What would you do? T4i or G16

[MountainMare]

My mind is swimming. No pun intended. Here's my situation:

I have a Sealife DC1400 (gently used) that takes so-so pictures. Truth be told, this is the first year I've used it where the flash works, the battery is fully charged, and I could get close enough to any "critters" that my pictures weren't awash in blue. I also have a Canon T4i that I love for topside photography but have never purchased lenses, housing, or strobes for. One of the divemasters that we dive with in Cozumel uses a Canon G15 with a Recsea housing -- no strobes -- and his pictures are gorgeous.

Here's my dilemma and where I need advice. If you were me, with very limited (practically none) experience in underwater photography, would you:

1. Keep the existing Sealife camera and continue to practice with it
2. Get an underwater housing, the proper lens(es), and possibly strobe for the T4i
3. Consider purchasing a G16 (since it has the wifi) and an underwater housing (I like Ikelite, but your opinions would be appreciated)

Also, if you could point me in the direction of photos taken with the Sealife (to convince me it's a decent camera) and the T4i, that would help immensely.

Thanks all!

 

[MermaidLaura]

I have both the G16 in fantasea housing and the canon t3i in a sea and sea housing.

You really need to decide what kind of photos you want to take and what you want to do with them.

The G16 is great for macro and you can get wet lenses that you can add to the housing that will give you magnification for closer / super macro and other wet lenses for wider angle. You can switch between macro and wide angle on the same dive. Easy to use.

With your DSLR, you can use the standard lense the camera comes with which is great to start off with but then, if you want to take good macro, you would need to get a macro lense or a wide angle or fisheye lense for wide angle photography. With the different lenses you will need different ports and usually zoom gears and extension rings. It can all get pretty pricey. And you need to decide whether you will be taking macro or wide angle before the dive and set your camera up accordingly.

For ease of use, I would go with the G16. If you want to go all out, semi professional or compete seriously in photo competitions, bite the bullet and go DSLR .... You will need a strobe with both setups for the best shots and if you go DSLR with wide angle, you will eventually need two strobes....

Hope this is of some help...

 

[Tigerman]

Theres two things to consider really.
Price and bulk.

The T4i with UW housing will be big, heavy and the housing without ports will run a msrp of $1500US or more depending on manufacturer.
The G16 with an affordable housing (even with the ikelite G16 TTL housing) will be less than the cost of just the T4i UW housing.

The question you need to ask yourself is really how much money and EFFORT you want to put into it. Going the DSLR route you'll be more flexible, but you'll also easilly look at close to $2000 with housing and ports and thats if the glass you already have can/should be housed.
The G16 wins hands down on economy and how easy it is to travel with.

I had its older Brother, the G7 for a few years and it was a breeze to travel with and it gave me some decent shots, but I now use a Canon 7D and its definetly much more of a hassle to travel with - and incredibly much more expensive. If you DO og the DSLR route, consider getting it insured and make sure that insurance cover water damage and loss to the deep blue abyss..

 

[bvanant]

Another way to think about it is that there is one thing that is so far unmentioned and that is picture quality. The T4i will generate pictures that are way more better (for the most part) than the G16. Shutter lag is also an issue, far fewer fish butts with the T4i, but only you can figure out what level of quality is important. Sure weight and cost are issues but if you are paying $5K for a trip don't you want the best pics you can get?
Bill

 

[Tigerman]

Another way to think about it is that there is one thing that is so far unmentioned and that is picture quality. The T4i will generate pictures that are way more better (for the most part) than the G16. Shutter lag is also an issue, far fewer fish butts with the T4i, but only you can figure out what level of quality is important. Sure weight and cost are issues but if you are paying $5K for a trip don't you want the best pics you can get?
Bill

Personally I rarely pay $5k a trip, more like $2-3k - even included the flights and diving, and even if I did, a DSLR setup with uw housing, camera body, decent wide and macro glass, ports and a strobe or two easilly run well beyond the $5k you paid for the trip... Which makes it more of an issue of paying $5k to use your large, expensive rig

Yes, shutter lag is somewhat of a challenge with compacts, but the photo quality from advanced compacts like the G16 is more than adequate for A4/Letter size prints and in the end the one using the camera is going to be more important than the camera itself.

