wich digital camera should i buy?

[cubapnea]

i'm lookin to shoot some pictures of my spearfishing /freediving trips this coming summer and since i dont know about photography i would greatly apreciate any help from you guys ... i've thinking about buying a regular point and shot digital camera like sony olympus or nikon and buy an underwater housing that would fit rated to 130 ft depth ...is this a good idea?... i'm not looking for high end costly equipment but something decent i can have some fun with... thanks in advance!!

 

[speareasy]

I think the best buy out there at the moment is the Canon G11 with the Canon housing. Of course that is if you don't want to spend an arm and a leg. I would recommend that you DO NOT use the built in flash for any photos. The G11 has about a 2 stop advantage over its predecessor, that means better ISO rating. So you can still take some pictures where you would not have been able to before. If you need artificial light ... I would recommend getting a strobe with an attached arm that puts the light way off to the side. Otherwise background scatter will kill your photos. Remember to take all pictures in RAW because white balance is very difficult to adjust to live. It is always easier to fix WB on your computer than to try to let the camera figure it out.

 

[vrokhlenko]

i'm lookin to shoot some pictures of my spearfishing /freediving trips this coming summer and since i dont know about photography i would greatly apreciate any help from you guys ... i've thinking about buying a regular point and shot digital camera like sony olympus or nikon and buy an underwater housing that would fit rated to 130 ft depth ...is this a good idea?... i'm not looking for high end costly equipment but something decent i can have some fun with... thanks in advance!!

I have observed a few professional photogs at work under water including one world-renown. My recommendation: get a mid-priced point and shoot that has an underwater housing you mentioned (rated to 40 meters/130 feet - they all are made by the same company). The reason is simple: light, light and more light. Unless you want to lug around a dual light source or hire somebody to do it for you, you will see no difference in the picture quality. The deeper you go, the more lifeless the picture gets with a blue color dominating. Close to the surface with a lot of sun and in clear water you will get good quality pictures. So you should be OK spending under $300 for the camera/case combo. I use Panasonic TZ1 and it is satisfactory for a casual user. The only problem is focusing while making a video on a moving object - it goes in and out of focus, so I had to play with the focusing options to eliminate that effect.

I also suggest to do some reading on the subject of photography in general to understand some basic concepts unless you know it already. Marine cases for cameras come with a manual that is also a helpful read.

Cheers!

 

[cubapnea]

thank you very much gentlemans... i guess i'll be ok with the point and shoot and housing set up... after all all my dives will not exceed 50 ft and the water is usually clear in south florida ... thanks for the help ..cheers

 

[gmata]

Has anybody tryied the new Canon S90 yet i like that it has the f2.0 lens. I am waiting for my housing to arrive.

 

[cubapnea]

i got me the panasonic tz5 with 10x optical zoom and panasonic housing... the whole set up for about 300 dollars brand new housing ....and used but like new camera from ebay ..... pictures of the set up coming soon!!

 

[JennyWren]

I've got the Canon G11 with the Canon housing and an external strobe. Got some great shots with it in Hawai'i in December. I also love it as a carry-around camera, when I don't want to lug around my DSLR.

 

[dive4life]

I'm a newbie to photography and have been using the Canon S90 and it seems like a really nice and compact camera. Initially, was trying to decide between the G10/11 and S90 and choose smaller camera for freediving ease of use. Haven't purchased the housing and top choices seem to be Fix S90, Ikelike, Canon housings. Really like the FIX, but at $800 US might go with the Canon for $200. Good luck deciding and happy shooting.

 

[cubapnea]

 

[cubapnea]

compact size for freediving only... will post pictures when i try it

 

[Jacblue]

I've got an intova 600 which I got comparitively cheeply off ebay. It's a decent camera although it does seem to struggle a bit with lower light (such as under piers and deeper depths- more so than other cameras I've used) and with fast moving objects (again especially in lower light). Also the video is not great, I wouldn't recomend it if you wanted to take lots of video.
Anyway if you need something in the lower price range though, it is decent and you can get filters for it which again did not seem expensive if the ones I got are anything to go by. Anyway worth considering if you just want a camera for happy snaps. (few examples of pictures taken with this camera included)

 

[ChetRoi]

I'm very happy with the Panasonic TS1 UW camera (no housing). It has excellent Image Quality. It is rated at 3 (count 'em, 3) meters but can be taken lower with lube on the seals.

Why am I telling you about a 3m P&S camera when you want 15 meters? Panasonic has just introduced the TS2, available in March, rated to 10 meters. (I'll take it to 15m, again w/lube on the seals). Cost is US$400 for a spankin' new one. And you can't beat the ease of handling.

Just another option.

--Bob

 

[speareasy]

I'm very happy with the Panasonic TS1 UW camera (no housing). It has excellent Image Quality. It is rated at 3 (count 'em, 3) meters but can be taken lower with lube on the seals.

Why am I telling you about a 3m P&S camera when you want 15 meters? Panasonic has just introduced the TS2, available in March, rated to 10 meters. (I'll take it to 15m, again w/lube on the seals). Cost is US$400 for a spankin' new one. And you can't beat the ease of handling.

Just another option.

--Bob

Actually the Panasonic LX3 is a great camera and an upgrade to that version would be very interesting. Not sure I would want to push the camera limits and simply hope the lube on the seals will prevent a disaster. It would probably be a good idea to put the TS2 in one of the cheap underwater "bags" just in case. At $400 the camera is approximately in the range of the G11 and the LX3 and I think those are better choices as cameras without the water resistance. Not sure how the ISO performance of the TS2 compares to these 2 P&S cameras. The Canon G11 is almost at the level of a DSLR and the LX3 is not far behind.

