Affordable underwater camera housing and camera?

[DazedAndConfuzed]

When correcting for white balance, it alters the sensitivity of different spectrum of light. You might lose the color red at depth, but there are still its adjacent colors like yellow and orange, so it is not as if you only have greens and blues. Plus the boost in red's sensitivity would bring out as much of whatever red color that there is. And if you want absolute accurate color on closeups, you can always use the internal flash if the subject is close enough and the water relatively clear.

 

[Brian42]

I guess I am a little confused though by the initial premise. Brian is a topside photographer that shoots full frame Canon with lights/lenses/studio gear. Why would he be happy shooting an S100. As good as it is it isn't anywhere near a DSLR let alone a full frame one. My take is that if Brian wants to shoot essentially snapshots from a dive trip then shooting with no strobes and an S100 in a Canon housing will be OK but they will not be at all comparable to his topside pics. I think he should bite the bullet and get a nice used Ikelite housing for the 5D and a single strobe. A bit more $ (not much) than a whole new system but the pics will be worth it assuming he has the right lenses already.
Bill

Bill, in some respects I agree with you but on the other hand I haven't seen any housings out there that are less than a $1,000 and most are WAY more and that's without talking about a strobe. Granted the photos won't be as good as what I'm used to but on the other hand I have far more opportunity to take pictures top side. For example I don't live near a dive site. That plus I learned a few more things (maybe true maybe not) since I first asked the question such as how big and bulky these DSLR rigs really are and that they can really have an affect on your boyancy. Gone will be my weekend jaunts with just a carry on bag most likely. Plus the scariest thing is a friend of mine told me newer divers (or diver photographers) frequently flood these things. I certainly am not prepared to loose my 5D but if I fry a $200 or $300 point and shoot I won't be happy but it won't be the end of the world.

Additional thoughts?

---------- Post Merged at 06:27 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 06:20 PM ----------

I would recommend Canon G-series as well. The company announced the new G15 just a few weeks ago and it's quite impressive camera. My friend uses a G12 without external flash and I think his works looks quite good (here you can some of his latest images). I think this is van of the best options for advanced photographers who don't want to use their DSLR's under water.

I'd definitely be happy with some shots like that all things considered. I already have canon so I'm comfortable with that. And these G series shoot raw? I think I'm sold!

 

[bvanant]

One thing to think about is a GoPro. Great video, you can stuff it into your carry on bag for your weekend diving jaunts (I assume you rent all your scuba gear when you go) and at least to most folks, video is a much more interesting way to interact with UW creatures.
If you really don't want a strobe then you can pick up a used G12/Canon housing to play with for a few $00 but if I were in your shoes I would go with the GoPro.
Bill

---------- Post Merged at 04:26 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 04:15 PM ----------

I don't know what kind of pictures you take topside but personally (shooting a 7D/Nauticam/strobes etc) I was not happy with the quality of the G12 UW (shutter lag is one issue) even shooting strobes. Without strobes using the on-board flash it was even more grim (to my mind), but you can do the experiment with used gear for a few hundred dollars). To me, having been in your situation is to avoid the inevitable creep of getting better and better gear. You will buy the G15 and Canon housing for $700. Then you will shoot for a bit and decide you need a strobe ($500 at least plus tray plus FO connector so $700 total). Now you are in for $900 and have the same strobe you could have for the 5D. For $600 (not insubstantial) more or less used you can get the Ike housing. It is true that you will need a bigger box to take on trips, the Canon and housing without strobes are quite small, but if picture quality is important then other systems make more sense. To me it is all about the quality of the pictures you get. That being said, if budget is the key then get a GoPro and shoot video and take some still captures from that.
Bill

 

[PeterNBiddle]

However, if you are at 30' underwater, there will be no red light so no matter what you do in white balance, it just will not work. You can not tell a black object from a red one. The only way to tell is if that object reflects red light, making it red, instead of absorbing it, making it black.

That is why you need to bring your own light source underwater to restore the colors. Now white balance and filters can work pretty well if you are diving shallow. But at depths of 80', you really need strobes.

Bah! Bah, I say!

I shoot an ELPH 100HS without a flash (ever) and no filter and I'm happy with the results... Especially for ~300$ all in.

I will grant that I'm not shooting at 80 feet too often. But I see no reason to go all-in on a light setup when you are starting out.

http://m.flickr.com/#/photos/peternbiddle/sets/72157631649455262/

 

[Brian42]

One thing to think about is a GoPro. Great video, you can stuff it into your carry on bag for your weekend diving jaunts (I assume you rent all your scuba gear when you go) and at least to most folks, video is a much more interesting way to interact with UW creatures.
If you really don't want a strobe then you can pick up a used G12/Canon housing to play with for a few $00 but if I were in your shoes I would go with the GoPro.
Bill

---------- Post Merged at 04:26 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 04:15 PM ----------

I don't know what kind of pictures you take topside but personally (shooting a 7D/Nauticam/strobes etc) I was not happy with the quality of the G12 UW (shutter lag is one issue) even shooting strobes. Without strobes using the on-board flash it was even more grim (to my mind), but you can do the experiment with used gear for a few hundred dollars). To me, having been in your situation is to avoid the inevitable creep of getting better and better gear. You will buy the G15 and Canon housing for $700. Then you will shoot for a bit and decide you need a strobe ($500 at least plus tray plus FO connector so $700 total). Now you are in for $900 and have the same strobe you could have for the 5D. For $600 (not insubstantial) more or less used you can get the Ike housing. It is true that you will need a bigger box to take on trips, the Canon and housing without strobes are quite small, but if picture quality is important then other systems make more sense. To me it is all about the quality of the pictures you get. That being said, if budget is the key then get a GoPro and shoot video and take some still captures from that.
Bill

I thought about the go pro and it looks nice with the backscatter housing, filter and lens but I would like some stills too and that doesn't seem to viable (other than low quality still frame grabs). Maybe as an addition to a camera but not the primary.

