£2500 Budget !

[Erico]

Hi
I have been taken video with my Light & motion UW housing and a Sony PC120. I would now love to move into UW still photgraphy.
I have and use a F5 on land with a mixture of lenses.
Question...

Do I get a housing for my F5 and ports etc...? find to to be more than my budget .

I have been offered a once used complete system ie New housing, F100,ports,stobes, etc for £2500. so do I purchase this ?

Go down the digital route ... I was thinking of the D100 as I can use my existing lenses on land but was told the TTL and strobes had still problems to sort out as well as holding of till the 14 mb camera was out and tested.


I have got a a nikon 4000 scanner for my slides but would love the idea of seeing what I shot on site like I do with my video.


Erico

 

[Rooster]

Hi Eric,
£2500 for a complete F-100 system seems like a steal. What ports and strobes? Who makes the housing? I have an F-100 in an Aquatica housing. I also shoot with an F-5 for land stuff, so I can tell you from first hand experience that it's an easy transition going from the F-5 to the F-100 and back. I thought long and hard about housing the F-5 but the only advantage that really made a difference (to me) is that the F-5 can be equipped with the DA-30 oversized viewfinder. The F-100s red illuminated focus area selector indicators are a big plus for UW use. If I had to do it all over again, I would still house the F-100 over the F-5. As far as digital goes, I'm still sitting on the fence. The D-100 comes very close for me, but the TTL issue is what is keeping me from jumping in with both feet. Though shooting sans TTL is not a "big" deal, it is a lot of money to invest in new technology that in some form takes a step back. I also have a Nikon CP-995 in an Aquatica housing, and I have shot with other "consumer" UW digital systems. Though there are many fine examples of how the consumer digital UW cameras can perform, nothing beats an SLR underwater. Until a Digital SLR/housing/flash meets my needs, (they are getting close), I'll stick to my housed F-100.

 

[Erico]

Hi

The system is made up from a Igloo F100 housing , (http://www.marinecamera.com/igloo.html ) , F100 body , 60mm port , wide port , and 1 strobe ys-120. The advice I have been given to forget about the F5 housing because its bigger and a lot more expensive so just keep it for land photos.
I have not tried any systems or cameras UW and as expalined just used my UW video and pleased with my results..but then again I have read that it easy to get good results with video ...stills is another thing !
Another thought ..if I go away for say a weeks diving at say 2 dives a day . I can only take one roll of film per dive . Ten rolls for the UW holiday what percentage do most people expect to be shots of presentable quality ?

 

[scorpionfish]

Hi, Erico!

The Igloo is a unique design for u/w housings because it has a hinged door. I have only seen one up close and have some reservations about it: mainly the mating of a steel hingepin with aluminum. It could lead to loosening of the hinge and potential for leakage.

All that said, you will be getting a real bargain, but why? If the housing has had problems, you want to stay away from it. You will have at risk at camera worth L800, a lens worth L300, and a housing worth L2000. So, my advice is to have a good u/w camera tech check the whole set up before you buy it. I may cost you L40-50 to have that done, but it will be more than worth that in terms of peace of mind, etc. If the person you are buying it from is honest, he/she should not object.

Other than that, I will echo the sentiments of Rooster: I have an F100 in a Subal housing, but did consider the F5. The only advantage of the F5, I thought, was the potential for the larger viewfinder. That was not enough to sway me for u/w use. The F100 has met all my expecations and is a fine choice.

I hope this helps.

Scorpionfish