Nikon D70 vs. Olympus C5050

I've been looking at getting into UW photography, and originally considered the Oly 5050. But recently I've been thinking of biting the bullet and dropping some serious change on a Nikon D70 system.

I ran into this comparison of the two at

http://www.splashdowndivers.com/photo_gallery/underwater_photography/up_equipment_d70.htm

The bottom line was the following:

"Comparing the wide angle pictures I have taken with my D70 with those taken with my C-5050, my conclusion is that there is not a lot of difference in the quality of the pictures. What is different is that I am getting much better compositions with the D70. I attribute this to the ease of use of the optical view finder, the lack of shutter lag, and the ability to shoot RAW as fast as I can work the shutter lever."

It's making me feel better about sticking with an Oly 5050 and Ikelite housing. Anyone agree/disagree? I do a lot of surface photography as a hobby, and I'm looking at replacing my 5MP Minolta Dimage with something I can use over and underwater.

The C5050 has a max ISO setting of 400, which is pretty grainy. The D70 goes up to 1600 and still looks decent. My biggest complaint about PNS cameras is the low ISO settings, which get in the way of underwater picture taking.. 200 is the max for decent shots on most of them, severely limiting shutter speed or exposure. Not sure how clear the water is in CA, but around here 1/15 at ISO 200 leaves a lot to be desired.. getting a good picture on ISO 400 or even 800 would be great.

They're very different cameras. The Oly can take great pictures, sure, but it's not an SLR and you'll give up a lot of things, as the review mentioned.. you get shutter lag, lower ISO, inability to take many pictures in quick succession, etc.

I disagree with the conclusion a bit (well, I should since I spent a lot of money upgrading from Oly C5050 to D70 so I might be a bit bias )
The biggest advantage of C5050 over D70 is that with wetmount lenses, you can do macro as well as WAL upto abotu 130 degree with with Inon Dome in a single dive. The picture quality depends on how you look at it. If you look at it on computer screen at 10-20% size, the difference may be subtle but I still think that at C5050 has significantly more digital noise than Nikon and I never shot my C5050 with anything but ISO 64.
Viewfinder on D70 will give you much better idea about focus since the LCD on C5050 does not have enough resolution for you to see if the focus is really where you want it to be. This is very critical for macro/supermacro.
With the right lens combination, the D70 will go wider and have much better macro capability than C5050.
Value for money, I don't think there is a contest, I paid a a tad over $1000 for C5050 with Ikelite housing where as the Nikon body alone already costed that much (over here in Thailand) at the time I bought it. The housing, ports and lenses cost several times over the price of the Oly with housing.
However, I am happy with the result I got and the money spent. Looking back, yes, I would still upgrade to the D70 knowning what I know now.

I don't think you can compare the two, what was that saying about 'apples to apples' :06: ?. The D70, or a DSLR in general, is a different beast altogether. Having virtually no shutter lag is only one of the many advantages of a DSLR.

As far as picture quality goes, agreed that the pictures coming out of C5050 or CP5000 are pretty damn amazing, but, IMO, there is a noticeable difference between one that comes out of a prosumer camera and a DSLR, even when the prosumer camera has more pixels. It is not only the final rendition, which some will argue is subjective, of the image captured on the sensor that creates the difference but other physical factors as well. In general the capture devices used in DSLRs are larger and have better dynamic range and SN ratios. The lens plays a big part in the image quality as well - having the lens resolving power match the sensor and having the choice of picking the right lens for the job contributes a lot to the final output.

My advice is if you see yourself being more than just the casual underwater photographer and have some serious cash to drop into a body, housing, lenses and ports and strobes then go for it. If you are just a casual photographer and/or are looking for a rig that is smaller and more compact then stick with a prosumer setup.

Added comment: If you are just starting out and are not sure then by all means start with a prosumer setup. If you choose your components wisely - like arms and strobes - you will be able to use them with a DSLR setup should you choose to upgrade. You will always end up with equipment you can't use - keep them as a backup or sell them - there will always be someone looking for a used C5050 or like.

Just my 2c.

mccabejc:

I do a lot of surface photography as a hobby, and I'm looking at replacing my 5MP Minolta Dimage with something I can use over and underwater.

Click to expand...

Honestly, they're two different worlds. The only thing they share is they both write to CF. After that, its all different. From the capture systems, to the S/N, to the available features, etc. The Nikon is just s smokin' rig.

For the casual shooter, and even for the serious enthusiast, the 5050 is an amazing rig underwater. I was nowhere near reaching its capacity for great images in the time I had mine. I consider myself a complete hack with UW photography. I just didn't give it a fair shake, and it only represented about 25% of my total shooting.

