Underwater photography dilemma..

DeniseandMark

SBH Insider
OK, so I want to delve into underwater photography on this trip.

After doing research, I am now dazed and confused. (Yeah, more than usual. :crazy: )

Should I buy a dedicated U/W camera, like the SeaLife DC series, or get a housing for my Nikon or Sony?

From what I can gather from my reseach, the Sealife will take pretty decent photos, for basically a point and shoot, and the whole outfit including detached strobe, diffuser and all, will still cost considerably less than a really good housing, like an Ikelite or a Nimar.

I also looked at the PVC 'bags', like the Ewa-Marine. It's about $350, but the idea of sticking my camera and lense in what looks to me like a jumped up zip-loc baggie just gives me the conniption fits.

Bear in mind, I will only have about 2 or 3, (or maybe four, if I wheedle and beg... :p ) opportunities a year to use this setup too.
At the same time, I want to be able to actually shoot decent photos when I DO get to use it, or it's just a waste of money.

Opinions, gang?

Thanks!!!
 
You might look at a Canon D10 ($276 on Amazon or B&H)...it is good down to 30 feet and has a dedicated underwater setting that does a good job. It is a decent camera to take along in wet weather conditions also. A good housing for my Sony A700 costs more than the camera....I just can't trust those bag setups....they may work perfectly good but I just have a mental block about them.
 
We used to have a underwater casing for a Canon P&S.

Then we bought a waterproof Olympus as it was cheap in Japan (or was it Hong Kong).

Neither really work as one would love to but the waterproof camera has been noticeably better than the ordinary P&S with a case, both in picture quality and usability. Sort of fun to have around when traveling to the right places.

In Australia the boat to the Great Barrier Reef had a professional photographer on board, with diving equipment and a DSLR with casing and good flash. The picture quality was a light year away from the P&S's, waterproof or with a case.

Underwater you need a sensitive sensor and a lot of extra light, so none of the cheap pocket solutions will give stellar results. In addition to the expensive casing, you also need to get waterproof light down there.

I can look our photo archive for some samples..
 
hey mags. i have an ikelite housing for a canon eos (digital) rebel you're welcome to borrow. now, you'll have to provide the camera. i also have a couple of strobes, too.

i dabbled in u/w photography for a few years, so i've got all sorts of equipment!
 
gramchop said:
hey mags. i have an ikelite housing for a canon eos (digital) rebel you're welcome to borrow. now, you'll have to provide the camera. i also have a couple of strobes, too.

i dabbled in u/w photography for a few years, so i've got all sorts of equipment!


Hey, thanks, Missy!!! So sweet of you!

That was the other thing, too: strobes. I had done some reading, and it looked like if you didn't use an external strobe and just used the internal flash, like on the Canon D-10 for instance, you got lots of backscatter.

My dilemma may have been solved by my darling husband, however!!!
He knew I wanted to do underwater photos, and when I mentioned to him yesterday that I was going to get some sort of equipment to do that, he grinned and twinkled, and told me not to buy anything "because we have an anniversary in June, and you might get something that would help..."

He is such a keeper.
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what a guy you have, mags! let us know what you get!!

the strobes are an absolute necessity for several reasons...like backscatter!

you are in for a lot of fun with your new hobby, mags!
 
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