Advice please ?

Hoppy · Aug 20, 2004

Hi

Will be travelling to Tahiti for 3 weeks and needless to say will be doing some diving.

It's our honeymoon and so with all the other expenses, you can imagine that camera money is gonna be tight.

I can't rent one (checked with the dive op) so my question is what should I buy (budget $1000) which will do for this trip and maybe also for diving here in UK. Seems a shame to go and not be able to take pics.

If poss a camera which will do land as well as u/w and digital is a must.

Your thoughts , opinions would be very welcome.

Hoppy

The Kraken · Aug 20, 2004

Sea & Sea - Motor Marine MMII or MMIII with Strobe.

alcina · Aug 20, 2004

I'd go digital - perfect fit for vacation with instant feedback so you are sure you got the shot you wanted.

Check out the getting started thread above for some starting points.

Canon & Olympus seem to be leading the underwater photography pack - check out the A & S series for Canons and the Styus range for Oly. You should find a selection that will come into your budget and experience level.

chippy · Aug 20, 2004

How about a second hand or refurbished C5050 and Oly PT-015 housing - you may even have enough left over to get a strobe.

Hoppy - one last thing, I'd try and stear clear of buying UW gear from the UK - Far too expensive - Try UWdigital in japan for the strobe (you should be able to pick up an inon D180 for about £200ish). You can always add other "addon" lenses later on, such as wide angle and macro later on when you're a bit more flush.

The C5050 makes a great land camera too!

NorthernMelody · Aug 20, 2004

I have a cannon A60..or is it V60..One of those 2 letters...and my husband here in Canada was able to buy both for under a $1000 Canadian!...granted no strobe, but I still got some great photos! The V70 is a better camera as it has an actual setting for underwater diving. Keep in mind that if you don't go digital you may not get many pictures at 33m (100ft) due to being unable to wind the film to the next frame...too much pressure. That's what happed to me a few years back. Just a though. Have fun!!

Hoppy · Aug 20, 2004

chippy:
How about a second hand or refurbished C5050 and Oly PT-015 housing - you may even have enough left over to get a strobe.

Hoppy - one last thing, I'd try and stear clear of buying UW gear from the UK - Far too expensive - Try UWdigital in japan for the strobe (you should be able to pick up an inon D180 for about £200ish). You can always add other "addon" lenses later on, such as wide angle and macro later on when you're a bit more flush.

The C5050 makes a great land camera too!

Thats the thing I couldnt understand , you seem to get so many people saying xxx amount in the states, it's soooooo much more expensive here !

Rip off Britain again eh ?

Thanx all for the advice so far. Any more ?

chippy · Aug 20, 2004

Hoppy:
Rip off Britain again eh ?

Yep, I saved £400 alone just on my housing (albeit that I don't pay VAT) and about £2,000 on my whole system!! :11:

Should do nicely to pay for my next couple of diving trips away!

The Kraken · Aug 20, 2004

Don't you have a problem with lag time with digitals?
You push the button and it takes a second or two for the camera to take the picture . . .
Oops, there went the fish!!!

Dee · Aug 20, 2004

The Kracken:
Don't you have a problem with lag time with digitals?
You push the button and it takes a second or two for the camera to take the picture . . .
Oops, there went the fish!!!

No. And it doesn't take that along. There is a half-press feature on digital cameras that will pre-focus for you so when you completely press the shutter button, the photo is taken. Yeah, I've gotten my share of fish butts but all it takes is a little patience to take another shot. Being able to see your shots and the option to retake them is priceless to me. Do I miss shots? Sure I do, so does everyone, but I missed alot more with film. I used film for alot of years, a MMII complete system, and you couldn't pay me enough to go back to it.

mgersch@cox.net · Aug 20, 2004

The reaction speed of the digital cameras seem to vary quite a lot. I mean the time from when you press the button to when you take the picture, and time from when you take the picture to when you can take the next picture. This was one of the features that lead me to buy the Minolta. (But at the time I wasn't thinking of taking it underwater-- I wouldn't buy this for an underwater camera.

I would go to a friendly camera shop and play with several before making a decision.
-Mike

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