However, on the surface its a different story. After being in the Oly C-line since 1998, and shooting each camera offered in the line, I can say that I exhausted the creative limits of the camera, topside. I got to the point where it wouldn't do what I needed it to do. So I stopped bringing it with me when I went places... I missed shots, or worse - never took them because I knew I would be hamstrung by the cam.

Moving to the D70 was a no brainer. Its the best value in a DSLR out there, and has features cameras 5 times its price can'e even touch. I've had mine for about 4 weeks, shot a couple of thousand images and I couldn't be more pleased with the results. Its an investment, and like all digital cameras, its disposable (likely in another year or so) but the lens investment will last forever, as will the flash investment. You can't say that with any prosumer P&S.

The camera should get out of the way and let you express yourself. Underwater, I was the inhibiting factor. On top, it was my 5050. Now, my creativity is limitless again and I am enjoying shooting like I haven't for a couple of years now. I take it everywhere. I shoot hundreds and hundreds of shots each week. Its just wonderful to be back in the game.

One day (when I win the Lotto, sell my house, or decide eating is overrated) I'll get a housing and a couple of ports for my WA and Macro lenses, then sell my truck and get the arms and strobes. But for now, shooting topside is the best.

I once again take my cam everywhere. Think about it. If you really shoot more UW than on top, then maybe you should stick with the Oly and really exploit its great features. Many, many people churn out complete art with that little cam. But if you're shooting topside, and are doing a lot of manual stuff, low light stuff, landscapes, macros, portraits, pet pictures, indoor wide-angle, or just want the flexibility to do all of that with one body and a near endless array of lenses, you may want to consider moving to a DSLR, and you can do no better than the D70.

I could drone on and on about the features that make the D70 rule the pool. If you wanna chat, PM me.

---
Ken

In addition to the above which I agree with you should note that a housing for the D70 is $1200. A housing for the 5050 is $600.

You may consider the Olympus 8080 as another option. I debated this issue a few months back and went with the 8080.

outlawaggie:

In addition to the above which I agree with you should note that a housing for the D70 is $1200. A housing for the 5050 is $600.

You may consider the Olympus 8080 as another option. I debated this issue a few months back and went with the 8080.

Click to expand...

Do not be misled - to get the D70 in shape to shoot underwater is it considerably more than $1200.

Conversly, a housing for the C5050 is about $125 - $150 (for the Oly housing) and you're good to go. (PS: I'm selling a new Oly 5050 housing for about that... )

---
Ken

Mo2vation:

Do not be misled - to get the D70 in shape to shoot underwater is it considerably more than $1200.
---
Ken

Click to expand...

Yep, this is a very good point to consider. Unless you are going with something like Nikon D2X or Canon D1S, for other cheaper dSLR camera, the camera itself is only a fraction of the cost of the total cost for the setup.
People talk about housing being expensive but do not forget the ports cost as well. Ikelite ports are relatively cheap but if you have 3-4 different lenses, it will add up. To house all my lenses with Sea and Sea, I spent just as much on the ports themselves as I did on the housing.

I agree that when you really zoom in on an image, the grain of a picture shot @ ISO 64 on the 5050 is close to that of the D70 shot @ ISO 200. However, that is where the quality comparison ends in my opinion.

The lens you shoot with a D70 are going to be noticably sharper with the D70.

Also the non-existant shutter lag makes ALL the difference.

As others have said, apples and oranges. And the quality of DSLRs is much greater than prosumers, so I disagre with the article. DSLRs give much faster autofocus and no shutter lag, much better optics as well.

As a former 5050 shooter who converted to a DSLR (300D) this year and fellow California shooter (you can see my pics at www. underwaterplanet.com), here's my advice.

From the other forums I believe you are in your first year of diving. UW photography is more than an art, it's also an incredible distraction. Add learning to use a DSLR and strobes (no internal flash available UW), you're lookng at a HUGE learning curve.

DSLR:
Camera body and kit lens - $1100
Housing - $1200 - 1500
You will want more than the kit lens
WA lens - $300-500
Macro/portrait lens - $300-500
2 ports - $500
Strobe (at least one) $500 per
Arms - $100

So you've got $4000K plus before ever taking a pic underwater. And then figuring out how to use a camera and strobes underwater. What if you hate it? What if you aren't any good (no offense)? Good pics come from the photographer, not the camera. I've seen pix from D70s that suk. and 5050 pics that rock. If you've got that kind of money to spend, go for it. THere wil also be a resame market for this setup as well

5050/5060 = $500
Ike houing $600

$1100 .... if you like it and can take good pics, you will know from using this camera. ANd there will always be a resale market (well, for the next couple years). You can use the internal strobe for now. Even if you bought a strobe, I'd say learn how to use the internal strobe and the camera first.

I would NOT buy the 8080. Oly missed the boat UW with this one.

Just my .02

Good luck

Chris