Housing vs a Underwater Camera Package?

Hi all, (thanks in advance for the advice/opinions)

I've itching to bring a digital camera down for some pictures. I'm a fairly new diver, so I'm not going to be hauling dual strobes etc... I just want to bring a point and shoot digital camera down knowing the limitations that come with that and also not break the bank.

A basic question:

Is there an advantage to buying one of the "Underwater" brands such as Sea Life verses going with a more traditional "topside" digital and buying the housing for it?

I saw the Sea Life DC 250 on closeout for $199 on ScubaToys (hope it's ok to mention shops on this board). I've seen other Sea Life cameras and the low-mid range ones are a bit cheapie feeling (the cameras themselves), but for 200 bucks, that's about what I'd spend on a housing and I wouldn't have to worry in the event of a flood that the rest of my vacation photographing is down the tubes.

However, it seems by going the point and shoot (such as a Nikon or Canon) and buying the housing, I'd be increasing the quality without too much more money - of course with the risk of a camera loss through a flooded housing.

I added a poll just to get a feel for how much the flooding risk is...

Thanks!

Flooding is a risk that comes with taking any camera underwater. Even the Nikonos camera's where the body and lenses are designed to be UW has a risk of flooding mainly in the film chamber. You will find that the SeaLife, ReefMaster, Sea & Sea, etc., camera's are really NOT UW camera's but rather digtal topside camaera's with housings that are built for a specific model. However with the exception of Sea&Sea which uses a very nice digital body, most of the UW camera's are not nearly the quality of the current offering of digital out there right now.

I went with the Canon S70, and am very pleased with the results. You can see some of my images at the following link.

http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/500/page/1/perpage/18/ppuser/31565

I have only done 8 dives with the camera/housing and it's going to be a while before I get more in. I think the key is to keep the oring greased, and I'm storing the housing open in a zip lock bag to help prevent aging from fresh air constantly being in contact with the oring while it's not in use. Some recommend keeping the oring in a seperate bag outside of the housing, however I think that might cause the oring to loose it's shape.

Another thought is to purchase new orings annually. I may go that route if it seems mine drys out before I get to another location where photo ops are worthwhile.

First concern....Where will you be shooting? One of the great advantages to the "Sealife" in particular is that the camera is programmed for underwater photography so it's hard to screw pictures up. If you're looking for a point-n-shoot underwater cam, "Sealife" is the way to go. It's also adaptable with lenses for macro or wide angle shooting. If you are pretty certain that you're gonna want to delve into photography a bit more seriously and want greater pixels, then you might want to just invest in a housing for a Nikon or Canon or whatever it is that you have. But don't be fooled, a good housing for a nice camera ain't cheap. You could easily pay $1500 for one that you can trust. Then you have to think about color filters and that sort of thing that will render your camera more capable of capturing the underwater world as is it intended to be seen.

I own a sealife DC310 and I'm amazed at the greater than average quality pictures that it produces for being a really cheap camera and only 3.3 megapixel.

But back to the most important question of all...where do you intend to shoot?
Good luck.

SFScuba:

Hi all, (thanks in advance for the advice/opinions)

I've itching to bring a digital camera down for some pictures. I'm a fairly new diver, so I'm not going to be hauling dual strobes etc... I just want to bring a point and shoot digital camera down knowing the limitations that come with that and also not break the bank.

A basic question:

Is there an advantage to buying one of the "Underwater" brands such as Sea Life verses going with a more traditional "topside" digital and buying the housing for it?

I saw the Sea Life DC 250 on closeout for $199 on ScubaToys (hope it's ok to mention shops on this board). I've seen other Sea Life cameras and the low-mid range ones are a bit cheapie feeling (the cameras themselves), but for 200 bucks, that's about what I'd spend on a housing and I wouldn't have to worry in the event of a flood that the rest of my vacation photographing is down the tubes.

However, it seems by going the point and shoot (such as a Nikon or Canon) and buying the housing, I'd be increasing the quality without too much more money - of course with the risk of a camera loss through a flooded housing.

I added a poll just to get a feel for how much the flooding risk is...

Thanks!

Click to expand...

The sealife IS a very cheap camera, it's a Vivitar that you can get at Wallmart for $100. They put the crappy camera in a nice housing, but you're still shooting with a crappy camera that puts out crappy photos on land or underwater. There is also little or no controls with it either.