I rented an IS 95 from the dive shop today and found the results to be horrific. Maybe I did something wrong I don't know. I shoot in raw mode because I figured I could just correct the white balance (I wasn't terribly deep and the water was clear) after the fact but boy was I wrong. The photos have terrible color almost universally with few exceptions. No white balance setting makes them look natural. They're all very blue green. If you keep going up in degrees K eventually they get some ugly pinkish hue around the edges but it still looks like blue/green photos with an ugly artifical pink fringed hue around that edges that has nothing to do with reality. I set the camera in P with the white balance set to underwater mode. I tried with and without the onboard flash. The housing had a nice diffuser card for the on board flash.

Shutter lag is definitely a problem!

---------- Post Merged at 03:41 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 03:38 AM ----------

Bah! Bah, I say!

I shoot an ELPH 100HS without a flash (ever) and no filter and I'm happy with the results... Especially for ~300$ all in.

I will grant that I'm not shooting at 80 feet too often. But I see no reason to go all-in on a light setup when you are starting out.

Welcome to Flickr!

Those shots look just fine. I'd be happy with that. I'm not trying to compete with national geographic here for the budget I have. Can you tell me how you setup your camera? I Just did some shots with an IS95 all in raw. I took 137 with and without flash. I didn't even get one shot that looks remotely as good as those. All of them where terribly blue/green and there was no fixing in it post processing (unless there's something I don't know about special tricks for underwater?).

Thanks.

 

[ElChe]

Yeah, my friend's works are really nice (with a few Beneath the Sea awards I think he is quite successful) and one of his most important points is the RAW format. The DSLR-s... Well, some guys bought here the bulky Ikelite housings but many of them who wanted to have a really quality housing sold the Ikelite and bought Subal instead. Money, money, money... If I ever want an UW DSLR system, I will choose the best camera, the best housing, the best optics and the best strobes. To buy a camera without wide angle lens? But you'll need a dome port as well. And good strobes, etc. How much can it be? 6000? 7000? USD? Or more? Your decision. I'm happy with my compact and don't worry about baggage allowance...

 

[tboydva]

I am just starting to get back into underwater photography (had a Nikonos - but it's broken and economically unfixable). Point and shoot cameras can do a good job (I've had quite a few), but the more research I did, the more it became evident that larger sensor size can be very useful for lower light photography. I purchased a used Sony NEX-5 (the NEX-5N is better but still about $!50-$200 more). This mirrorless camera has an APS-C sensor which is way larger than a P&S. It was around $300 with the kit lens. For $130, you can get a good housing (Amazon.com: Polaroid Dive Rated Waterproof Underwater Housing Case For Sony Alpha NEX-5 Digital Camera WITH A 18-55mm Lens: Camera & Photo). I've used my housing for 15 dives so far - down to ~90 feet without issue. I did purchase a strobe, however. I purchased the Sealife: Amazon.com: Reefmaster SL-960D SeaLife External Flash for Digital Cameras: Camera & Photo - which is affordable at $350. It comes with an optical cable which "senses" the camera flash and through trial and error can effectively work with the housing. I used some black electrical tape to make sure the camera flash is muted and the strobe is the only external light source. My setup was closer to $800 total, but it was far cheaper than buying any case for my Sony NEX-7 (and I can interchange lenses). I've been extremely impressed with the NEX line. The images are superb (IMO). A few examples:

 

[ElChe]

Please show some photos, I'm really curious of this set.

 

[PeterNBiddle]

Those shots look just fine. I'd be happy with that. I'm not trying to compete with national geographic here for the budget I have. Can you tell me how you setup your camera? I Just did some shots with an IS95 all in raw. I took 137 with and without flash. I didn't even get one shot that looks remotely as good as those. All of them where terribly blue/green and there was no fixing in it post processing (unless there's something I don't know about special tricks for underwater?).

Thanks.

You have to manually white balance under water.

On my camera there's a white-balance option I can get to when the camera is set to underwater mode. I point the camera at something white and it resets the WB for the available light. White sand and corral both work well but I also carry a white plastic card (some navigation thing I got from PADI). I find sand works best.

I reset every time I change depth by more than about 5 feet. Now that I've done it a bunch it only takes slightly longer than taking a pic.

I edit and color balance later on an iPad as well but mostly that's minor clean up. Contrary to what others have said you most definitely can re-WB a jpg. Maybe not as nicely but you can.

Also avoid using the zoom. Zoom shots on little P&S cameras rarely come out nicely.

 

[megadrive]

I recommend Canon G1 X ($800) with WP-DC44 housing ($275) that total $1075.