 

[MermaidLaura]

Just my 10c worth... the shutter speed is virtually the same on the G16 as it is on my T3i. There is basically no shutter lag with the G16 - it is fantastic

I would highly recommend this camera and the Fantasea housing is great too - you get access to all buttons on the camera, it has a leak detector and is much smaller and lighter than the Ikelite housing.

 

[PatW]

It depends.

the DSLR will be bigger, a lot bigger. My DSLR rig weighs as much as my dive gear. Makes things interesting in the airport.

the point and shoot is way more flexible under water. You can shoot macro. You can shoot wide angle. It really flexible.

The DSLR has a very precise focus. I can focus on an eye ball. Nice.

The DSLR focuses almost instantaneously and tracks well.

Now if I put on my 105 macro, I can get nice shots a shy small fish; damsels, butterfly fish, jawfish etc. But if a shark comes by, I am not getting the shot. More precise, less flexible.

Now, to me, photos just are not the same without strobes. Strobes replace the colors you lose with depth and are absolutely essential.

You may well be happier with a point and shoot with a nice housing. Just because it costs more, does not mean it will suit your purpose.

 

[LowVizWiz]

1. Keep the existing Sealife camera and continue to practice with it
2. Get an underwater housing, the proper lens(es), and possibly strobe for the T4i
3. Consider purchasing a G16 (since it has the wifi) and an underwater housing (I like Ikelite, but your opinions would be appreciated)

While the camera is important, I think how often and where you dive probably dictates what you need to do.

A Cozumel DM will probably have a ton of days in the water with perfect conditions for photography without strobes. He also gets plenty of practice with his set up to know what works and what doesn't work with his set up. Someone land-locked diving their local mud-hole (Unless it's a world class mud-hole) would probably not get the same results using the same camera no matter what camera they use.

I have a T4i with a Nauticam housing, a Tokina 10-17mm, a Canon 100mm lens and a pair of SOLAS 2000 s/f lights. I have taken a lot of really nice pictures with that camera, but the 2 pictures I have had published were taken with a Sealife Reefmaster mini and no strobes. Which speaks more to the subject matter than the camera itself. I'm sure that If I have had the t4i when I took the pictures that were published they would have better resolution, etc. But the pictures themselves would not be better IMO.

My advice, since you already have the t4i get the best lenses you can get and make sure you are practicing as often as you can not just underwater.
I do think the Sealife cameras are able to capture good images, but you need ideal conditions.

 

[Tigerman]

Im kinda interested in hearing what glass the OP already have, given the fact that it could make a HUGE impact on the economy of housing the T4i..
If you already have suitable glass, the ikelite (which is probably the cheapest) housing has a MSRP of $1500US (new) and the cheaper ports run at a couple hundred, so say 2k (without strobes), while the G16 option with the ikelite TTL housing should run up to $11-1200 US.
If you need new glass howerver the T4i route can easilly run up to $4k...

 

[MountainMare]

Thank you all very much for your input. I really appreciate it.

I have two different lenses: a 17-85mm and an 18-135mm. I've been reading a lot about the lens I would need and it sounds like I would probably want to invest in a wide angle. Which I don't mind doing. I can always use a W/A topside.

I'm kind of landing in the camp of the G16 and housing. I don't have a point and shoot (other than my iPhone), so that would be nice to have. Plus, I like the idea of not having to haul a bunch (more) of bulky equipment with me. The other thing I struggle with is spending the kind of money required to get the T4i fully set up when I only am able to go diving once a year. Much to consider. Again, thank you all very much.