Best UW Camera Setup - Why?

[BHB ScubaTroll]

Ok, I have done the search, but could not find this topic... and, I am interested. I am getting better with my current setup:

Olympus C-350 with UW housing

But, it is more of a starter rig.

Here is what I want to know from the people who "love" their rigs:
===

1. Price is not to be considered
2. List all components of your "Best" rig
3. Give reason why it is the BEST

Things to keep in mind:

1. Ease of use
2. Cost to maintain (what good is the best if it continues to suck life)
3. Ease of travel
4. Quality of image
5. Distance quality (Based on typical partly cloudy, Florida day dive)
6. Power consumption
7. Digital or film load

Oh, and by all means, it can be discussed here!!

 

[GulfCoastdiver]

I look forward to following this post as I beat my head against the wall planning my next setup.
Thanks for asking what I was wondering.

 

[justleesa]

moved from Market Place to the main UW photography forum

 

[alcina]

You've pretty much answered your own question. You need to have a look at the options and answer those questions as they apply to you.

The biggest problems with asking which is the best are that most shooters:
- haven't shot with everything; many have only shot with one or two!
- have learned the quirks of their rigs
- have learned to work around any potential problems
- have different tolerances for what is acceptable throughout the extensive range of variables (write time, controls, media type, exposure range, MP, size, battery type, battery life, size, weight, availability of accessories and on and on)
- have various brand loyalties that may or may not impact their opinions
- have a wide background of shooting...from studio pros to consumers who have only used disposable cameras.

There is no "best". There is only what is "best" to suit your needs and to become a building block in your learning curve. If you look around the forum here you will see a ton of threads about various systems. Stay with a major player (Olympus, Canon etc) and you will likely find a camera system to suit...once you've narrowed it down then more questions might find answers to tip the scales one way or another.

I don't believe dslr is the be all and end all for uw shooters. Not everyone is going to want the size, weight, cost, hassle, expense, learning curve etc. There are some excellent compacts out there that are more user friendly, cheaper, have lots of add ons and enormous flexibility all while outputting lovely images. All depends on your goals.

HTH

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

You've pretty much answered your own question. You need to have a look at the options and answer those questions as they apply to you.

The biggest problems with asking which is the best are that most shooters:
- haven't shot with everything; many have only shot with one or two!
- have learned the quirks of their rigs
- have learned to work around any potential problems
- have different tolerances for what is acceptable throughout the extensive range of variables (write time, controls, media type, exposure range, MP, size, battery type, battery life, size, weight, availability of accessories and on and on)
- have various brand loyalties that may or may not impact their opinions
- have a wide background of shooting...from studio pros to consumers who have only used disposable cameras.

There is no "best". There is only what is "best" to suit your needs and to become a building block in your learning curve. If you look around the forum here you will see a ton of threads about various systems. Stay with a major player (Olympus, Canon etc) and you will likely find a camera system to suit...once you've narrowed it down then more questions might find answers to tip the scales one way or another.

I don't believe dslr is the be all and end all for uw shooters. Not everyone is going to want the size, weight, cost, hassle, expense, learning curve etc. There are some excellent compacts out there that are more user friendly, cheaper, have lots of add ons and enormous flexibility all while outputting lovely images. All depends on your goals.

HTH

But, this is not my question.... I am interested in knowing what people who like their rigs, like about them...

 

[alcina]

Hmmm, Ok.

Canon A series (70/75) in Canon housing Love:
-easy
-small, light
-good photos
-able to add on lenses and strobes as needed (not all! check compatibility)
-ample flash for range of camera
-complete manual controls and easy access
-easy for one handed control
-surprisingly good in low light...such as shooting under a ledge etc - good exposure from flash and fairly quick to catch subject focus
-CF cards
-AA batteries last forever
-excellent results on land when I P&S in program mode
-good support on the net from other shooters of Canon A & S series cameras
-can hand it off to buddy/other diver and know they will bring back some nice shots...very social and fun
-fast set up
-easy maintenance
-readily available parts and orings
Not so in love with
-relatively slow...BUT I still don't miss fish shots as I have learned to work with the camera instead of against it
-no RAW
-no histogram

