What is the current state of UW cameras?

To all list members: I am a professional photographer that just learned to dive. I just don't have any underwater cameras! I was familiar with the Nikonus system about 10 years ago but understand it has be discontunued.

What options are out there these days that would provide high-quality photos, film or digital? I don't want to spend a fortune -- as diving equp. cost a lot already -- but would give photos that would please a professional level shooter.

I have seen ads for Sea and Something cameras, but have no hands on experience with them. What is the best these days, the worst, etc? Are housing better than UW cameras?

I used a disposable underwater camera on a dive in Mexico and don't find it to be of good enough quality.

Many thanks for any comments.

I am not in anyway an underwater photographer (yet), but in reading through the various posts and looking on the various internet sites for underwater camera housings and cameras, you can get about anything you want.

Since you are a professional and have your own equipment, there is a good chance there is already a housing made for your camera, as well as a variety of flashes for underwater work too.

In the looking I have done, the available housings have been for the 35mm format in flim and both consumer digital and digital SLR cameras. I have not seen any housings for medium and large format film cameras.

Look through the user galaries and I think most list what camera they have. At least on this board you find a lot of Olympus users but most brands are represented out there.

One of the last things I am saving up for to by is a digital underwater camera. the housing for my current Olympus C720 cost more than what I can by a new UW camera for!

Good luck and again there a bunch of great photographers on this board who can help more than I can!!

Jeff

There's a large range of options. I would suggest a topside camera in a housing with external strobes. It mostly depends on your budget. How much are you willing to spend at this point?

The questions you will need to ask yourself before deciding on a camera are:
-where will I do most of my photography?
-what are the prevailaing conditions like? (visibility, current, etc)
-what do I want to shoot? (big animals? wide angle? macro?)
-what do I want to do with the resulting photos? (4x6" prints? enlarged wall trophies? email friends? website?)

If you have current you'll want something small for less drag.
If you have poor viz you'll need an external strobe on a longish arm (good idea anyway but critical in poor viz).
If you just want to share on the internet then a 2-4 MP digital might be perfect. If you want large wall trophies you'll want 6 MP or higher.
If you want to do wide angle you will need a lens that covers a wide angle... whether it be for whalesharks or wrecks.

If you provide a little more detail about what you are looking for then people will be able to provide a more customized recommendation. You will also likely hear the advice that you should take awhile to become a HIGHLY proficient diver with outstanding buoyancy skills before attempting to master underwater photography - you and the environment will be safer for it, and your shots will be better too.

doughk:

to paraphrase Gilligan, Canon and Olympus seem to be the most favored underwater
systems.

i had a bottom-line Canon camera until recently, and even in the hands of a total
newbie it took ok pictures (see my gallery). i can only imagine what someone like
gilligan or alcina (or you) could do with that camera.

I still use my Nikonos V for some wide angle photography. Otherwise I use a Nikon F90x in a Subal housing, usually with a 105mm lens. The system I am considering is the Nikon D100 in a Subal housing. I still haven't satisfied myself that I'll be able to get Velvia-quality color with the digital camera. It would be nice not to be limited to 36 shots though, and I've seen some really nice pictures with the D100. The Subal housings allow you access to almost all of your camera controls, and they are pretty compact. They are expensive though.

I'll take a different tack (marvintpa alluded to it already)........ one that's not popular.

As you know, photography can be an intricate and consuming art. Add to that the newness of breathing air underwater, controlling buoyancy, watching NDL limits/tables, monitoring air supply, monitoring depth, monitoring buddy, dealing with narcosis, currents, etc etc etc.......

You probably learned the phrase "task overload" in your OW class. I have seen a lot of new divers with cameras quite literally mentally and physically overloaded and, frankly, taking it out on the reef. If you cannot control your buoyancy with your breath, you should not be taking UW pics.

To get "high quality" photos you will need (IMHO) a camera capable of manual exposure settings and two strobes. That adds a LOT of things to think about underwater. You say you are unhappy with the point and shoot disposables, but until you learn to dive and are comfortable in the water, I'd suggest sticking with the snapshot cameras.

Anyway, that's my .02, YMMV, etc.

Chris

It depends a lot on what you want to achieve with your underwater photography. Do you want to take it to the same professional level as your topside photography? If so then you probably won't be happy until you end up with a housed SLR or DSLR setup with dual strobes (no shutter lag, pro quality prints, interchangeable lenses and flexible/creative lighting)

Like Chris said, task loading is something you have to consider. I know a professional photographer who just started diving and has started with a Olympus C750 in a PT-018, no strobes. Very affordable to start with and he's already getting some good reasults with and without the camera's flash. I know eventually he will house his Canon DSLRs.

DougK:

To all list members: I am a professional photographer that just learned to dive. I just don't have any underwater cameras! I was familiar with the Nikonus system about 10 years ago but understand it has be discontunued.

What options are out there these days that would provide high-quality photos, film or digital? I don't want to spend a fortune -- as diving equp. cost a lot already -- but would give photos that would please a professional level shooter.

I have seen ads for Sea and Something cameras, but have no hands on experience with them. What is the best these days, the worst, etc? Are housing better than UW cameras?

I used a disposable underwater camera on a dive in Mexico and don't find it to be of good enough quality.

Many thanks for any comments.

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Welcome, Doug. I am a professional underwater photojournalist, and I use a Nikonos/15mm lens combination with a single strobe for wide angle. I favor the Ikelite 200 strobe for this due to the variety of manual settings for that strobe. The compactness and simplicity of this system is very convenient, and the water element 15mm lenses (either Nikon or Sea & sea, which is a bit slower and a lot cheaper) are better than any housed lens and port system I've ever seen. Nikonos cameras are still widely available on Ebay and from many of the New York houses. In fact, the Nikonos III is still available on the used market in the $250-300 range, and it is a fine manual camera. Sekonic Marine Meter II light meters are also available cheap and used ($150 or so). You'll have to buy a battery adapter from a company called CRIS to use the meter, as they were originally designed for mercury batteries. I use a Nikon N90s with 2 strobes and either a 60mm or a 105mm for fish portaits and macro. I took the photos at http://claycoleman.tripod.com/id196.htm last week with these systems. Many of the pros that I know (mostly starving magazine writers) still shoot film, either with N90s cameras or F100s, as housings are readily available for those cameras. The people who have switched to digital mostly use Fuji S2 or Nikon D100, but I know of one professional couple who sold everything to start over with the Nikon D70. I'll also say that many photographers, including some from this forum, are getting excellent results with Olympus digital cameras. Ken Knezick of Island Dreams travel has gotten some spectacular results with his. See http://www.islandream.com/ and click on any of the galleries.

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I know of one professional couple who sold everything to start over with the Nikon D70

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This interests me. Do you know what housings are available for the D70?

Dougk, if you could post some bad photos, it would make us amateurs feel a lot better about some of our efforts.