570IS/720IS w/ a Magic Filter?

[Dive&Ski]

I'm a total newbie to UW photography, about to buy my first digital camera for UW use. I've been researching cameras for the better part of a month and I've decided on either the 720IS or 570IS with a Canon housing and no strobe for now. Haven't decided which model yet; I've been reading several threads with great info and now I'm going to Circuit City for the side by side comparison.:14: My wife wants to get a new camera for land use as well and wants a decent zoom, so I'll either get the 720 to fill both roles, or the 570 for me and something else for her (where the money's coming from, I have no idea).

My question is about the Magic Filters. I discovered those after reading some threads that mentioned them and they look like they make an amazing difference. Is anyone using these with the Canon A series cameras? Do they make the big difference like it shows on the website? Which of the three filters would be best for the 570/720? Is guess that would depend on where you're using it. My first real test for the camera will be diving the Oriskany this summer and then the Channel Islands in Fall. Any recommendations would be great.

 

[bliew]

My wife and I purchased an SD870IS with housing, to go with our A620 and housing. Because the 870IS has limited manual settings and I'm not quite as good at buoyancy as my wife, I went ahead and purchased the Auto Magic Filters so that I can just concentrate on taking pictures/video with the 870IS. We literally got the 870 and filters this week.

FWIW, I was very close to getting the 720IS but opted to go for the larger 3" screen and 28mm wide screen on the 870IS. The 870IS also has the print button programmable to do record video with one button, negating the need to even switch modes at all.

Unless you're keen on doing a manual white balance every 10 feet or so, and/or are have great buoyancy I would just go with the Auto Magic and shoot away! I also emailed Andrew from Magic Filters, he said beyond 50 feet or so, the Auto Magic will still work but will need a manual white balance. I figure I'll just let my wife take pictures with the A620 at lower depths! I also liked the Auto Magic approach since I like taking video underwater, and again can avoid having to deal with white balancing. Also, you can't use a flash (or strobe) with the filters, unless you want to punish yourself trying to white balance with the strobe.

I will be able to post results with the 870 and Auto Magic Filter towards the end of February, as our first dive is on Feb. 24th. In fact, if they work really well we'll add them right away to the A620 setup too. Not sure if that will give you enough time to gauge the results, even assuming mine are a good indication ;-)

My 0.02, hope this helps...

Cheers!
Bryan

I'm a total newbie to UW photography, about to buy my first digital camera for UW use. I've been researching cameras for the better part of a month and I've decided on either the 720IS or 570IS with a Canon housing and no strobe for now. Haven't decided which model yet; I've been reading several threads with great info and now I'm going to Circuit City for the side by side comparison.:14: My wife wants to get a new camera for land use as well and wants a decent zoom, so I'll either get the 720 to fill both roles, or the 570 for me and something else for her (where the money's coming from, I have no idea).

My question is about the Magic Filters. I discovered those after reading some threads that mentioned them and they look like they make an amazing difference. Is anyone using these with the Canon A series cameras? Do they make the big difference like it shows on the website? Which of the three filters would be best for the 570/720? Is guess that would depend on where you're using it. My first real test for the camera will be diving the Oriskany this summer and then the Channel Islands in Fall. Any recommendations would be great.