Beginner Camera Suggestions

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TTT

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Hey there guys,

I do a fair bit of photography with a manual SLR camera on the ground. Now that I have started scuba diving I want to start taking pictures below the surface. The thing is I have absolutely no idea what kind of camera to get. Do I want to go slr 35mm? or do I want to digital? I have no idea!!!!

I dive in the pacific north west..I don't know if that inpacts the type of camera I Will want at all though.

any thoughts, suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks everyone!

Cheers

Tommy
 
The pro's and con's for digital vs. analog is for UW camera's the same as for land camera's. One key advantage of digital is that you can see the result instantly. UW photography is very manual and you need to get a whole range of "settings" right for a perfect picture. With digital you can see your mistakes immediately and learn from them.

Although I currently use an analog system, if I had to start today I would definitely go for digital.

A couple of things to look for in an UW system:
- external strobe: UW light must strike the subject on an angle and a built-in flash creates a lot of backscatter and snow.
- expandable with macro lens: macro pictures are some of the nicest (and easiest!) one you can take and I would recommend buying a system that will allow you to add a macro lens (even if you don't buy it immediately).
:snorkel: ScubaRon
 
If you are already familiar with an SLR, why not put it in a housing? Or go for opne of the first generation digital SLR's that are just hitting the market?

The best thing to do is to do a search on this forum for 'beginning cameras', 'first cameras', 'getting started', etc. This wuestion has been asked and answered weekly, if not almost daily, so there is plenty of information available to you. I don't want to sound snippy or rude but I know for myself, aftr answering th same question for the umpteenth time in a week, I don't always give as thorough answers as I may have the last time I answered it so the search will likely get you better answers.

When you nail down some specifics, have definate questions for us, please comeback and we'll try to help with our experience.
 
If money is not object, then put a land SLR in a housing but be prepared to pay 4 to 5 times the cost of the camera for the housing. The comes the strobes!!

If you can, wait a while for the digital UW cameras to decrease in price and increase in quality. In the meantime, for dive trips, rent a film camera (MX 10 with strobe is what I own) or some of the digitals out there. See what you like.

Someday I will go digital but got so much in film that I can't do it yet. Sea & Sea is supposed to be coming out with a new digital that uses the same lense as the MX 10.

That will be the one for me.
 
Biggest plusses of a digital camera.....

The housing is relatively cheap(big companies are getting into the underwater stuff) and you can take as many pictures as you want. Depending on your memorycard....you can take plenty of pics.More than the 36 on normal cameras.

As a relative noob I like the fact that I can take a lot of shots. Not sure about others..but only 10% of the pics I take underwater is any good.
 
I learned to shoot underwater with a Sea Life DC200 digital camera and strobe. Unfortunately the wide angle lense isn't out yet BUT I was able to take a bunch of pictures then transfer them in the evening to a laptop and adjust them with Photoshop.

I learned very rapidly what I was doing wrong.

In U/W photography post processing is very important. It is important to see just how far away you can be and still put the red back with autolevels [Photoshop].

Further diving with a camera is a new experience. It will take time to master the art. That's why a simple, automatic camera is best to learn on.

Tom
 
Tom,

What do you mean:
In U/W photography post processing is very important. It is important to see just how far away you can be and still put the red back with autolevels [Photoshop].


Do ypu have a website where I can read about this?
 
posts have been really helpful...
but i'm still in a dilemma...
if i'm going digital, what camera and housing should i purchase...
same goes with film cameras...
and if possible, do you have any cheap alternatives?
 

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