$2500 digital ?

[domino22]

Ok would this be a good or bad use of around $2500 to go digital? Camera nikon coolpix 5000 w/19 mm lens.Ikelite housing with a Iklite ds 125 stobe. Is this a good set up? Or would you go a different route? And if so for around that price what would you recomend I am a little flexable on the price but want something easy to use,great results,and less bulky than my Nikonos IV with 15mm and 225 Iklite strobe. Plus I like the thought of macro and wide angle with one unit.I use a Nikonos II with dual Iklite stobes for macro only. Too much stuff nowadays for travel,but if one floods I am still in the game!

 

[ReyeR]

Not sure what level of photography you're expecting and the final output application - you could spend anything from $2000 to infinity for a digital setup. At $2500 I'd say you're getting an excellent setup in the prosumer range. The Nikon CP5000 + Ikelite housing and the OlyC5050 + Olympus PT-015 or Ikelite housing seems to be the way most people are going in the 5MP range. Combined with a DS-125 or S&S YS-90DX you're talking about a very good setup that's easy to use, fairly compact and excellent results. Don't forget the cost of the batteries, chargers and digital media.

 

[domino22]

Thanks I want to be able to do blow ups and have them framed if I pull off a great shot. Also the ability to email and post photos.

 

[MercutioATC]

I have a Canon D30 (3.25mp). No housing yet, but I can tell you that I can print 8X10's that are near photo quality. I've also printed a few 13X19's that were amazing (at home with a Canon S9000 printer).

Anything above 2 mp will get you good 4x6's and 5x7's...even 3.25mp will get you good 8x10's. Obviously, all things equal, the higher the pixel count the better, but you don't need a 6+mp camera to get some really nice shots.

 

[ReyeR]

The pics for e-mail is a no-brainer: you will need to downsize your images to post on the web.

When printing you want to generally have your images at 300dpi. With a 5MP camera you can get a 21.67cm(8.533in) x 16.26cm(6.4in) print.

You can push the size with a 200dpi image and that will get you a nice print at 32.51cm(12.8in) x 24.38cm(9.6in).

You can further push the size by lowering the dpi but then you start sacrificing quality for the size of the print.