Canon vs Nikon

[M_Bipartitus]

Reading a good book or two on digital photography & composition on land is a goof idea. Unless you go diving often there are many more opportunities to practice photography on land. Thinking about composition and light quality can help take your photography from simple snapshots up to something more artistic that you might want to hang on the wall.

I'll try to remember some of the better sites I've read on photography topside. For now, consider this site Strobist: Lighting 101 as a good start to thinking about use of flash and strobe. It's a little advanced as it assumes you know manual control of the camera. It's all photography on land, and they have more options than with most UW strobes, but the ideas about lighting direction, lighting ratios, and balancing with ambient are all relevant.

Edit: I found a site with some good topside wide angle photography. Besides being cool photos, the composition he talks about are applicable to wide angle on a reef or wreck. http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/how-to-use-ultra-wide-lenses.htm

 

[shoturtle]

A DSLR will not give you better photos out the box. They have a large learning curve. Check out this site to see if DSLR photography is something you are interested in. DSLR Tips: photography tutorials, video workshops, lens and accessory reviews It will actually help with the G10, as it is a bridge camera with some manual controls. They have youtube workshops.

With being new, I would not go with a d90 or 50d. Go with the 500D. It may be an "entry level" dslr, but it will perform with the d90 and 50d. Allot of reviewer at magazines and online sites like to compare it against the d90 on nikon canon face off. But it was design for the market of the d5000. Another reason you would want to get the 500d is for diving you may want a macro lens for the nudies and small stuff. Save the money on the body and invest it on a good marco lens. Like the canon ef 50mm f2.5 or the ef-s 60mm f2.8 or ef 100mm f2.8, or EF 100mm f2.8L IS. The order is from good to best. You will get allot of uses for these lenses. besides small things, they make great portrait lenses.

 

[shoturtle]

Reading a good book or two on digital photography & composition on land is a goof idea. Unless you go diving often there are many more opportunities to practice photography on land. Thinking about composition and light quality can help take your photography from simple snapshots up to something more artistic that you might want to hang on the wall.

I'll try to remember some of the better sites I've read on photography topside. For now, consider this site Strobist: Lighting 101 as a good start to thinking about use of flash and strobe. It's a little advanced as it assumes you know manual control of the camera. It's all photography on land, and they have more options than with most UW strobes, but the ideas about lighting direction, lighting ratios, and balancing with ambient are all relevant.

Edit: I found a site with some good topside wide angle photography. Besides being cool photos, the composition he talks about are applicable to wide angle on a reef or wreck. How to Use Ultra-Wide Lenses

Ken Rockwell is very opinionated. LOL

 

[M_Bipartitus]

That may be, but I think he has some good points about getting close to your subject and composing wide angle.

 

[shoturtle]

He is a very good photographer, and have some excellent points. I read his stuff sometimes. I just factor out the opinionated parts.

 

[bvanant]

It is true that the D90 can do HD video but it is 720P HD not the normally thought of 1080i or 1080P and it will only run at 24 FPS. On the other hand, go to the camera store and play with each one. Buy the one that feels the nicest and that you can afford. BUT remember, you are buying into a system that you will likely be with for a long time.
Bill

 

[Mariozi]

A DSLR will not give you better photos out the box. They have a large learning curve.

No camera will give you good pics out of the box. And the DSLR learning curve thing is a myth.

That was closer to the truth in the film era... I got amazing results in a 3-4 day courses for uwphotogs with no photo knowledge going straight into DSLR UWPhoto.

A good compact, like the ones with PSAM modes that are the best for UWPhoto, follow the same principle of a DSLR but their controls are harder to set, normally involving dual selections to set both aperture and speed. These main parameters together with ISO and WB also are only normally changed via dual selections (pressing a button then rotating a dial) on good compacts, pushing a button and doing several clicks on "arrow" buttons, or even having to go in menus on the worst ones.
On DSLR these main selections are much quicker and at hand, specially aperture and speed.

I find that if you are someone who knows you will get serious about it, just jump straight into DSLR (a good one with dual commands for aperture and speed at least) and don't worry about the learning curve, if you have a good instructor.

 

[Becca_007]

With the housings for dSLRs being so expensive and you not having any above water water dSLR experience I think you would be better off with a point and shoot in the water. Canon makes their own housings for several cameras in their Powershot SD series. I know, because I've owned one for several years. While the pictures might not jump out and say wow I think they are well worth the price (the housing for my SD550 was only $160).

Once you become proficient with a dSLR on land then I'd approach the possibility of taking it down with you. Housings alone run around $1,500 and that doesn't include the port for the lens or the strobes.

All that said we will be taking our Canon 40D underwater for the first time next month. We seem to pick the most expensive hobbies... SCUBA, photography!

Ooh. When it comes to video the point and shoots even do HD video now and at much less than the price of a dSLR.

 

[shoturtle]

It not a myth if the OP does not know how to use manual control of aperture, shutter speed. If he is relying auto, the wb can be incorrect and fool the system. And the 500d does not have an underwater mode, so you need to know how to set up the camera for the underwater condition.

I also suspect that the OP will want to us the dslr of topside shots. And there is allot of things you should know to get the creative with a dslr. How to set up for low light, bokum, long exposure, and many others stuff. And all these skills take allot of shoot to develop. Knowing how and knowing how to use them correctly are 2 different things.

Also is he is going to use a dslr in auto, might as well stick with the G10. As that pretty much defeat the reason to go to a dslr. The G10 is an excellent p&s and will give great results.

 

[Mariozi]

All the things you describe should be used on DSLRs and compacts alike if you want good results.

Believe you can, believe you can't.
Anyway you're right...

I started taking pictures uw before shooting outside, in film. When I bought my first SRL I started using fisheye lenses (another myth) straight away... and I am definitely the least smart of the pack. If you want a compact because of budgetary problems is one thing and I respect that, but please don't tell me things are difficult with ALL the digital technology in our favor.

I just find so funny how people rely on "UW" mode, or worry too much about WB these days.
UWPhoto is more than 100yo. now and for it's first 100y we have achieved all these epic amazing photos with WB locked in "daylight" (the film we used).

Film SLRs were something compared to compacts, compacts at the time did not have Manual control. And we only had 36 shots/film... or per dive!!! We HAD to get it right without looking at the back LCD (we had none!!!).

Today, you can shoot until you get a blister on your finger on a single dive. You get instantaneous film development after each shot. We can change film (ISO & WB ie.) for each shot!!! And the way to shoot (for good results!!!) a G11 or a D300 is pretty much the same, same M mode, same strobe position issues... exactly the same... the ONLY difference are price (after all these benefits people still thinks DSLRs are expensive, try to take your development lab with you underwater) and the speed which the camera reacts to your command.

In this sense, it is easier to shoot with a DSLR than a compact. With my DSLR I get what I want when I want. With compacts I am always looking for something hidden in the menus...