iim7v7im7
Registered
Hi,
Background:
I have been diving for about 12 years now and have about 250 dives. I have been shoot underwater for about 8 years now starting with an Olympus 4040 in a Olympus Japan housing. After 2 or 3 years, I upgraded to an Olympus P350 in an Ikelite housing with a DS50 strobe (TTL). I dive almost exclusively in the Caribbean and take one or two trips a year (15-30 dives). I really enjoy shooting macro and critters in places like Bonaire, St. Vincent and Little Cayman. I have no expectation with a small rig to shoot the passing shark in the blue or the large head of elkhorn coral. I am looking for a new rig that is even more compact to travel with than my current set-up and shoots higher quality photos. My current rig barely fits into a large briefcase camera bag. On islands where there I am taking a puddle jumper, having the extra carry-on is a pain and sometimes becomes an issue, because I usually also have a small backpack with me with my regulator/computer and perscripton mask.
My Research to Date:
The favorite cameras out there seem to be Canon S95, Canon G12, Olympus XZ-1 and the Panasonic DMC-LX5. I originally tried a Ikelite slave sensor before going to TTL and had much better results with TTL. I know that there are fiber optic systems for some of these and I have no experience with them. Many housings do not provide complete access to all controls. I see in compact strobes Inon S2000, Sea & Sea YS-01 or a Ikelite DS51. On housings, there are too many to list.
Question(s):
1) If compact and quality are criteria which set-up would you go for?
2) Are there differences in shutter lag and image processing shooting RAW?
3) What are the differences in battery life between these?
4) Given my photographic preferences, does one camera or housing/wet lense combination make more sense?
5) Are some models easier to operate based on their control schemes?
6) My expectation on budget is ~$2,000 USD (less is great though
Thanks,
Bob
Background:
I have been diving for about 12 years now and have about 250 dives. I have been shoot underwater for about 8 years now starting with an Olympus 4040 in a Olympus Japan housing. After 2 or 3 years, I upgraded to an Olympus P350 in an Ikelite housing with a DS50 strobe (TTL). I dive almost exclusively in the Caribbean and take one or two trips a year (15-30 dives). I really enjoy shooting macro and critters in places like Bonaire, St. Vincent and Little Cayman. I have no expectation with a small rig to shoot the passing shark in the blue or the large head of elkhorn coral. I am looking for a new rig that is even more compact to travel with than my current set-up and shoots higher quality photos. My current rig barely fits into a large briefcase camera bag. On islands where there I am taking a puddle jumper, having the extra carry-on is a pain and sometimes becomes an issue, because I usually also have a small backpack with me with my regulator/computer and perscripton mask.
My Research to Date:
The favorite cameras out there seem to be Canon S95, Canon G12, Olympus XZ-1 and the Panasonic DMC-LX5. I originally tried a Ikelite slave sensor before going to TTL and had much better results with TTL. I know that there are fiber optic systems for some of these and I have no experience with them. Many housings do not provide complete access to all controls. I see in compact strobes Inon S2000, Sea & Sea YS-01 or a Ikelite DS51. On housings, there are too many to list.
Question(s):
1) If compact and quality are criteria which set-up would you go for?
2) Are there differences in shutter lag and image processing shooting RAW?
3) What are the differences in battery life between these?
4) Given my photographic preferences, does one camera or housing/wet lense combination make more sense?
5) Are some models easier to operate based on their control schemes?
6) My expectation on budget is ~$2,000 USD (less is great though
Thanks,
Bob
