Opinions from experience please

[KyBuck]

I am an inexperienced diver with 48 dives. Most on wrecks in south Florida and in the Gulf with half a dozen drift dives on reefs and a couple in quarries. I am have no illusions that I am ready to add a camera and another task to my dives just yet, however, I am going to Bonaire in July for 8 days. I have wished on several occassions that I had some type of camera on some of my dives and I can't imagine going to a place like Bonaire without one. I also ASSUME Bonaire is going to be a great place to not only have great photo ops but also should be perfect for practicing underwater photography with its unlimited shore diving and freedom to dive where, when and how long I want to.

I have almost decided to get the SeaLife DC1200 Elite package since it has the external flash and wide angle lens included at a reasonable price. I realize this is not the most high speed rig but I guess I am wondering if this set up will last me several years as I learn and gain experience or if there are other options I have not discovered.

FYI. My digital camera experience is limited to a Nikon 3000 I have to use at work, a Nikon CoolPix at home and a HD Flip Slide video at home. I am by NO means good a taking photos but I am dying to take pics on my dives.

I am thick skinned so PLEASE be honest with your advice. If your advice is to simply not jump into photography yet then so be it. If you have other camera suggestions I am all ears. I can't go much past the price of the DC 1200.

Thanks in advance.

Buck

 

[Puffer Fish]

kybuck, In a quick review - no.

Here is what you want in an underwater camera that you can learn to grow with:

1. Zoom range of 28 (or wider) to at least 90mm

2. Manual controls (not because you need them, but that will also mean you have shutter and aperture priority modes).

3. Can shoot in raw. Raw allows you to adjust white balance after the fact. Without it you will be doing a lot of white balance adjustments while diving or taking rather bland images

That comes down to the following camera's:

Canon S95 (with canon housing or Ikelite)

Canon G12 (with canon housing)

The new Oly coming out

The new Fuji F550 (or F505) coming out

If one could wait, the best deal will most likely be the Fuji (with a list of $349 for the camera). Fuji cases are some of the better Japanese cases and have double seals.

There are other raw shooting point and shoots, but the housing for them cost a lot (Like the Pany LX-5)

The best current deal is the Canon S95, with a canon housing (which is ok, just not great).

A Sea and Sea YS-1 or 2, and a simple tray make a very good package that takes excellent images, and would allow you to grow.

 

[DevonDiver]

Hi Buck,

No reason not to start diving with a camera.... just be very sure about where it ranks in your priorities for dive safety.

Adding task-loading, and inevitable distraction, to your dive can have an impact on your overall situational awareness (depth, time, gas, NDL and buddy monitoring). However, it is also good practice for you to develop that situational awareness.

For the sake of safety, just be sure that you have a competant buddy... and be sure to cover the issue of situational awareness within your dive plan/briefing. It's not unusual for a photographer to have a dedicated 'photography assistant' buddy... who is there to provide a safety check on your own awareness. It's just using the buddy system to your best advantage.

They can also help with spotting the next good photo opportunity whilst you are still engaged with the current one.

I would, however, advise some degree of caution if you are diving with an 'insta-buddy' (unknown diver) who may, or may not, be competent and diligent enough to offer a sufficiently robust buddy system.

 

[markmantei]

I'll second what devondiver has to say, safety first. If your dive skills are good for the type of diving your doing, then the buddy issue is the most major issue to deal with. When I started diving with my camera I made sure my buddy (my wife) was acutely aware that while I am concentrating on framing and shooting I would not have the same situational awareness and avoiding buddy separation would become more her responsibility. And like devondiver says, make sure that if you have too many tasks, stop shooting and concentrate on the important stuff.

When it came to camera selection, I went a different direction than you. I figured that I don't need pro level shots right now, what I needed was a solid camera to take images with that I didn't need to spend $1000 on. I wanted to make sure this was something I wanted to continue with before spending a fortune. I ended up getting a used sealife 800 with external flash about 3 hours before I got on the plane. It was "good enough" that I'll probably use it for another year or so, then switch to a sealife 1200 or better, and keep the flash. What I paid for the camera and flash is about the same cost as a new flash anyway.