I had a DC310 for 2 days before I took it back to the store for my money back.

You can put together a Nikon/Oly/Cannon and housing for about the same money.

Like the Nikon Coolpix and Fantasea housing, Might be $250 for both, and you get a heck of alot more camera that takes GREAT shots above or below the surface.

Rocky Heap,
Curious, what was it about the DC310 that you didn't like? Did you use it for two days and then return it, unhappy with its performance? If that's the case, next question: What store lets you return used underwater camera equipment and gives you money back for it?
Just curious...

RockyHeap:

The sealife IS a very cheap camera, it's a Vivitar that you can get at Wallmart for $100. They put the crappy camera in a nice housing, but you're still shooting with a crappy camera that puts out crappy photos on land or underwater. There is also little or no controls with it either.

I had a DC310 for 2 days before I took it back to the store for my money back.

You can put together a Nikon/Oly/Cannon and housing for about the same money.

Like the Nikon Coolpix and Fantasea housing, Might be $250 for both, and you get a heck of alot more camera that takes GREAT shots above or below the surface.

Click to expand...

KelpCoasters:

First concern....Where will you be shooting?

Click to expand...

Where I will be shooting is a difficult question:

• Mostly intend to be diving in places with good vis
• Depths on average of 80' or less
• Shooting fish and other animals as they swim by and coral, animals tucked in the reef
• Recent dives include Costa Rica and Hawaii/Big Island, with one to Cabo coming up.

Also, Kelp Coasters, I have taken a lot of pictures snorkeling (have a 3 meter rated housing for my current Canon). I've mostly done color correction with Photoshop and it's turned out ok. However, I could see how having the underwater white balance built in would make it much easier.

I realize that my question must come up a lot and some more details would be helpful:

For landside reference, I shoot a lot of photos with my digital. It's a point and shoot, I try to keep composition in mind. I am not a gear junkie and like to keep it simple. Haul less gear, take more pictures.

I honestly do not think I'll ever upgrade to a strobe etc for underwater. It just seems like too much to be hauling around in addition to trying to enjoy the dive. So I really am looking for a point-and-shoot and just trying to figure out what is best for the money on a reasonable (ok cheap, under $300 if possible) budget.

Reading through the forums, flooding does seem like a "when" not "if". But, it also sounds the same risk (given proper case care) as with dropping a camera, losing it, or other malfunctions that seem to occur more often these days with digitals. So, maybe I'm just being a little too paranoid about it.

Rocky Heap, I have been looking at the Nikon Coolpix line as an option. They seem reasonably priced and housing are pretty easy to come by. Is this a setup that you have used/seen before?

I didn't realize you could come across good housings for so cheap...it's gonna be time for me to upgrade.

Does your camera have a TTL flash? This is something else you'll want to think about when purchasing a housing; you'll want one that can accomodate this style of flash as opposed to scattering/reflecting the flash all around. It's understandable that you wouldn't want to lug a strobe about, but at 80', it doesn't matter how clear the water is; you're gonna need some kind of light source so that you images don't come out "blue struck". (But then again, maybe that's something you can manipulate with Photo Shop as well.)

I've only been diving in warm (really clear) water once, so, being used to Carmel/Monterey's waters, you can understand how I would be partial to using strobes.

I noticed you hail from SF; do you ever dive in Monterey?

I'd head for the Canon or Olympus cameras - lots of choices, lots of support from other users and reliable results.

Check out legopacific's gallery here on ScubaBoard for some idea of what the Canon A series without add on strobes or lenses can do. There are quite a few Canon shooters and all have great examples in their galleries - if you head to the Canon Corner, you can find some recent examples.

Have fun shopping!

I've had the prototype of the new Sealife DC500 for a bit. It's pretty amazing. It's a total departure from the old sealife cameras. This is a small, compact camera with optical zoom, auto focus, rechargable battery, 2 inch LCD display, docking station etc. And the housing is real nice. Small, rubber coated, and full functionality. These are just shipping now, and a 5 megapixel for under $500 with a great housing, I have not found anything else that comes close.

Until these were out, I could see someone who wanted more flexibility getting a camera and housing, but now, unless you have very special needs - I think this thing will take over the camera market.

Looks nice - pity they put the internal flash so close to the lens and no forward diffuser. It looks like it will not be functional at all in the housing making an external strobe a necessity.