Advice needed for photo newb on decent, simple kit for under $1200

[mountainsean]

Hi folks-

I'm thinking of getting started with UW photo/video but am more than a little overwhelmed with all the choices. I really just want something simple to take some fun shots and a few video clips on dives to post on Facebook to give friends and family a sense of what it was like. I barely know an f-stop from a stop sign, so point-and-shoot is ideal. Simple lighting, simple kit, reliable, good battery life, small/portable, easy maintenance, etc. are priorities. I dive mostly warm water reefs.

The GoPro looked like a decent option until I read all the bad reviews on Amazon of the buggy firmware and terrible battery life. I thought about buying a Nauticam housing for the Sony RX100 we have, but that doesn't leave a lot of room in the budget for lighting and a mount. The Sealife DC1400 Pro Video or Duo looked intriguing and seems fairly well received. Also considering the Adorama deal on an Olympus PEN E-PL1 plus housing for $399 and adding a mount and Sola light. Thoughts on any of the above would be most welcome.

Also - given my desire to keep it simple and versatile, does it make sense to just get a really good continuous light like the Sola (which can also double as a great night diving torch) and not fuss with a strobe? I understand strobes usually get the best results for stills, but again, I'm not try to get my pics published or even hang them on a wall.

Thanks,
Sean

 

[lilnik10]

I have the DC 1400 without the lights. I love it. Simple to use but read the manual. It takes great pics even without the flash as long as you set manual white balance. Video is good quality too. I will be getting a light as soon as I get a little extra cash.

I also recommend checking out http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/ to learn the techniques for how to take photos. The advice I found on there made the biggest difference in the quality of my pics.

 

[lamarpaulski]

Gopro 2 has worked flawlessly for me for about 20 dives. I have it on a pole and secure it with a retractor. Since it is last years model you could probably get it cheap or rent it to see if you like it. I believe there is an outdoor place specializing in go pro rentals in Colorado ?? I get 2 dives plus on a battery. I am not a photographer or very techy and I use the one button push video..pretty simple imho.. So far my biggest mistake has been to leave it on the boat when I think there won't be anything to video and then Murphy's law kicks in and there is a virtual Jacques Cousteau special. I am slowly getting more stuff like lens and lights and follow this web sites info. Probably will get GoPro3 black or better. BTW Gopro has been very responsive - I lost the lens cap and they sent me one immediately..free. You could get gopro and a great light set up for way way under $1200.

 

[Diver Dave1]

Congratulations on joining the addiction!
It often starts as you are starting and leads on and on. So while you may never add to your system, it would seem prudent to go down a route that does not require major replacement of what you start with. In the small, budget world, GoPro takes decent video but not so great of stills. P/S cameras take much better stills but more not as good on the video. So you might consider which is more important to you. There is no wrong or right choice, just your preference.
The recommendation to use uwphotographyguide.com is a good one.

Dive lights and torches are generally not bright enough for still shots. A budget priced strobe would serve you better. Your upgrade path would be a seconds strobe for wider angle coverage.

I have a Sola 600 and its not bright enough for photo's but its great as a night dive light and focus light for the still camera. I have used it on night dives for video and it works as long as the subject is close. When I say close, I mean within 3 feet or so. Closer is better.

Studies on GoPro 3 shows it lasts about 60-120 minutes depending on the frames/sec and resolution you are using. If you select when to have it on during a dive, it would seem to cover your days diving before needing a recharge. A single video light will light only a portion of the angle of view but if the goal is something close and let the rest remain unlit, that can work. Your upgrade path would be a second light, if you felt the desire for one.

 

[rreconnu]

I've been taking underwater photos and videos for a number of years and just purchased the 4th generation of my rig. I debated and researched long and hard and came to the conclusion that although the GoPro makes a very nice little basic video camera, a compact camera and a housing was a better way to go. Not only does it take beautiful 1080P video at 60 frames, it has a zoom, full manual for all the still settings you can use (iso, aperture, shutter speed, white balance) plus all the auto features. It's WAY more camera for the bucks than a go pro without the cost or size of a dslr.

The rig currently have is well under $1200 and capable of any sort of photo or video I could want to take, from my son's football games to macro arrowhead crabs. It's compact, easy to use, and best of all, I can still afford to take a dive trip to use it!

Panasonic DCM-ZS20 (on sale everywhere because the ZS30 is coming out in March) - $210 (Abes of Maine)
Panasonic [FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]DMWMCTZS20 housing (made by INON) - $199 (Adorama)
Sealife Digital Pro Flash - $300 (Bought it in Bonaire when my Sea & Sea died)
Underwater Kinetics Aqualite I use it as a focus light and a video light - $249 (Leisure Pro)
I had an old sea life strobe arm that I mounted the UK to, but you can also mount it via a hot shoe mount for about $39.

So, for under a grand, you can have a setup that can do HD video and beautiful stills both on land and underwater with a lot more flexibility and functionality than a go pro can offer.
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[James R]

You could get an Ikelite housing for your Rx100, and then have a good bit left over for lighting - and have a far better camera than the Dc1400 etc.

