Oly SP-350, Canon S80 or Fuji E900???

[shark.byte.usa]

Wanted to get any opinions on the above cameras for a first time u/w photographer. I basically have it narrowed down to these 3 make/models but would consider any other suggestions. Probably will just get the manufacturer's housing [because of the cost of Ike's] unless I get the Fuji.

I will not have a strobe initially but will want one in the future.

I'd like to shoot in RAW, which is a con for the S80.

I'm leaning towards the Oly at this point.

Thanks

 

[Larry C]

I've seen real nice photos from all three. My personal experience is with the SP-350. You can read all of it on the SP-350 thread (more than you ever wanted to know). I cannot say enough about the ability to shoot in RAW. I've fixed some truly HIDEOUS pictures with a RAW converter. On the other hand, lately I've had good results with JPEGs in Photoshop as well. I just find I can do more, easier if I'm shooting RAW. I think you could make a strong argument for any of these cameras. I know OCRmaster will be flooding the internet with his votes for the S80. I think it probably comes down to personal preference and pricing, but don't be fooled by initial price. You'll eventually spend 3-4 times the initial cost of the camera on strobes, lenses, etc. In my experience in motorcycle sales, my happiest customers were the ones who walked into the shop, said "I like that one, I'll take it" and never looked back. The most unhappy, never satisfied ones shopped, compared, chiseled prices and second guessed themselves forever. Buy what makes YOU happy.

 

[shark.byte.usa]

Larry, good advice and since I have nothing to compare them to, I'm sure I'll be happy with any of them, since the S80 doesn't shoot in RAW, I was actually looking at the S70 as well.

More to the point, I don't want to get saddled with a camera that when I want to add strobes, etc. I'll then be unhappy with my selection. So any drawbacks with the models listed [including the S70] with adding strobes, etc.

 

[vkalia]

The S70 is *slow*. I wouldnt suggest it. By all accounts, the E900 is a very responsive camera and would be a better bet.

See my review of the S70 here:
www.photosafariindia.com/articles.html

Vandit

 

[Aggie Diver]

Hey Larry,

Does the Olympus housing for the 350 have threading on the lens port? I'm probably looking at upgrading after my fun in Belize with my housing, but am looking for something that I can still use my Inon macro lenses on.

 

[DesertEagle]

Aggie, I have the SP-310 and an a PT-030 housing. The SP-310 is the 7MP sister camera to the SP-350. Yes the Olympus housing does have a threaded port. To use the Inon macro lenses, you would get a 46-67mm step up ring.

The reason behind my choice of the SP-310 was cost. The camera was $199 and the housing was $189. I went on eBay and found a Sea & Sea 16mm conversion lens made for the Nikonos. That was $119 plus $8 for a 46-58mm step up ring. Now you have a poor man's wide angle setup.

If I were to budget a little more money, the S80 would be my choice. While it lacks RAW, it is very fast and the results are amongst the most SLR-like to come out of a compact camera.

 

[Aggie Diver]

Thanks for the info. I read up some on the S80, but no RAW is a dealbreaker for me.

 

[mglazer]

I was recently tossing up between the SP-350 and the E900 and went the E900 and absolutely love it. The macro ability is fantastic out of the box and what I like most is the almost non existence shutter lag and startup time is about a second.

I also prefer the Ikelite housing as it is rated to 60m rather than 40m because I do deep dives on occasion, plus It feels and looks more solid. Side by side the Olympus housing looks a bit toy like but that’s just my opinion.

I know you cannot go wrong with either the SP350 or the E900; the E900 had everything I was looking for and am extremely happy with it.

 

[vkalia]

Mark, how responsive is the E900 when it comes to taking a shot - ie, from the time you press the shutter to the time it takes the photo, including the autofocus time?

The shutter lag is a nice 0.01 sec as per the specs, but I've heard that the AF is quite slow,, resulting in an effective lag of 0.5 seconds or so while shooting. How easy or hard has it been for you to take fish portraits with this camera?

Vandit

 

[alcina]

I wouldn't get caught up in the teeny details. Both of those cameras will serve you well.