I'll agree with some of the other posters that if you want the best, then get a camera with raw mode, but with the ext. flashes your probably introducing enough light at short distances that you don't need to play with the white balance all that much even without raw (those more experienced feel free to correct me here).

 

[jghflash]

Just remember that, as mentioned above, when you throw photography in the mix your task loading goes up and your concentration on what's going on around you goes down. No reason not to do it, just go into it eyes wide open.

Also, believe that you can take good pictures and learn a lot about UW photography with just a decent camera and the internal flash. You don't HAVE to have an external flash day one (remember that task loading comment). I started with the Oly 5060 using the internal flash only.....the pictures in my gallery are all shot that way. As part of the never ending money-pit of UW shooting I now have two INON's, a wide angle lens and stacked macro's.......but I worked my way up to that over 300 dives and probably 12,000 pictures. Almost 5 years later I still have the Oly 5060 I started with. One day the money pit WILL get deeper! Good luck!

 

[diversteve]

How old is the Coolpix? Maybe you can find a housing for it. Some of the Ikelite's sell for $260.

 

[herbdb]

I just picked a lightly used older Olympus SP-350 with Housing and macro and wide angle lens for $300. It is slower on multiple shots, but has all of the features that were mentioned above including RAW shooting mode. I bought it to replace one I lost. You might look around for something used.

In any case, I suggest you skip the strobe for now. Most of the good stuff is less than 30' and you can get great pictures without the strobe especially if you have a full featured camera. The strobe really adds to the workload in my opinion.

When I go on a dive trip, I leave the camera in my room the first day and concentrate on diving. The next day, I will take it without the strobes. Once I have refreshed myself on the camera controls and worked on buoyancy, I may use the strobes on subsequent dives.

 

[scubajim 1]

I'm using the SeaLife DC1200 Elite and am very pleased. Its ease of use and programability make it a snap to learn. The system is pricey but the strobe can be used with almost any system.
SeaLife is also great with repair issues too. They once replaced a flooded DC 800 for me when it was clearly my fault that the housing flooded.
I've posted some photos taken with both the 800 and the 1200 on SB . I think for a "point and shoot" it does a great job. You will also like the ease of use the menu buttons offer.

 

[davelew]

There are basically four classes of cameras:

1. Cheap digicams (for example, Canon SD1300) for $100 to $200
2. High end digicam (for example, Canon S95 or G11 or Oly XZ-1) for $350 to $500
3. Low end SLR or EVIL (for example, Canon T1i or Oly EPL-2 or Nikon D3000) for $500 to $1,000
4. High end SLR (for example, Canon 7D or Nikon D700) for $2,000 or more

The right choice really depends on your future plans. If all you'll ever want to do is record your dives, go with a cheap camera in the first group.

If you want to get more into the hobby, get an enthusiast camera in the second group, and slowly add wet lenses and external strobes.

If you REALLY want to go nuts like so many of us here, start out with a cheap camera until you're more comfortable, then get an SLR with dedicated macro and fisheye lenses.

The worst thing you can do is what I did: start out with a cheap Canon S400 in a Canon housing. Upgrade to a nicer Fuji F30 with Inon wet lenses and a strobe and a cheap strobe arm, and leave the Canon and housing on a shelf. Upgrade to a mirrorless camera in an aluminum housing with 4 lenses and two ports and two strobes and higher-end strobe arms. Look disparagingly upon the shelf of unused equipment which you paid too much money for (in my case: S400, S400 housing, F30, F30 housing, Inon closeup lens, and Inon wideangle lens, 10bar tray, 10bar strobe arm).

 

[markmantei]

The strobe really adds to the workload in my opinion.

Just wondering what you find the extra workload to be. I never used my camera without the strobe, jus turned it on after I jumped in, and then I didn't really think about it for the rest of the dive. I did have to play with it as far as if I was to close, I would get washed out pictures and such. Is that what your referring to?