question about wet lenses and strobes

[RandomGuy1]

Do you really need wet lenses with the rx100? Will I be able to get good photos just using the housing? Would my initial money be better spent on wet lenses or on a strobe if I can't afford both right now, or am I wasting money until I can get a strobe and lenses?

 

[hui]

For macro yes. For all the other stuff, it's not critical.

 

[AlMitch]

You definitely need a macro lens for the RX100. It's out the box macro is useless. I have a +10 macro lens and it is just ok.
BUT you really really need a strobe too.
In fact I would say a strobe is more important than the lens.
My list of priorities would be:
1) Strobe
2) Macro lens
3) Video/ focus light
4) Wide angle lens
5) Second strobe
But I'm a macro lover so the above suits me.
If you love your wide angle then well you could go with 4, 1, 5, 2, 3.

Welcome to the fun hobby that sucks your bank account dry!!

 

[RVBldr]

I shot quite a while without any wet lenses, but did have a strobe, and since the RX100 shoots nice high res shots, you can crop as needed and enlarge the image to your liking. I'd go with the strobe first, then figure out if you want to do macro or wide angle or both if you can afford the lens. These were taken on my second dive with the RX100/Ikelite housing/ single YS-D1 strobe in our nice green local water: http://1drv.ms/1t3RlNN, so hopefully this gives you and idea what you can do with just the camera and strobe. I'd also second what AlMitch said on the priorities, although I think I had the WA prior to the macro just due to the diving I was doing. I'm still waiting on the 2nd strobe.

 

[KeithG]

Do you really need wet lenses with the rx100? Will I be able to get good photos just using the housing? Would my initial money be better spent on wet lenses or on a strobe if I can't afford both right now, or am I wasting money until I can get a strobe and lenses?

Lens allow you to get better macro OR wide angle shots than the native camera. Strobes allow you to capture better color than the depth allows. Screwing with White Balance settings or post processing is possible for partial color correction, but proper use of strobes lets you get it right from the start.

So I always vote for strobes first. They can be used for both macro and wide angle shots. They can be used shallow and deep. And do not scrimp. Good strobes can be carried forward to your next "better" camera. And the one after that.

Wet lens? Depends upon the types of shots you want. I (unfortunately) have a fancy wide angle wet lens that I have never used as
I discovered after I purchased it that I prefer to shoot macro. I have since bought 2 macro wet lens. And another camera. And yet another camera. Still on the same strobes...

P.S. If you really want to shoot macro, the rx100 requires a wet lens. Because it is the wrong camera for macro...

 

[RandomGuy1]

Any suggestions on a good entry level strobe and what to look for?

 

[Interceptor121]

You need wet lenses with any compact camera unless you want to shoot fish portraits, even so a weak diopter may be useful. No compact camera shoots macro out of the box, you can get close at the wide end but the resulting shot are weird and ugly
Wet lenses are useless without a strobe so if in doubt you get a strobe first
The RX100 is quite accessory hungry and as strobes Inon Z240 or Sea and Sea YS-D1 are usually the norm
Inon strobes work much better in TTL

 

[AlMitch]

Richie I know this is not what you want to hear, BUT as stated above try and spend as much as possible on a strobe. It is the one piece of equipment that should last way way longer than your camera and can be used on what ever subsequent system you use, be is another compact or if you step up to DSLR.
I have the D2000 which in terms of power is barley adequate for WA but for macro it is fine. I wish I had had the extra cash to get the Inon Z240. BUT the Inon D2000 does work really well with the TTL. I know many "purists" like to have everything in manual BUT the fewer things I have to think about the better. So with this strobe I throw it into auto and it does a great job.

 

[alien]

Entry level is InonS2000 or just use a good dive light like a SOLA 1200