COOLPIX Shooters in the House

[JodiBB]

I have an older coolpix (775) that is still in pristine condition and I don't have the money to get a new camera (yet..hehehehe)...anyway, does anyone know of an UW housing that could be used with the cp 775?? Any help would be appreciated...

 

[phillybob]

I have an older coolpix (775) that is still in pristine condition and I don't have the money to get a new camera (yet..hehehehe)...anyway, does anyone know of an UW housing that could be used with the cp 775?? Any help would be appreciated...

i'm not familiar with that model but it looks just like the cp 885 and 4300. ikelites housing is the same for both models. see if it'll fit the 775 too. they have a few housings that fit more than one model camera. see if everything lines up. if it does here is where to get them.http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...974&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation. but for that price you could see about getting a whole new set-up. i picked up a cp 7900 and an ikelite housing for under $600. housing $265 from b&h http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...983&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation and the cp 7900 for $300 from http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec.hmx?scriteria=3607688. after checking the price went up to $345. still a pretty good deal for 7 mp camera and ikelite housing.

 

[Mycroft]

Ok, I started out with a Nikonos V and I'm still using that. In the meantime, I am experimenting with the coolpix line. So I started with a coolpix 2100 and a CP-2 housing last year. First thing to do is to take it in the pool and try the thing out right?

I got three photos off before the thing flooded in less than 5 feet of water. The camera was toast, but I saved the batteries and the compact flash card.

Used the warrenty and sent the camera and housing in. Nikon coolpix 2100 are hsitory, so they eventually replaced the camera with a Coolpix 4300. 8 months later, the CP-4 housing arrives as a replacement. I dropped the housing (empty this time) to the bottom of the pool (8 feet) for 24 hours. Next up this week is trying it with a camera in the pool.

If that works, it will be my backup camera for a while.

 

[osujamesc]

I have a Coolpix 3100 and I am interested in purchasing the Fantasea CP-3 housing for it. I'm trying to figure out if I can get away without having a strobe. I'm diving in Maui now, so perhaps the water is clear enough.

What are the cheap options for strobes?

Does anyone have some example shots taken with the coolpix and a fantasea housing, but without a strobe?

Thanks,
James

 

[phillybob]

i'm not familiar with fantasea housings, but the lens port on my ikelite housing (cp 7900) blocks some of the on camera flash. this creates a shadow on the lower right 1/4 of the pic, making a strobe a nessecity. i'd look into that first. i just got an ikelite ds 50 strobe with the manual controller. i haven't had this setup in the water yet. that's coming on the 20th. check out sea and sea strobes. they're a little less expensive. i see a lot of people using the sunpak strobe with the fantasea housings. check them out too. happy hunting.

 

[Rick155]

Brian, how do you like the Sunpak-G flash with your 4300 and CP-4 housing? I have that camera and housing and am looking at strobes now. Excuse a noob question, but how does the Sunpak flash get triggered without a fiber optic cable? Have you found it to be reliable both in terms of predictable photo results and durability? I've been looking at the relatively new Sealife 960D , which at $300 is relatively inexpensive considering it includes tray, arm, fiber optic cable and strobe. Certainly more affordable than the Sea&Sea YS-15, which is $389 at B&H for the same kind of package. The Sunpak, in contrast, is $199 for a similar package at underwaterphotography.com. That's quite big difference. So the question is, does the Sunpak-G deliver at that price, or is it worth it to spend more? My budget limits me to the kinds of units mentioned here. In fact $389 is really stretching it. Which is why I'm so interested in the Sunpak-G. Brian, your pics look great. Is it easy/simple to use as well?

Thanks,

Rick

 

[Rick155]

I have a Coolpix 3100 and I am interested in purchasing the Fantasea CP-3 housing for it. I'm trying to figure out if I can get away without having a strobe.
What are the cheap options for strobes?
Does anyone have some example shots taken with the coolpix and a fantasea housing, but without a strobe?

In a previous post I linked to a few different models in the <$400 range. In my experience using a CP 4300 and Fantasea CP-4 Pro, the internal flash will illuminate enough for macro shots, but that's all. Perhaps you'll have better luck in your visibility conditions. But there are still two issues: Backscatter, and the flash being partially blocked by the housing. Both are illustrated here.

The first pic was taken @ 65 ft. in NJ waters. If you've ever dived off NJ you know there's lots of stuff in the water. Backscatter is a big issue and is pretty much unavoidable using any internal flash. I cleaned it up using a photoshop type program, but that takes some patience and time. The result is posted for comparison.

Then there's the way the flash is partially blocked by the housing -- when shooting macro (this isn't an issue unless you're pretty tightly in on macro). This illustrates the problem, notice the darkness in the lower left:

An external strobe will pretty much eliminate both of these problems.

Hope this info is helpful.

Rick

 

[BubbleBunny]

Hi guys! I'm new to the board and have a new Coolpix system too. I just purchased the Ikelite housing for my Coolpix 8700 and got the DS-125 Substrobe to go with it. This was a big upgrade for me, both above and below water! I previously used the SeaLife Reefmaster DC200 with the SeaLife external strobe. Got a lot of good pictures with it but decided I was ready for something more than point and shoot.

I've only taken the Coolpix in the water twice so far. Once in the pool (to take underwater photos of soldiers in Humvee Dunker Training) and once out in the Puget Sound (cold water reef in a 3kt + current). I was surprised how many keepers I had on my first time out. I especially liked how the scallops and octopus turned out with the 8x optical zoom. I'll try to post a few later this week.

I'm headed to Grand Turk next week and hoping for tons of beautiful shots! Nothing like clear tropical waters to really give your photos a boost!

I'm greatly interested to hear if anyone else is using a similar system. Then we can trade lies and technique.

 

[Augy]

I'm looking at getting the Coolpix 5900 and the Fantasea CP-7 housing. I can get both for under $400. An external strobe will have to wait awhile, though.

Is there a better option in that price range? I need a camera that can be used on land as well as under water. I used to have an Olympus C-4000 with underwater housing (no strobe) and got somewhat effective pictures. Would this be comparable?

Thanks

 

[scuba_mike]

I'll second that Steve... I'm debating buying a new camera & housing because it'd be about the same as a housing for my 4500!!!