Another newbie needs help deciding . . . A630/650 vs. A720 vs. A570

[forloveoftravel]

Hi everyone. I've looked around throughout your posts, and boy am I impressed with all the helpful advice you have delivered.

I've seen alot of discussions on these cameras but still need help deciding which is right for me. My husband and I will be traveling to Hawaii at the end of September, so I am looking for a camera that will take awesome underwater pics, and do equally well on land. After the trip, the camera will probably stay on our boat where I'll dive with it, and where we'll want to take above water pics of the fish he and his buddies spear. I'm leaning towards an ikelite housing over the canon housing, just from a quality perspective, and definitely want to add a strobe when I get the camera. I also want to eventually add a wide angle lens (preferably a wet lens w/ maybe a macro lens as well that can be switched out). Since we'll be sightseeing all day, in addition to diving with the camera, battery duration is very important to me. Besides, switching out the batteries after every dive is a drag. I prefer AA batteries and SD card. But in the end, I just want to get the best pics possible w/ the least amount of fuss.

I'm more of an "Accidental" amatuer photographer - I don't really know what I am doing technically speaking, but I can generally manage to get some really good shots if I take enough pictures. On land, I use a Cannon S3-IS, which I really like. Underwater, I've done OK w/ my old fuji 35 mm and ikelite housing w/ strobe, but I am sooooo ready to upgrade to digital u/w photography. I hope to learn and grow and turn this into a real hobby. I've read some of the posts about manual settings and not relying on the pre-set auto functions, and am willing to invest the time needed to figure all of that out on my camera, in exchange for some nice pics.

So, considering all of these things, would you recommend the A650/630 (increased battery life, less lag time, etc), the A720 or the A570 for me? OR is there some other camera that would better meet my needs? For now, I would like to keep the price around the $800 range for the camera, housing and strobe.

Thanks in advance for all your help!

Jennifer

 

[Nemrod]

If you want the Ikelite housing here is the link to the housings they currently make for Canon cameras.

Canon Camera Chart

Since the 570 has been phased out but still can be found, if that is what you want you better get to going, some stores, namely Sears and Sears catalog may still have some, a few other places as well but they are going fast.

None of these A series cameras are especially rugged, they are simple, inexpensive plastic cameras that take pretty good pictures for the money involved. Most have some manual control as does the amazing little 570IS (notice how I refrained fron using the word "awesome").

Ikelite housings are fairly costly but more heavy duty than the Canon versions. I have both for my two 570IS cameras. The eight hundred dollars is not very much for a camera, housing and strobe and a wet mount lens and a tray etc. But it is a good start.

IMO, you should decide if wet mount lenses are important (macro, wide angle, fisheye super wide) and then if you require bayonet mount (Inon AD) or thread on such as Ikelite makes for 67MM threaded ports or as well does Inon has 67MM thread on lenses.

You said leave on your boat, I don't think any of the Canon A series would survive hardly a day on a boat outside of their housings. The plastic cases, no weather sealing, no shock proofing, no environmental toughness. You mentioned "accidental."

If you cannot get the 570IS then the new 590IS in an Ikelite housing with a thread on wet mount lens might be awesome but since I have not used one (virtually identical to the 570IS) I cannot say for absolutely sure. Same for the 630 and 640. The Canon housings for these cameras are not so great, they did make a excellent housing for the 570IS (round port style and short enough to work with Inon AD lenses). The Canon housings that have the square ports do not accept wet mount lenses, you got what you got. I don't like them for that reason. One other thing, the shorter zoom ranges, 4X or less are more practical for underwater use in housings if you intend to use wet mount lenses.

N

 

[Mr_Pyro]

I've been using the A630 for over one and a half year. Works well with my external Inon D-180 Flash in auto mode.
The camera has full manual controll and you can update/enhanche the BIOS with the CHKD hack to get RAW, live histograms and a lot more nifty features.
I can highly recomend this combination.
To save the battery of the camera, the Inon flash fools the internal flash into emitting a less powerfull dump.

