Underwater Camera Help

[Manneca]

I have been taking photos underwater for a very long time. (Started with a Nikonos III). I've been most recently using an Olympus E-PL5 (about 4 years old). It's a 4/3s camera. I just got new strobes (Sea and Sea YS-D2J) and they make so much difference in my photos. I would recommend getting two strobes (not just one) and the most powerful you can. (I have a 60mm macro and a 8 mm Panasonic Lumix lens--so I'm either doing macro or wide angle.)

I have pretty much decided that I don't want to house my DSLR because the size and weight of the rig is more than I want to deal with. From what I've seen, most people with rigs that big check them which means an extra (heavy) bag to haul around and excess baggage charges. I pack my gear in a small, underseat sized roller bag and usually don't have a problem carrying it on board. My Oly will give me excellent prints as large as 17x22 and I don't need anything larger. I'm not a pro, so I'm not selling my photos (though I have sold some of my land based photos). (Note, I'm female and over 70 so size and weight may be more of an issue for me). And the cost of housings etc grows exponentially with the size of the camera.

 

[Hoag]

Right now, Moziak Underwater has a very good sale on Inon S2000 strobes at 31% off. They are very small strobes but are also very well reviewed. You would still need fiber optic cables to fire them and the mounting gear, but it is hard to argue with a 31% dicount.

 

[Barmaglot]

Right now, Moziak Underwater has a very good sale on Inon S2000 strobes at 31% off. They are very small strobes but are also very well reviewed. You would still need fiber optic cables to fire them and the mounting gear, but it is hard to argue with a 31% dicount.

Looks like one of those fake 'sales' where they mark up the price and then add a discount. Backscatter and Blue Water list the same S-2000 for the same US$365, Diver Vision has them for $359.95.

 

[Hoag]

Looks like one of those fake 'sales' where they mark up the price and then add a discount. Backscatter and Blue Water list the same S-2000 for the same US$365, Diver Vision has them for $359.95.

Actually, what might be happening (purely speculation) is that either the market is flooded with the S2000 as everyone is buying the Z330 or the new D200 and there isn't a market right now for the S2000, or maybe the S2000 is being cleared out prior to being discontinued. What I do know is that the price today is significantly lower than what I paid for mine last spring.

 

[Barmaglot]

Inon S-2000 S-TTL Underwater Strobe - According to Internet Archive Wayback Machine, Backscatter had them for the same $365 last summer. 2016 and earlier captures from Blue Water Photo Store show $539 though, so it looks like the price was dropped sometime in 1H17.

 

[hilljo88]

I also shoot Sony RX 100 V in Fantasea housing with Fantasea wet macro and wide angle lenses. I like the compact form factor and can carry on everything including strobes and video light in a backpack.

I second outofofficebrb's comments that as a relatively new diver you don't want task overload too soon in your diving career. I have very experienced diver friends who have splashed in without their fins, air on, etc,, but had their DSLR rigs perfectly set up for the dive at hand. It takes time to master bouyancy skills to stay off the reef, and to anticipate marine life behavior to get the shot you want. I have lots of shots of fish butts as they turned away from me..

 

[Manneca]

Lots of pictures of fish butts is why I do either macro (where if they move it's really slowly) or wide angle. My fish portraits are usually the one that swam away.