advice

[Ozwald]

Hello there....

What are your experiences/advice. I bought a Sony P & S and an Ikelite housing for it. It's a high end P & S. Am I going to be able to get decent shots? I have a Canon 7D as well as an aeeay of L glass but just didnt want to hand over $2000 for the necessary housing. Not to mention lug it around with me while I hone my SCUBA skills.

Does anyone use a point and shoot with the housing only or will I NEED to but an external strobe?

Many thanks....

 

[bvanant]

Well if you are expecting 7d/L glass quality you will be disappointed. On the other hand you will be able to get photos that can capture the essence of diving with no issues, if you take the time to learn your system. You WILL need a strobe.
Bill

 

[Ozwald]

Lol.....that would be nice.....no I just want reasonable shots.

So I'll need a strobe. What are the chances of getting by with just the flash from the camera in certain "clear water" situations? Say up to 30-40 feet or so?

 

[smellzlikefish]

You have to be diving in pure gin for the onboard flash to not cause some backscatter when shooting anything farther than 2 meters away. About the only thing the onboard flash can be useful for are macro situations, although sometimes the lens port will even get in the way (as is the case with my Canon A650). And even if you do manage to get the macro shot with the onboard flash, a properly set up external strobe will capture the shot better anyway.

 

[diver 85]

Hello there....

What are your experiences/advice. I bought a Sony P & S and an Ikelite housing for it. It's a high end P & S. Am I going to be able to get decent shots? I have a Canon 7D as well as an aeeay of L glass but just didnt want to hand over $2000 for the necessary housing. Not to mention lug it around with me while I hone my SCUBA skills.

Does anyone use a point and shoot with the housing only or will I NEED to but an external strobe?

Many thanks....

I have since '07-------click on some of pics in my sig below....

 

[Troutmaster]

You can take great photo with a P&S. I have a Nikon D80 and alot of good glass for it, but unless you are SERIOUS about underwater photography it is not worth it for an SLR/Housing/strobe set up. I shoot with a P&S for my underwater pics.

Also, when you flood it (and if you do it long enough you will flood it) you are out alot less with the P&S. I sat on a boat next to a guy as he poured sea water out of an aluminum housing with his D-200 in it. I don't speak french, but it sounded like he was not very happy. When he calmed down enough to switch back to english he confirmed he was, in fact, not happy. When I ruined my first sea and sea point and shoot I was out less than he was for his lens.

You need a strobe. Its a must-have if you are going to do anything other than short shots in a swimming pool.

 

[HerraduraDivers]

I am seriously thinking of selling my D90/Ikelite DSLR rig as my G11 takes almost similar photos with a quarter of the size and weight. I am tired of shlepping around 50 lbs of housing, lenses, a heavy and bulky strobe, beeing wooried if the airline loose or break the case and pay expensive fees for excess bags.
I am serious with unterwater photography, but i am a pro diver but not a pro photographer and i don't need the vantages a DSLR have about the G11.

Chris