefit is it's quite small even with the housing so it all fits in my camera backpack along w/ my dslr and it's a smaller "footprint" underwater too.

by chance , do you have any photos with the 350??.TIA..........

 

[frozenwarp]

Thanks all for your help and keep it comming,

I have seen the olympus housings that dont appear to be too large but so far have not found one for less the $1000AUS and the Ikelite is $1500AUS and gets me an extra 20m which granted i may not need but i'd rather have and not need then need and not have.

If im gonna get wet im gonna jump in not just dip my toes!

I am still searching and if i can get an Olympus housing for about $700 AUS then i will go that way but till then i will keep pondering

Cheers again
Brad

 

[RonFrank]

I am still searching and if i can get an Olympus housing for about $700 AUS then i will go that way but till then i will keep pondering

Cheers again
Brad

The least expensive housings on the market are made by Fantasea. I'm not seeing one for the E410.

 

[Larry C]

You already have the camera, and the Olympus housing is quite affordable compared to the $2000+ that you might spend even on an Ikelite when ports are figured in. You'll need strobes whether you buy a compact or shoot the E-410. The E-410 is about as compact as any DSLR, and the Oly housing isn't bad either. The kit lens seems to work pretty well UW and gives you the versatility to shoot relatively wide or up close. If you add an external close up diopter, you can probably even use it for macro. Better yet, Oly now has a really high quality 12-60 lens introduced with the new E-3 that starts at f2.8 and bottoms out at f4. With 4/3 sensor, I think that translates to 20-100, which about covers underwater shooting, with the exception of extreme wide angle fisheye shots. If you're that serious about underwater shooting, why saddle yourself with the equivalent cost of the housing in buying a decent compact with housing when you're going to want to upgrade soon enough anyway. Check photos in the Gallery by CE4Jesus for shots using the kit lens. He previously shot with an SP-350 and his biggest improvement, based on previous posts in other threads has been in speed. P & S cameras tend to have a focus lag time, especially in low light and are slower to write to the memory card. Generally DSLR's have a reasonably large buffer, so you can shoot about as fast as the strobe will recycle. They also have faster processors, so you don't shoot as many fish butts. Typical compact strategy is point, press, wait, flash, see the picture of where your subject used to be. You learn to lead the subject after a while, but elusive subjects tend to be hard to capture.

Whether you decide to house your E-410 or get yourself a compact, you're going to have a great time. Have fun.

 

[Peter_C]

Can you buy from the US for a decent price? Not sure of the exchange rate. If so I would keep an eye on wetpixel.com and digitaldiver.com for a used housing.

This company has the cheapest price in the US Video Direct: Olympus PT-E03 Underwater Housing for EVOLT E-410 but their ratings are only fair. Better than others.
Video Direct Distributors Customer Ratings, Reviews and Prices at ResellerRatings

In the US Compare Prices, Store Reviews and Ratings by Real People is a miracle worker as we have so many dishonest e-tailers in the US.

Ebay would be worth keeping an eye on for both the Ikelite housing and the Oly housing.

Edit: some good info on the housing.
DEMA 2007: Olympus America :: Wetpixel.com
Olympus E-410 dSLR and PT-E03 underwater housing :: Wetpixel.com
Welcome to DigitalDiver.net!

 

[AndyT]

Here's a link to a reputable overseas dealer near you for the Oly housing UWdigitalcamera.com

Ditto RonFrank and others on going DSLR - dive with the camera you are already familiar with, you will be dissapointed if you go backwards to a PnS.

 

[ce4jesus]

Ryan at Reef Photo and Video can put you in the Olympus housing with a port for your 14-42 lens for right at $1000USD. That's just a tad over 1000AUS. You had better recheck the Ikelite price...that didn't include a port when I was figuring things out late last fall. I bought an Inon Z-240 from an Asian Dealer a few months back fairly cheap. ($600 US) PM for anything else and I'll try and get back with you.

PS...all the advice here seems sound. You've experienced underwater photography. You can certainly pick up a used P&S outfit on the cheap add some Inon Z240s and you're off and running. The biggest difference I noticed going from a P&S (SP-350) to the E-410 was just all around speed. As quickly as you could see a shot, you could nail it. As Larry opined, you sometimes have to really anticipate the shot with the P&S cameras. Additionally, There were no flash recharge times, buffer write time issues, focusing issues, battery life etc that seemed to plague a P&S. Most of the shots in my gallery are from my old SP-350 but the ones from Hawaii are from the E-410. I've only managed one dive with my camera so far. Got another coming up on the 26th if all goes well.

 

[frozenwarp]

Thanks again all i will take what every one has said under advisment and try to come up with a decision, i've been looking around and as ce4jesus said i can prob get a Olympus housing and port for around $1100 AUS so i believe this will be my target in the mean time i will continue practicing with my mates compact

thanks again all,
Brad

oh and by all means if anyone else has anything to add please do so

 

[DesertEagle]

If you like macro, I would buy the E410. DSLR focusing is going to be much better than a point 'n shoot. That would make a simple housing/strobe combination worthwhile.

On the other hand, wide angle will be more expensive. Are you willing to spend another $400-$800 on a lens, plus a dome port?