Case vs. Dedicated Underwater Camera

[krunchy]

Hi friends,

I am in the market for a new (digital) camera, primarily for an upcoming dive trip. I'm curious which will give a better picture quality... a dedicated underwater camera, or an underwater case for a regular camera?

Obviously a case makes the camera more versatile, but I am wondering if this would result in a lesser quality image.

 

[Jorgy]

Good question.......

I think it depends on what your long term vision for underwater photography is.....

If you want a simple easy to use and setup system then a dedicated UW camera is the route to go......the downside is limited upgrade capability and perhaps to being able to get "the" shot......more like good underwater snap shots......

If you plan to try for "screen saver" shots then I suggest you go the camera and housing route........you can put together some awesome rigs that take amazing pics.....

This wil cost more money and require more system setup but in my opinion worth the effort......but that is me......your milage may very.......

I an not saying that a dedicated camera is not capable of great shots, just that a better rig allows you to capture the pics with more frequency.......

Even with all the gear I still delete 19 out of each 20 pics.......

One of my favorite shots was a taken over the shoulder on a night dive without any camera adjusting....just got lucky.......and significant post processing....

M

 

[Nemrod]

Hi friends,

I am in the market for a new (digital) camera, primarily for an upcoming dive trip. I'm curious which will give a better picture quality... a dedicated underwater camera, or an underwater case for a regular camera?

Obviously a case makes the camera more versatile, but I am wondering if this would result in a lesser quality image.

There are no dedicated underwater cameras like the defunct Nikonos series that also had underwater corrected optics. All current cameras that I am aware of utilize a case to house a commercial digital camera including those from Sea and Sea and Sea Life.

The advantage to the pre-housed products from Sea and Sea and Sea Life is that it is "one stop shopping" and the housings have a ergo shape and fit nicely and they offer a "system" of products that fit them which makes for easy choices.

However, the downside is that both Canon and Nikon offer superior cameras with a long tradition of excellent imaging, they also offer OEM housings that are just a ergo and compact but usually limited to 130 feet. Ikelite also offers housings for many Nikon, Oly and Canon cameras. There are also fine, ultra high quality aluminum housings from FIX/Fisheye and Patima and others.

The S&S D2X (plus system accessories) is a fine camera but for about the same money, well, a few hundred more, you could get the Canon S90, FIX S90 housing and an Inon S2000 strobe. This is IMO a much more capable camera system with much more versatility to accept a wide range of other party equipment including strobes, trays, lenses etc. I would same the same for the Canon G11. You get what you pay for. N

 

[hammerhead man]

I think you need to determine how much you want to spend. A very good camera setup will cost about $1000. You can go cheaper, but not a whole lot cheaper. Any very good point and shoot camera can give you very good pictures. However, be aware that if you want pics with any color in them below 20-30 feet deep, you will need a flash, preferably an external strobe. Most color is lost at deeper depths. I currently have the Sea&Sea DX-1G and really enjoy the camera a lot.

I love to take pictures underwater ; however, I have found this hobby to be a black hole, sucking up all my resources . When i started, I found out that I had to have an external strobe, then I had to have a wide angle lens to get shots of what I was really seeing, then i wanted a close-up lens for all the small animals, then I wanted two strobes, then I had to have a "better" camera, etc, etc. Sigh, it never ends......... Just a warning .

Regards,

Bill

 

[adambayam]

I'm all for the versability of a good camera and housing (I have the Cybershot). I guess i'm a screen saver photographer. As Jorgy pointed out it depends where you are headed. The big name camera's all have housings that will fit certain models and still take pretty good pictures but when it comes to additions you are limited.

Adam

 

[scottfiji]

There are no dedicated underwater cameras like the defunct Nikonos series that also had underwater corrected optics. All current cameras that I am aware of utilize a case to house a commercial digital camera including those from Sea and Sea and Sea Life.
N

thank you James, that's exactly what I was going to write

Scott

 

[Tigerman]

I think you need to determine how much you want to spend. A very good camera setup will cost about $1000. You can go cheaper, but not a whole lot cheaper. Any very good point and shoot camera can give you very good pictures. However, be aware that if you want pics with any color in them below 20-30 feet deep, you will need a flash, preferably an external strobe. Most color is lost at deeper depths. I currently have the Sea&Sea DX-1G and really enjoy the camera a lot.

....

Regards,

Bill

Not entirely true.. If you check my gallery all the (underwater) pictures is taken with a G7 in an OEM housing, no strobes and in RAW format. Most of them at 30+++ feet.

Lots more of my pictures also at http://www.evenalie.com and theire taken with the same setup. RAW format and a tiny bit of Adobe Lighroom to correct the whitebalance goes a loong way. Strobes is always better of course, but you can get pretty good results without them even at depth..

It should be mentioned that all my pictures is processed on and for color-calibrated monitors and most people DONT do that to their monitors which will make the colors a bit "off".

 

[jl5619718]

When making my decision the most annoying factor to me was shutter lag. I have both a DSLR in an Ikelite case and a canon point and shoot in the canon case. I can get good pics in the point and shoot but it is more of a hit or miss chance. The DSLR of course gives the best performance but as Hammerhead Man pointed out can become an addictive, money black hole.

 

[Nemrod]

The shutter lag is something to deal with. I have found anticipating a shot, proper camera configuration and perhaps a dose of luck goes a long way. Choosing a camera that is relatively fast like the S90 helps. N

 

[diver 85]

the latter-----if you have a good 'regular' camera(in the case)...