Ceck out my pictures at:
Johan Fredin fotoalbum

I've newer experienced a water leak on any of my two Canon housings (S1-IS and A-630).
As Nemrod says above, the new canon housings don't alow for a wetmount lens. But with an 800$ budget to cover external flash, housing and camera you might have to skip that part. Unless buying second hand equipment.

I've taken the A-630 without its housing on week long sailing tripps on the Baltic and on tiny islands in the tropics and newer had any problem.

The only thing that it doesn't have is wide angle. Currently there is no Canon P&S camera that has full manual controls and wide angle.

You might wan't to look into some of Olympus older UV cameras, they have a very good reputation.

Happy shooting.
/Johan Fredin

 

[forloveoftravel]

Thank you both for taking the time to respond. Your advice is appreciated.

Mr. Pyro - are there any older olympus models in particular that you recommend? Would you take those over your A630? How does battery life compare?

Thanks again!

 

[Mr_Pyro]

No probs.. happy to share some experience..

Sorry I can't remember what the model number was, but Olympus had quite a few p&s in the G9 range/segment that worked wery well under water, gues that they are a bit dated now megapixel wise, but have more than enough for uw photo. I've newer owend one my self (just bought an Olympus E-520, but haven't got no housing for it yet...) Check out the Olympus corner, might be something for a second hand system.

I love the A-630, but miss wideangle. I tend to use the movie mode quite a bit. As long as you use manual white balance it works very well. Sure it's a bit bulky, and doesn't sneek into the pocket of your jeans. That's how I lost my first one, had to buy a secondhand one the same day as I left for my most recent vacation.

I just got a Powershot SD 870 IS (wideangle) as replacement for my S1, that died 1 ½ year ago. Canon replaced it recently due to the error was a known manufacturing fault. Thank you Canon
Very tiny compact camera but lacks full manual controll. I haven't tried it in the water yet.
If it works with an external flash it might be quite usefull as backup for the E-520 and also fill in as a moviemachine.

Try this camera feature comparasion utility:
Buying Guide: Features Search: Digital Photography Review

 

[moeronn]

I bought a used A570 and Canon u/w housing and just used them on my trip to St Maarten last week. The pics came out fairly good, but would have definitely been better with a strobe or two. I would not call it an awesome setup, but it did reasonably well for what I paid for it.

I can't really comment on the other setups, as the A570 is the only one I've used.

 

[Mr_Pyro]

Thank you both for taking the time to respond. Your advice is appreciated.

Mr. Pyro - are there any older olympus models in particular that you recommend? Would you take those over your A630? How does battery life compare?

Thanks again!

The Olympus 7070 wide zoom might be good for uw.
Olympus C-7070 Wide Zoom digital camera specifications: Digital Photography Review

Here is a comparasion between some of your choices..
Digital Cameras Side-by-Side, 5 cameras: Digital Photography Review

Hope it helps

 

[forloveoftravel]

thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! you've given me much to think about and research. I so appreciate all of your help. I'll write back when I come up with a decision, but I am leaning towards the A-630 despite the lack of wide angle . . .

 

[forloveoftravel]

Thank you all so much for all of your help. I ultimately decided to go in a completely different direction, and bought my Sealife DC800 pro set this weekend. I am a canon fan generally, but the Sealife setup seemed to have everything I was looking for all in one neat package. As a newbie, I was concerned about getting the correct strobe and attaching it, and making everything work together properly. The Pro kit had everything already put together. Plus the camera has manual controls available so I can learn and grow with the unit, but there are plenty of auto settings for me just starting out. I liked that the underwater housing was rated to 200", but is not big and bulky like the ikelite housings, making it perfect for use in Hawaii when we're heading up to the rainforest or the local waterfalls. I can't attach an external wide angle lens, but the camera has wide angle built into it. So we'll see. I got the camera out and played with it a bit, the shots seem pretty good. I can't wait to get it wet, hopefully sometime this week! Again, I appreciate all of your assistance!

Jen

 

[bureau13]

Along similar lines, any advantage (or disadvantage) to going with an A590IS rather than an A570IS?

jds