The ELP-1 is a great little camera but it is a button pusher camera for a button pusher generation, the S series and now the new G12 are dial cameras, you turn a dial, especially the S90/S95. The FIX/Recsea housings are extremely small and the photographer can switch lenses from macro to ultra wide angle during the dive and certainly on the boat without having to open the housing or reconfigure gears and cams. As well the FIX90/Recsea rigs will pack into a carry-on size case complete with some lenses and strobes and accessories:
My new "surface" carry camera, I have been waiting for this and I have my 1,099 dollars sitting at ready:
Fujifilm’s digital camera FinePix X100 wins “photokina STAR 2010” Award | Fujifilm Global
The problem with the ELP-1 is that the housing does not fully realize the compact nature of the camera and it is plastic. The Zen domes are uber expensive and frankly the camera is hard to operate with all of the buttons and it is S_L_O_W! Sorry, but head to head with the S90, it is slower with the exception being when one goes to manual focus then I think the Oly squeaks ahead of the S90 (also in manual focus). Picture quality, at normal print sizes or displayed on the web as in these forums, it would be difficult to distinguish the IQ between them. Canon P&S cameras are known for their quality images and the S and G series produce bright, clear, colorful images.
At this point, if ultra-compactness were not a big issue then I like the new Sony Nex in a Nautica or Aquatica housing. The housings are rugged aluminum construction, software and hardware upgrades now allow the Sony Nex to use legacy lenses and in the case of the Nautica, Nikonos series macro lenses (beat that with a stick!!!!!). The Sony is FAST, it shoots fast and focuses fast and the camera itself in hand is as plastiky as it is ugly--but--you don't see the camera or feel the plastik-ugh-nesss of it once installed in the beautiful Aquatica or Nautica aluminum housings.
I suspect the new Fuji X100 will have bayonet to fixed lens accessory telephoto and wide angle and fisheye. Rumor has it the X100 is as fast as a dSLR on the trigger and it has full manual control and full manual focus which when engaged speeds it up further. Will it find a home in a pro quality housing, probably not but I can dream. Would it work with certain wet mount lenses, maybe. In any case it is my new surface carry camera for travel, it slings around the neck like a real camera, has dials and knobs like a real camera, can operate fully manual like a real camera and it has a freaking VIEWFINDER--OMG, thank you, thank you, thank you.
It gets right down to this, if you are a professional or very serious amateur who does a lot of photography, under and above, there is only one answer with current technology, a pro grade dSLR and pro grade housing. It is not a matter of money always, for the rest of us it could be a matter of need or portability and perhaps in me an ingrained unwillingness to invest 6,000 dollars into something that is obsolete as soon as I open the box.
I could buy anything I want, I simply don't dive as much as I used to for there to be sufficient justifications (and obviously that is an individual choice), have other life interests and find Canon S/G series camera very compelling. I would have a Oly ELP-1 or EP-1/2 for a carry camera but there is no view finder, problem solved, thank you Fuji. Of course, the X100 does not change lenses, I freaking don't care, it has a real viewfinder, I will get a dSLR if I need to swap lenses.
N
My new "surface" carry camera, I have been waiting for this and I have my 1,099 dollars sitting at ready:
Fujifilm’s digital camera FinePix X100 wins “photokina STAR 2010” Award | Fujifilm Global
The problem with the ELP-1 is that the housing does not fully realize the compact nature of the camera and it is plastic. The Zen domes are uber expensive and frankly the camera is hard to operate with all of the buttons and it is S_L_O_W! Sorry, but head to head with the S90, it is slower with the exception being when one goes to manual focus then I think the Oly squeaks ahead of the S90 (also in manual focus). Picture quality, at normal print sizes or displayed on the web as in these forums, it would be difficult to distinguish the IQ between them. Canon P&S cameras are known for their quality images and the S and G series produce bright, clear, colorful images.
At this point, if ultra-compactness were not a big issue then I like the new Sony Nex in a Nautica or Aquatica housing. The housings are rugged aluminum construction, software and hardware upgrades now allow the Sony Nex to use legacy lenses and in the case of the Nautica, Nikonos series macro lenses (beat that with a stick!!!!!). The Sony is FAST, it shoots fast and focuses fast and the camera itself in hand is as plastiky as it is ugly--but--you don't see the camera or feel the plastik-ugh-nesss of it once installed in the beautiful Aquatica or Nautica aluminum housings.
I suspect the new Fuji X100 will have bayonet to fixed lens accessory telephoto and wide angle and fisheye. Rumor has it the X100 is as fast as a dSLR on the trigger and it has full manual control and full manual focus which when engaged speeds it up further. Will it find a home in a pro quality housing, probably not but I can dream. Would it work with certain wet mount lenses, maybe. In any case it is my new surface carry camera for travel, it slings around the neck like a real camera, has dials and knobs like a real camera, can operate fully manual like a real camera and it has a freaking VIEWFINDER--OMG, thank you, thank you, thank you.
It gets right down to this, if you are a professional or very serious amateur who does a lot of photography, under and above, there is only one answer with current technology, a pro grade dSLR and pro grade housing. It is not a matter of money always, for the rest of us it could be a matter of need or portability and perhaps in me an ingrained unwillingness to invest 6,000 dollars into something that is obsolete as soon as I open the box.
I could buy anything I want, I simply don't dive as much as I used to for there to be sufficient justifications (and obviously that is an individual choice), have other life interests and find Canon S/G series camera very compelling. I would have a Oly ELP-1 or EP-1/2 for a carry camera but there is no view finder, problem solved, thank you Fuji. Of course, the X100 does not change lenses, I freaking don't care, it has a real viewfinder, I will get a dSLR if I need to swap lenses.
N
