small point and shoot housing with light kit

[LGHT]

I'm very new to scuba and have only done my first 2 dives toward my cert, but was considering on getting a camera housing for a POS camera I bought a few years ago. I found a deal on ebay where they are selling the housing, slot tray, flex arm, nano light, and fiber cable for the light. The housing by itself can be purchased for $150, the entire kit is almost $300 or twice as much. Is it worth it to get kit and save around $100 from buying the light, slate and arm separately or is that kit north worth it at all and should I be looking for something much better.

here is a link to the ebay auction for the kit.

Fantasea FS-610 Underwater Housing, Tray, Flash, Arm for Nikon Coolpix S610 | eBay

Any advice for a total newbie is greatly appreciated.

 

[Scuba_Noob]

That's generally on the more inexpensive end when you go into underwater photography. So it's not a bad deal, including the strobe, although I've never dealt with that type of strobe before.

When you introduce a new task (e.g., camera and strobes), you generally want to be very proficient with your scuba skills, such as buoyancy, comfort, and equipment before you even think about adding something new. Otherwise, you'll probably be task-loaded and that could be dangerous. I suggest you wait until you get in at least 20-30 dives before introducing a camera rig, especially one with a strobe.

Maybe if you decide to buy it, you could buy it now and then use it later when you gain more experience.

 

[LGHT]

Thanks for the tip. I also freedive so I could always use it when freediving. I agree about waiting until I'm more comfortable with Scuba, but 20-30 dives? Really?

 

[Crush]

Photo quality is not just about "composition" but also it depends upon your gear, water conditions, and your stability in the water (especially if using a P&S that takes a fraction of a second to focus). I have yet to see a diver with 15 dives or less who has the buoyancy control to get a nice close-in shot of, say, a nudibranch without laying on the bottom. IMHO a very new diver with a camera is not an issue so long as the rig is small, unobtrusive, and easily secured (say on a D-ring) if things get choppy.

 

[Scuba_Noob]

Thanks for the tip. I also freedive so I could always use it when freediving. I agree about waiting until I'm more comfortable with Scuba, but 20-30 dives? Really?

Well, you live in California, so you have a wide range of shore dives to practice your buoyancy and improve your comfort level with diving before you add in a camera. It's a major safety concern to add in too much at once. Without good stability, your photos won't turn out well anyway.

I don't see anything wrong with buying the camera rig now. I don't know much about freediving, so I can't give any suggestions there.

 

[LGHT]

Thanks for the tips, but does anyone know anything about that setup or if it's worth the extra $$$ or not. One thing I hate is buying stuff realizing I under purchased and then having to go back and spend a lot more money after the fact. I know I won't need a housing for my big cannon yet, but i'm not sure if I really need the arm that holds the external flash or not and if I do is that nano flash good enough or should I be getting something much better??

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

The strobe will be useless in most situations. It is a manual flash that will require you to make manual adjustment everytime you take a pix, depending on lighting conditions, distance, water condition, etc. Not something you want to do when freediving down to 60ft.

Might as well get a Sea & Sea YS-D1 or Inon S-240. In TTL mode, they will act just like your camera's built in flash. You can live with that POS housing for your POS camera until you are ready to put your DSLR in a housing.