 

[Imla]

I have no idea about prices... But a very good choice to start with is the Canon G15 with housing. Cheap, and a very good camera for both over and under water. Go with a Sola Dive 1200. This will double as both a good divelight, and a very good tool for learning creative lighting. I live in Norway with darkness, and mostly night dives 6months a year. I used to have the Nikon P7000 and a Sola 1200 for my photo untill i swapped for a DSLR.
My friends all used the Canon G12, and it took amazing pictures. FantaSea also makes Wideangle wet lens and a holder for the Subsee macro +5 and +10 diopters for the original canon housings.
I still love my solos and use them on every dive. PM me if you want to know more, or want to see pictures taken with sola as only light source

 

[bullshark]

I would offer several points (which you will likely ignore):

1. Painful as it is to hear, you are not good enough at diving yet to mess with other complications. A camera will significantly retard progress.
2. The RX100 is exactly what you want. Don't even think about getting another still camera. Whatever it is (in your $), it will be inferior to that one.
3. There are other options for a housing than Nauticam. The Ikelite offering is in the venerable "shoebox" and has excellent results but:
   • Rx100's greatest strength is Video - auto white balance is almost as good as hero...
   • Ike's options for Strobe lighting are problematic
   • If you decide on video (still frames can be taken from any video), the Solas Video lights are what you want
   • Do NOT opt for Ike Substrobe...it is a quagmire of unending proprietary solutions and parts
   • Very good results can be had with macro photography using only the RX100 built in and the flash diffuser.
   • Good results can be had with available light if shooting RAW when big things happen.
4. Reread #1. With only 25 dives, you don't even have a correct weight solution yet, let alone finning/breathing/buoyancy techniques required for responsible photography
5. The Hero is excellent. Amazon users don't know their ass from a horseshoe.
   • Of course battery life is limited; it's a tiny camera.
   • I know from personal experience that the Wasabi batteries suck (many of the whiners are using them)
   • I know from personal experience that a camera with LCD back, full "on" will last far longer than a one hour dive, when shooting intermittently (when there is something to shoot).
   • My wife's usually makes it for 2 full one-hour dives (almost). The battery dies near the end of the 2nd dive when the whaleshark shows up.
   • Switching batteries after each dive is no big deal; the case is dead simple to open and close.
   • This entire video is go pro. The results are really good. A goPro with a tray and solas video light are well in your budget.
6. The RX100 will eventually take better video because it has more production options, but the Hero will outclass it in the beginning because it doesn't [have so many options]...that period may outlast your diving career depending on your devotion.
7. A Solas light is not an alternative to strobe lighting for still photography. Range,power,placement are all inferior, and fish don't respond well to continuous bright light in their face.

 

[mountainsean]

Thanks everyone, great feedback (and thanks Bullshark for reminding me I needed to update my profile for # of dives from "complete newb" to "every so slightly more dives than a complete newb" - obviously still plenty green, but capable of maintaining good buoyancy long enough to press a shutter button on an automatic point-and-shoot without kicking the reef).

I'm still very skeptical of the GoPro Hero3 based on the many many bad reviews of its buggy firmware. Yes Amazon users aren't always the sharpest knives in the drawer, but with 100+ reviews and a 3-star average, there's very likely something to the complaints (not just talking about battery problems - most complain about freezing, random shutdowns, etc.). I really don't want to be screwing around with an unreliable piece of kit.

So unless I see evidence that GoPro has fixed their probs with the Hero3 Black, I'm leaning toward either the Adorama deal on the Olympus E-PL1 plus housing for $399 or just getting the IkeLite housing for the RX100 at $400. The former has the advantage of not having to borrow my wife's RX100 (forgot to mention that bit) and what appears to be a better housing (?) - I read a lot of negative comments about the Ikelite elsewhere on SB. Does the hot shoe on the Olympus make life easier/simpler if I want to go the strobe route eventually? I keep reading about fibre optic cables to trigger strobes on cameras without hot shoes? Or something?

As for the Sola light - if I go this route do I want the 1200 dive light or the 1200 photo light or the 1200 SF? Is the 2000 SF overkill? I want to make sure whatever I choose will double as a night dive light even if I'm not diving with the camera.

Thanks folks,
Sean

 

[ktkt]

I consider myself more of an underwater tourist than a photographer, but I am very happy with my Nikon Coolpix L24 + Ikelite housing, which I got around my 100 dive mark. When I bother to use it, that is. It turns out I like hovering and enjoying the view more than focusing on taking pictures. (That said, when I went to Bali, my guide was perfectly happy to photograph me and all the fish using my camera, which was awesome.) Santa hasn't brought me a strobe, so I basically stick to good daylight shots.

The camera's around $100, and the housing another $250ish. I made a conscious choice to get a relatively cheap camera so that I could replace it if I screwed up. No issues yet!