 

[Jon]

I'm using a Ts-1 these days and chose it over the G11 and S90 because it has HD video and the Canon's do not.

I use it with the housing, which makes it good to 40 meters, and also with an INON wide angle wet lens. I had a TZ-5 in the past, which was a nice camera, but you couldn't use any add-on wet lenses so I sold it in favor of the TS-1.

So far I've been pretty darn happy with the TS-1. I don't care that it's only good to 10', because it's always in the housing if I take it in the water. I do like the waterproof/shockproof features because I can carry the camera anywhere and shoot pictures/videos of my kids while skiing, bike, running in the rain and other places I would be afraid to take an unprotected camera. The fact that it's also waterproof to 10' makes me feel a little bit better in case I have a housing leak. I know that the camera will survive as I bring it back to the surface.

If I use the camera in it's case, but without the INON lens, it's tiny enough to mount on my Speargun/Hawaiian Sling. The G11 would be too large for that. I've also read so negative reviews of the Ikelite housing for the S-90 as it doesn't allow easy access to all camera controls.

So far I've been pretty happy, but there is one major draw back with ALL of the new Panasonic cameras. They have special firmware installed that will only allow you to use their brand name camera batteries in the camera. That means instead of buying a back-up battery off of Ebay for $2 I had to go through a camera store and buy one for $35.

Jon

 

[Fondueset]

I've been looking into this. I think for Stills the S90 is good - supposed to be nearly as fast as an slr with RAW and good low light performance. I'd get it with the Ikelite housing so I can put a 67mm thread wide-angle on it (the weird lens cover on the new Canon boxes will not accomodate lens adapters). Currently I have an S80 with an Inon wet lens- which I've got some great shots with (check my site) but it is very slow and I shoot only on ISO50 because noise is really bad above that. Plus no RAW.

 

[ChetRoi]

I've had an LX3 for a while now, don't use it UW; the IQ (thanks to the larger sensor area), wide and fast lens are unbeatable for the money (IMHO). Many believe the LX3 is a classic already.

I've tried the cheap UW "bags" with the TS1 and the results were very bad. I found it impossible to keep the camera centered in the shoot window, giving me horribly distorted images.

With regard to pushing the depth limits for an UW P&S, it's a gamble. The ratings signify 1 hour at the given depth w/o leaks. Some of us push those limits (usually with lube), but the risk is, as suggested, significant.

--Bob

 

[Jon]

The LX3 is a nice camera, but the housings for it are very expensive. There has been quite a bit of buzz about this camera, but all of the housing systems for it are over a grand ($1,000 US) and that starts to put you in DSLR territory. It would still be a lot more compact than a DSLR, but too rich for my blood.

Underwater "bags" are next to worthless and I wouldn't expect you'd get much out of them. I'm using the OEM Pansonic housing for the TS1.

There are some reports of the S90 being a great camera above water, but a crappy focuser (is that a word?) underwater. There are housings for it that will allow access to all controls (FIX), but they are very expensive. The Ikelite housing has been getting panned. The main issue is the focus ring on the lens.

I've been able to push the depths on my old film cameras, but haven't tried it with my digitals. I know, first hand, that you can take a camera rated to 50 meters down to 70 meters without leaking, but the film advance was really slow.

Another option to look at are some of the new FLIP style video cameras. Ikelite makes a housing and wet lens/video light system for them. They are pretty small for video and shoot 720p HD footage. A few of my old trimix buddies have bought them and leave them strapped to their scooters all the time. They are good for any dive down to 200'- after that they bring out the Gates housings and fancy HD video cameras. The things are so small you could strap it to a gun without much of an issue.

Jon

 

[Jacblue]

I'd recommend not going with a cheap UW bag set up. Had a really bad experience with those. I'm gathering being so cheap the quality control can be pretty crappy. The first one I got had a small crack which I didn't notice until after as it was hard to see- leaked and flooded the camera. Was sent a replacement- leaked again. Didn't want to go there again after that. Unfortunately took a meter or 2 of pressure for them to leak as well so didn't leak on the tests I did without the camera at home. All in all was a bad buy, cameras are too expensive to trust to them.

 

[speareasy]

I've had an LX3 for a while now, don't use it UW; the IQ (thanks to the larger sensor area), wide and fast lens are unbeatable for the money (IMHO). Many believe the LX3 is a classic already.

I've tried the cheap UW "bags" with the TS1 and the results were very bad. I found it impossible to keep the camera centered in the shoot window, giving me horribly distorted images.

With regard to pushing the depth limits for an UW P&S, it's a gamble. The ratings signify 1 hour at the given depth w/o leaks. Some of us push those limits (usually with lube), but the risk is, as suggested, significant.

--Bob

My brother has the LX3 and he loves it. I have to admit though that when I tried it I still preferred the Canon G9. The underwater housing for the G9 is quite cheap and so you end up with a very decent setup for not too much money. It is still not a DSLR, but with the G11 the ISO performance is getting close to the older DSLR cameras. I do highly recommend that for underwater pictures that a strobe set way to the side is used. The built in flash should never be used as all it does is highlight scatter. I would think that the Canon G11 with the Canon underwater housing and a nice strobe with extension would be the perfect starting kit for anyone and would not push a $1000. Of course getting a Canon 5DII or Nikon D300 underwater will give you dramatically more flexibility since you will be able to use ISO 3200 and maybe even ISO 6400, but then you are talking of professional level equipment with an equivalent price to boot.

 

[cmburch]

Underwater Camera Articles: Best Underwater Point & Shoot Cameras for 2010

Saw this link on another board. It may be helpful.