Best Underwater Solution?

[jared w]

I'm sorry if this is in the wrong place, it is my 2nd post here. I know NOTHING about underwater photography and wanted a few thoughts addressed.

I am going on my first ever SCUBA trip in May. I want to get pictures but don't want to break the bank. I have a Canon 20d with many quality lenses but it appears that the underwater housings are quite pricey. Would I be better off going with a dedicated underwater P&S? I've also got a Canon 710 IS but I';d be afraid that the noisy ISO settings would make it less than useful if I got a housing for it.

What do people suggest? Should I get a standalone P&S, should I get a housign for the 710 IS? For the 20D? What are good housings and where can I get deals?

Thanks in advance,
Jared

 

[fppf]

Jared
How many dives have you done?
Welcome to the board.

 

[jared w]

Zero,
I'm a climber from Colorado and our dive opportunities are nill here. I just got back from Florida and a friend of mine talked me into trying something new so I am going to do my pool and coursework here in Colorado then go do my open water dives in Cozumel followed by a day or two of guided dives. It's going to be an adventure for my 5 year wedding anniversary as both myself and my wife are pretty land locked people.

I do take a lot of pictures though and have the Canon 20-d with the 10-22 ef-s lens.

 

[jeremyl]

Jared,

Scuba is awesome and underwater photography is a fun obession. I have been a land photographer for a long time and a diver for ~4yrs. I am just now getting obsessed and got a ~$2K setup (Canon G9 with dual strobes and Ikelight housing). This is the middle of the road setup. I am no expert, but you basically have three levels.

1) Canon or Nikon P&S w/OEM housing. I used a Canon S50 w/ canon housing for my first few years of diving (1-2 trips/yr). This was cheap and worked ok. I have a few pix on my wall from this setup. Biggest issue with this inexpensive (you probably already have a P&S - add $150-250 for housing) setup is reaction time and lighting.

2) Top-o-line P&S and a dedicated housing (ikelight is main player, but there are others). This will give you more control of the camera (access to more functions) but it gets big. Also allows for easier attachment of flash system. You can usually get strobes used as someone upgrades - I did for 1/2 price. Start with 1 maybe... then build. You can compromise and get the top P&S camera and get the OEM housing to start with. But each piece of this is ~$500 and there are several (camera, housing, strobe). Thats what I did as I already went thru step 1.

3) Full tilt boogie... get a DSLR with lenes, ports, strobes, and housing (anywhere from $1200 on up for the housing). You can get nice deals on used, but then again - you are last generation (or more) on the DSLR.

The advantages are

Phase 1 - you get to take pix and it is small and non-obtrusive.
Phase 2 - You add external strobes, and maybe more responsiveness on camera. Built in lens only so you dont get to (but also dont have to) play with that aspect.
Phase 3- Full control and nice responsiveness of DSLR, and better imager in camera. But setup gets big (possibly - could be ~same size as P&S in bulky Ikelight housing if you pay for fancy stuff) and SPENDY.

I would highly recommend if you purchase anything for your first trip it be of Phase 1 class. The other stuff is just too much to deal with on your first dive. You have a lifetime to dive. Ease into it. If you only take 1 trip a year (as MANY rec. divers do) it may pay to just rent a setup. A lot of big dive destinations will have someone that offers rental. Most liveaboards do too. After you have logged a couple dozen dives and are hooked then look into a better setup.

Oh, and have fun!
Jeremy

 

[fppf]

Jared
I would not take anything at all.
Until you get your diving skills down pat you are going to be task loaded doing other things.
New divers typically don't have the control or comfort to add the extra task of photo's. Along with that if your crashing around the marine life wont stick around long enough anyway.

I would enjoy the trip, get time in the water, and have tons of fun.

As for future plaining I would not think of spending money on camera gear until you own a quality set of life support gear. Then its up to you on how serious you are going to get. Underwater photography is a whole different ball of wax.

If you really really really have to take pics this trip I would just spend $20 on a 35mm film camera with a small flash on it.

 

[StSumwhere]

Jared
I would not take anything at all.
Until you get your diving skills down pat you are going to be task loaded doing other things.

If you really really really have to take pics this trip I would just spend $20 on a 35mm film camera with a small flash on it.

Couldn't have said it better myself. There will be so many things occupying all of your time/attention that you won't have time for pictures - let alone decent ones. There are disposables capable of certain depths if you really MUST take something along.

Welcome to the board, good luck, and enjoy your trip.

Cheers,
Hector

 

[jared w]

Thanks for the replies. I've used a disposable underwater for snorkeling and was pretty upset with the results. Do you think it would be that distracting if I did a couple snorkel trips, my open water dives, then just brought my P&S with a housing for the last day?

I get people's points but I like to have photos of everything I do and am a bit skeptical of the disposable camera's reliability. On the other hand not buying the stuff would save me some money.

 

[alcina]

I'd get the Canon housing for your 710 and read the Sticky in the UW Photo area for starting places. You can get there via the Pink Link in my signature.

I would set myself one underwater photo goal and stick to that rather than trying to shoot everything in sight. I would know my camera in the housing backwards and forwards before hitting the ocean on scuba. Get in the pool and snorkel with it if you can or just use it on land.

If you are staying somewhere that has shore diving, do a couple of those after certification if you have time. Hiring a local guide would be excellent as you could take your time to hone your diving skills and to practice setting up some shots without any pressure from being in a group. If you want to take photos on your boat dives after certification, I would highly recommend a private guide for those, too. All the task loading of being a new diver, having a camera and having to stay with a group is not conducive to getting the best from your camera rig.

 

[cicopo]

Untill you master your buoyancy you can't expect good results. Diving isn't like land photography in any way other than the fact you use a camera. You can't stand & lock your position while you frame the shot. Generally speaking you either depend on P mode or work on the fly trying to get the right settings while the fish or whatever swims away. THE very last thing you want to do is think you could dive with a DSLR in your hands and accomplish anything except to ruin your dive & that of those with you. Rookies need & use both arms & hands to counter their lack of buoyancy, and that pretty much applied to all of us which is why we are steering you away from anything big or bulky. A small P & S without a strobe set to P will be OK but not on day 1. Take a look at the photo here which was taken just for instances like this to see just how big a DSLR is underwater. (It's a 5D, which is the same size as your 20D).
Picasa Web Albums - Larry - Cozumel Divin...

 

[Hank658]

I'm with fppf on this one- don't take anything with you. Learn what you need to on the checkout dives. Get comfortable in the water. If you find that you get the scuba 'bug', as most on SB have, and want to continue diving as much as possible look into buying some of your own gear first. I guess I look at it this way, if your underwater camera doesn't work right the worst that happens is either bad photos or having to get another camera. If any of your scuba gear (read: life support gear) isn't working right, well, I think you get the idea.
My wife and I are both trained photographers and dove for about a year before we got an U/W system. That finally got flooded (heck it was a 1.3 mp camera so you know it was old!!) and we are just now looking into another system. Probably a housing for one or two of our point & shoots. Just easier for now.
Finally, if you must take photos on this trip try one of the one time use U/W's. We did on our first resort dive over 10 years ago. Simple push-one-button camera. Oh, and had to wind the film too. Framing was questionable, color not so hot, some in focus, some not. But I do have a couple of shots of my wife with a 6' long giant grouper and she of me with a giant clam. Enough to remember how much fun it was and why we got into diving in the first place.

Good luck with class, enjoy the dives and welcome to the Board!!

Hank
PADI Assistant Instructor
EFR Instructor