Are 2.1 megapixels sufficient for underwater photography?

[rcoltura]

G'day to you all!
I presently own a Sony MVCD-200 digital camera. It's proven to take great topside photos but I'm a little hesitant at shelling out a grand for an underwater housing to find out that it takes sub-par photos down below. Has anyone had experience with this camera underwater and if so what were your results? Can I get good pictures with a 2.1 megapixel or should I look at upgrading? Does anyone know where to find pictures taken with different cameras for comparison purposes? If you can answer any of my questions above it would be a big help in preparing me for my upcoming trip (3 months in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean!) Thank you all kindly!

Coltura

 

[Big-t-2538]

it is a fairly unbiased review page for digital cameras....the guy does a ton of work on these things, and really has a good grip on which ones are good at what. The only problem is, there isn't anything (if much) about underwater photography. It will help with the cameras though.

http://www.dpreview.com/

 

[Newhampster]

You can take good photos with a 2 megapixel camera -- I get great 8x10's with my two 2 megapixel cameras.

But don't spend a grand to get a housing!

Sony and Canon both make housings for their 2 to 4 megapixel cameras and the housings plus the camera won't come to a kilobuck...

Canon's optics tend to be better than Sony's but I wouldn't sweat that detail.

 

[Titletowndiver]

Check out http://www.digideep.com. It is a really great source of info for digital cameras and housings. It should list all the housings available for your camera.

 

[MCL00]

I Have been taking digital underwater pictures for a year and a half. I started with a 3.3 mp Olympus 3030 in a Tetra housing, but have upgraded to an Olympus 4040 4.1mp in the Tetra housing. I have successfully printed these images (4.1mp) to 11 x 14. 11 x14 comes out pretty good, but 8 x 10 come out excellent. For an example of pictures taken with this camera, visit www.dive-aloha.com and click on "View Photo Galleries". It is still being updated, as I have hundreds of pics that need to be uploaded, but no time. Any questions, feel free to email me.


Mike
Bigmike00@aol.com

 

[SubMariner]

We had a 2.1 MP camera. Took a few u/w shots with it and discovered that it really wasn't sufficient for great photos: at best they are "adequate". Frankly, the resolution, definition, and clarity just aren't there, esp if you want to blow the shots up to 8"x10" or beyond.

So we sold the 2.1MP & its housing and bought the Olympus 4040Z and the PT010 housing. It's 4.1MP and the shots are outstanding! The results are as good as those we took with our film camera (S&S MMII) even with the extra definition that using slide film adds to the results.

If you take a look here you can see film & digital pics: http://y42.briefcase.yahoo.com/pgdaley2001

BTW, bear in mind that the resolution for uploading pics is much lower than what you would use for print.

~SubMariner~

 

[Dee]

It all depends of what you expect to do with the pictures. If you only want to print 4x6" to show friends or keep an album, or put them on the web, the 2.1 would be adequate.

But if you want 8x10" or larger size prints, you'll have to go to a 4mp camera. You can see results from my Olympus C-4040/PT-10 housing and YS90DX strobe at the link in the signature.

 

[Starboard Tack]

I used a 2.1 Meg Canon Powershot A-40 for years. I loved it and the shots I got from it were outstanding. Like Newhampster (great name, btw) said, look at the Canon housings. You will probably only spend about half what one of the aftermarket folks would charge. I was able to print 8x10 with no real noticeable pixellation, but I couldn't crop and enlarge and image because of the low resolution. I personally recommend getting more megapixels, but it isn't necessary. The advantage is in the ability to use a photo that might not have been perfectly composed.

One HUGE recommendation I would make is to shell out for an external strobe that you can aim. I noticed in my early shots that the lower right corner of the picture was always underexposed. This was due to the built in flash being covered by the lens barrel of the housing. I picked up a Sea & Sea YS-25 and the shots were much better. It also allows for more creative lighting on the subject.

 

[scubasdaniel]

Upgrade for sure you can get the SEA and Sea system with 6.0 mega pixa's for less than a thousand. I would not waste money on buying a housing for such old technology.

 

[alcina]

BTW - thread is from 2002 - doubt many are still using a 2MP