Beginner question about 20D

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Scott L

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I know absolutely nothing about underwater photography but I am looking for new challenges with my diving. I own a 20D for which I no longer use much top-side. Would this model be considered too old from which to use as the foundation of building my first system? If not, would it be advised to purchase used housing in lieu of new? Lastly, is there a book out for UW photography that is generally considered to be the best? Thanks! Scott
 
I've just purchased a new HD underwater video camcorder and housing from Northern Diver. It's 8megpixels quality and it was excellently priced. Check it out at:

ND Viewer

However, since I've upgraded I'm selling my Olympus and u/w housing with filming light and adjustable mount. You can find that on DiversInc - Home 'For Sale' forum.

Re books, I usually surf the net or collate the photography lesson tips which feature in many of the dive magazines, both in hardcopy or on the net.
 
I would not buy a new housing for a camera that old, but a used case shouldn't be to hard to find.

There are many resources online for underwater photography, but a book I have and recommend is "Successful Underwater Photography" by Brian Skerry and Howard Hall. This book isn't specific to digital photography, but is a great resource if you already are familiar with using cameras.
 
diversinc:
I've just purchased a new HD underwater video camcorder and housing from Northern Diver. It's 8megpixels quality and it was excellently priced. Check it out at:

ND Viewer

However, since I've upgraded I'm selling my Olympus and u/w housing with filming light and adjustable mount. You can find that on DiversInc - Home 'For Sale' forum.

Re books, I usually surf the net or collate the photography lesson tips which feature in many of the dive magazines, both in hardcopy or on the net.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the post. A camcorder is also in consideration. I will also check out your unit for sale. Scott
 
M_Bipartitus:
I would not buy a new housing for a camera that old, but a used case shouldn't be to hard to find.

There are many resources online for underwater photography, but a book I have and recommend is "Successful Underwater Photography" by Brian Skerry and Howard Hall. This book isn't specific to digital photography, but is a great resource if you already are familiar with using cameras.
Click to expand...

The camera has hardly been used or are you alluding to the lack of features and attributes compared to newer models? Thank you for the book title. I will check out...
 
There are some features lacking, but more importantly the price of used housings tends to be much less than new housings since there are so many divers who want the best and the newest every year or two.
The ikelite housing for the 20D is listed at $1400 new (if you can find one) and the used price on ebay is about half that.

My only hesitations in using an older digital camera are high iso performance and replacements. The 20D tends not to look so great above 200 or 400 ISO. This could make it harder to get good photos underwater as there is less light. If you have a good set of strobes, or dive shallow in clear water this shouldn't be that much of an issue. If/when your housing floods, it can be harder to find an older replacement camera.
 
To get back to the original poster. You probably can find a used housing for the 20D but Ikelite still sells new ones. The 20D is a great camera and with a 100 mm macro lens you can do really great macro stuff. When you make a decision to go to a particular type of housing, remember that you are buying into a system same as with cameras. Lenses last forever as do ports for housings and the strobes and associated strobe arms, connectors and such. Camera bodies come and go as do the housings for them but the rest last forever. I am using a Subal dome port that I first got with an Eos film camera many years ago and it is still great. So to answer your question, the 20D is a great camera and you can shoot some great pics with it. Look at my portfolio on photo.net and many of the early UW stuff was shot on a 20D.

Enjoy and be safe under the waves.
Bill
 
The 20D is a great camera and can do far more things that I can understand how to get it to do.

No, it does not have all of the bells and whistles of the newer models. It still takes great pictures.

The only downside I see is that the viewfinder is a bit harder to see through than the 40D and newer viewfinders. If you are an old fart like me, that makes a difference.

You can do just fine for limited cost with a 20D.
 
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