Looking for entry level, have questions

[Herk_Man]

Before I ask my question want to make sure two things are understood up front: 1) I'm on a fairly tight budget. 2) I'm wanting to have a decent record of a dive trip, not bring back magazine covers.

I just read a great camera review at Underwater Camera Articles: Review: Best Underwater Point & Shoot Cameras for 2009

They recommend, for someone like myself, the Olympus FE-360 with the PT-044 housing. Can get a decent camera and housing for around $260.

My question is: 1) Does anyone have anything to say good or bad about this combo? 2) Will I get decent pics with this combo without a wide angle lens or a strobe? 3) If this is a good choice for someone like me, am I going to be limited to day only pics without a strobe or a better camera. (This is probably ok, just want to know if taking it on a night dive will be a waste.)

Appreciate any info offered.

HM

 

[apertyx]

Nothing wrong with taking a camera on a night dive, even a small one, provided you're comfortable with it and the dive light at the same time. I always carry a p & s camera with me no matter what, just clipping it to the bc with a "leash" in case I need to let it go for some reason. I've had two point and shoots - the Intova 500 and recently the 700 without strobes, and they do a decent to good job on any dive, and take small video as well. Strobes will ALWAYS make a difference, but decent light (natural or dive light accentuated) and some post-processing can turn up surprising results, if you have a steady hand and patience.

Can't speak for the actual camera, although I've heard decent things about it. In my opinion, it depends on how much you want to fart around with the settings versus getting a fair shot and enjoying the "diving" portion of your dive... I'm somewhere in the middle.
Examples here:
Steve's Photography
with the newest "more" shots being with the 700 and macro mode. No strobe. No extra lenses. And never paid more than 150 dollars for either.

 

[MJSmith]

I have the Olympus 8000 with the PT housing. Before that, I had the Olympus 770. I have since added a strobe to reduce back scatter. Good medium type photos. I like the waterproof feature of the camera itself without a housing.

Steve---what post processing things do you use?

 

[Herk_Man]

Thanks for the info guys. Found a package deal on ebay for an Olympus Stylus 600 with new eclosure, 2gb card, tripod, 2 spare batteries, charger, case, etc.

Not the best camera on the market but after reading reviews I think it will do what I need it to and I got the whole package for about $160. I'll try to remember to post some pics when I get back.

 

[apertyx]

I use Photoshop (6 would you believe???) with an "underwater" action I got from Adobe ... works great about 75% of the time ... other times I just adjust manually, if at all.

 

[apertyx]

The other nice thing is if you're not used to handling the camera, you might as well bash 160 dollars against the rocks instead of 1000 dollars ... once you get used to it, then you can move up, and your skill set will have improved dramatically as well!

 

[Herk_Man]

I use Photoshop (6 would you believe???) with an "underwater" action I got from Adobe ... works great about 75% of the time ... other times I just adjust manually, if at all.

Do you have a link to where I can get that underwater upgrade to Adobe Photoshop? And don't feel bad, I think I'm still using 5!

 

[apertyx]

PM me or post your email address and I'll send it to you - not sure if it works with 5 or not, but I don't see why not .. it's just a little file.

 

[jimw]

I too saw the same review from Backscatter a few months ago. I bought a used Olympus FE-360 on ebay for $38. and a new housing from Adorama for $99. Works well, shutter lag is sometimes large but can be compensated for by pre-focusing. I used a Nikonos for 25 years prior to this and assumed that an external strobe would be necessary--not so. I put it in it's UW Macro Scene Mode and go for it--the builtin diffuser does a nice job. There will be backscatter in wide shots though........Shoots macro and close focus-wide angle quite well and some of that backscatter can be dealt with using Picasa or another software product. After toting around the big iron for so many years--this camera and housing is a breath of fresh nitrox.