Oly 5050 in Oly housing
-good photos
-RAW
-a little bigger than the Canon but still can operate one handed
-able to add on lenses and strobes as needed
-ample flash for range of camera
-complete manual controls and easy access to most
-excellent range of support from other shooters
-histogram
-nice lens
-supermacro
-fairly easy maintenance
Not so in love with:
-slow to write RAW...but improved my composition, lighting and angle of approach when I use that time
-aperture control is press, hold and turn dial...not one handed!

Canon 20D in Subal with 60mm, 100mm, 10-20 lenses...a whole nuther world. For some starter feel of my initial impressions, check out the "thinking of dslr" thread sticky. It's not been updated, but a lot of things still apply.

 

[GulfCoastdiver]

I'm thinking of going with the Olympus SP-350, I like the 8.0 MP and 6.4 LCD.
Cooltech what like or not like about your Olympus?

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

Hmmm, Ok.

Canon A series (70/75) in Canon housing Love:

Oly 5050 in Oly housing


Canon 20D in Subal with 60mm, 100mm, 10-20 lenses

alcina,
That was absolutely EXCELLENT!
Exactly the sort of feedback I am looking for... I can relate much of your information to my experiences with the Olympus.

Thank you, VERY MUCH! It took time and effort to make this list. Many would have dumped out after my reply to your first post.

I really do appreciate it!

 

[RonFrank]

I continue to say it, best tool for the job.

The best rig for Stephen Frink, one of the most sucessful UW photographers in the world involves the 16mpix Canon 1DSMarkII, SeaCam housings (one of the most expensive), and
I have no clue what type of strobes. He also carries a 1DMarkII as a second camera, and will carry both on a dive with different lens setups.

So what R your goals? Maybe the best UW camera for you would be disposable! It certainly travels well.

I don't have a best setup yet mainly because I just don't shoot UW often, and I have not spent the money. I however do like DSLR's, and my initial setup with an S70, while good, left me feeling frustrated as I missed shot after shot for reasons from slow shutter response, to slow focus, to lack of a solid macro. I could fix some of this with expensive add on lenses, but I've just been shooting too long to enjoy quality less than my DSLR which is not the quality I even get with my medium format rigs....so I am going with the D200, some housing to be named, an SS200 Ikelite which I purchased, and we shall see from there.

I like the idea of iTTL, but hey, I've shot manual most of my life, I can deal with that UW with a non iTTL strobe which is what most of the UW world shoots with.

I will say that the S70 does a very nice job for what it is, and on a budget. It travels light, and one can add on both macro lenses, and WA wet lenses from Inon.

So depends upon what you want to achieve. I, want to achieve what is not possible with my current setup, so I am going beyond it!

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

I'm thinking of going with the Olympus SP-359, I like the 8.0 MP and 6.4 LCD.
Cooltech what like or not like about your Olympus?

Olympus C-350
Love:

1. Easy, small and light
2. If you set properly, you get good photos
3. Easy for one hand control (my fingers are big... cannot use a glove on that hand)
4. With the Olympus housing, the buttons are easy to manage just like the camera on land
5. Pop it into the housing and it's ready to go
6. Low maintenance
7. Have not needed new o-rings, or any addition parts (3 years about 80 dives)

Don't Like much:

1. AA batteries need to be changed between dives (2-Duracell is what I use most)
2. No add-0ns, lenses, strobes, etc.
3. I have big fingers... cannot wear a glove on camera hand and function buttons well
4. Slow to set focus when depressing shutter (Especially when the batteries get low)
5. I find myself turning off the view panel between shots to conserve battery life (I am far-sighted and have a difficult time setting up a shot through the viewer... but that will happen with any camera I use... a must for me is a digital viewer)
6. I have learned when to begin focus for slow moving fish, or "sneaking" up on them prior to shooting

Cost of camera and housing made it much more tollerable to deal with the battery life issues.