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

Hey all,

I have been playing around with underwater photography recently with my mates little compact canon with housing and strobe and its fair to say im really digging this whole UW phography this.

I currently own a DSLR (Olympus E-410), now i do like this camera but enough to shell out $1500 plus to make it suitable for underwater use i dont know?

SO here is my question

In people's opinion should i fork out the cash for the housing or should i spend half that on buying a compact and housing

I know how i am and will eventualy want a DSLR but will i want something different i dont know

Has anyone had any experience with this camera and if so what housing and strobe/s are u using and what is your opinion on its performance

Cheers in advance all
Brad

frozenwarp:

I know how i am and will eventualy want a DSLR but will i want something different i dont know
Brad

Click to expand...

Hi Brad,

Based on this statement alone, I'd say put your DSLR UW.

Popular strobes include INON, Ikelite, Sea&Sea. HERE is a good guide to many of the strobes available on the market.

IMO, it you get an Ike housing, consider the Ike strobes. If you go with something else, INON makes a very versatile strobe that travels well.

I can't tell you which way you should go but if you are considering the DSLR then you will also want an external u/w strobe. Although I sometimes take pictures without the strobe... it seems like a big investment to house a DSLR without also purchasing an external strobe. The DS-125 is a popular one and it will cost you in the ballpark of $1000 by the time you throw in the sync cord and strobe arms. You can shoot with the stock port that comes with the housing but eventually you will probably want to get a wide anlge port and macro port. The DSLR route is an expensive path but once you are all set up it's great!

When I housed my DSLR I started out with a simple lens, the stock port and the DS-125 strobe. I purchased the rest one piece at a time. I got the macro port & lens (60mm Nikon) first. It's pretty easy to get good macro shots. I got the wide anlge port & lens a few months later.

I am just a recreational photographer and there are alot of pro's here that will give you some good info & opinions. About a year and a half ago I was making the same choices that you are. I went the DSLR route and never looked back.

Hope this helps.
-Chris

I think your right

Im hoping to get some opinions on how suitable this camera is for underwater use and people's experiance with it.
ive checked out the housings and i think i would be looking at the Ikelite as it gives me a little more depth and seams more dependable.
As for strobes although thats not my main decision i have looked at both brands you mentioned and have used inon with my mates compact and seamed good from what i could tell but first i need to decide wether to use my DSLR or not

Cheers
Brad

First off, $1500 just gets you the housing. By the time you add strobes, arms, ports, gears, etc. you are looking at atleast $2000 more. So keep that in mind.

Second, it isnt just about the rig. It is also about how much effort you are going to put in, how willing you are to put up with the demands that a housed DSLR puts on you and so on. Read this for more info:
DIVEIndia - Housed DSLR or compact camera for underwater photography

There are pros and cons to each. You need to figure out what is best for your intended usage.

Vandit

Thank you Vkalia, after reading the link i am unsertain what i want im in a mid mind

Yes im known to spend ages playing with one subject trying to get perfect but i am also mindfull of what diving will be like with a big DSLR set up.

I have been fortunate enough to have had some of my photo's published already and will have oportunity in the future to submit more which makes me think that my DSLR will be the go but am still unsure.

ONCE again calling out to anyone who has had experience with the olympus E-410 in underwater use

cheers
Brad

I'm not familiar with that particular camera, however, it may be worthwhile looking to see if you can find a used housing. And ultimately if you decide that you want to upgrade to a different dSLR, it may not cost you all that much if you can re-sell the housing at a price similar to what you paid for it.

An investment in a decent strobe (or a set of them) is important, and with the right ones, you can port them from one system to the other.

I don't own the E-410, but it is a very capable camera, and I have seen some very good UW results by photographers using this model.

From an UW carry and use perspective I use a D200, and also have a Canon S70. The S70 is much more compact, but if you add strobes less so. Carrying and shooting a DSLR UW is not all that much different than using a compact, in fact in may ways it's easier as a DSLR has a lot of controls that make it faster to shoot, and switch settings.

Topside and travel is a different story, and were the DSLR's size comes into play. It is a LOT larger, and heavier. The ONLY downside of the DSLR other than size is that you must decide on the lens to use before getting into the water. Once UW, you are stuck with that decision.

The downside of the DSLR is size, and a having to make a lens choice. The downside of the PnS vs. the DSLR is everything else. Quality, speed, ergonomics, flexibility, ability to shoot at faster ISO's, etc.

If I'm not mistaken, Olympus actually makes a very small, and relatively inexpensive housing for the E-410 (about $700 I think). I don't know too much about it, but saw it when I was checking out the E-410 a few months back - the housing was only just larger than the body, though it was rated to 40m, not 60 or 90 like some of the others (probably where the cost savings come into it).

You may want to also check out wetpixel.com, I remember reading a review on the E-410 for underwater about 3 or so months back.

Oh, and as for my opinion.. Just do it. Save yourself a few steps in the process and just go straight to where you'll end up anyway...

Just buy what you need one piece at a time and it's not so bad. And you can always get strobes 2nd hand at a fair saving, along with arms, housings, ports etc...

Z...

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.