medic2927
Registered
Wanting to play around with a little underwater photography without breaking the bank. Has anyone had experience with the Nikon CoolPix L20 and the Ikelite housing for the same?
Thanks
Thanks
CoolPix L20 and Ikelite
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adurso
Contributor
I just ordered the combo from BH photo The reviews I have read on the L20 indicate it will be adequate. I am surprised that no one has any experience with this camera. Ikelite housings are generally high quality
OP
medic2927
Registered
Thanks for the info. I, too, was surprised to have not seen much on the board regarding this combo. Please let me know what your experience is with it.
"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal."
-Albert Pike
"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal."
-Albert Pike
PhilC
Contributor
I've got the older L18 Ikelite combo, LDS had it on sale once the L20 came out. So far it's been a pretty good little rig as long as you don't expect it to behave like a DSLR. I like it a lot better than the previous rigs we rented. Underwater pics from Cozumel on our smugmug site http:\\philandjen.smugmug.com were taken with the L18. For our next trip, we leave Friday for Bonaire, I added in a red filter to play with along with a pack of the moisture munchers to combat the slight fogging issues I experienced on the last days of the trip in Cozumel. Also picked up a spare L18 refurb for $69 so when/if the housing ever floods I've already got a spare ready to go.
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medic2927
Registered
Nice pics. Thanks for sharing them. I notice in the notes that you were using a strobe in some of them. That was going to be one of my other questions; if you used a strobe or not and under what conditions. I believe I will give the camera/housing combo a try.
adurso
Contributor
My combo arrived over the weekend. The Ikelite housing is robust as usual, everything seems to work. The camera is more automatic that I would like, one must drill down into teh menus to get manual white balance and such. Focusing is an issue, of course it may be user error also. Depending on setting the zoom does not focus well at either end. The big LCD is a boon to old eyes. It is a bit grainy, but no biggie there. I took a bunch of pictures just messing about with the camera in the housing, but I shhot everything at max resolution so posting the 4 + meg files is out of the question. Ikelite says to set the camera to the macro setting and leave it there, the only problem is that the camera continues to focus, meaning shorter battery life and more wear and tear on the mechanism.
I am pleased with what I have though as it is what I expected and desire. My underwater photography is just dorking around taking pictures of family and odd things that catch my eye
I am pleased with what I have though as it is what I expected and desire. My underwater photography is just dorking around taking pictures of family and odd things that catch my eye
OP
medic2927
Registered
I have a friend that just returned from DEMA and spent a great deal of time talking to Ikelite. He currently has 2 Sealife cameras that he has not been very happy with. After talking with Ikelite, he is thinking about buying a Canon Powershot G10 with an Ikelite housing and Ikelite strobe. It can give you TTL strobe lighting that ensures good lighting every time. However, that is a chunk of money to invest in a camera that you might drown. :depressed:
PhilC
Contributor
Pictures from our just completed Bonaire trip are uploaded to philandjen's Photos I'm getting better at composition and lighting but still need some work.
The package we purchased included the AF35 strobe. It uses a light sensor to fire the strobe based on detecting the built in flash of the camera. I'm still learning the camera and the rig but I found that for almost all of my macro shots on the recent trip I actually shut off the strobe since it was giving me some fairly radical shadow issues no matter how I adjusted it. None of the pictures are captioned yet but they are up for you to see. Knowing that it's not an "if" but rather a "when" talking about flooding I really like the fact that I can pick up a new camera to use in the housing for under $70. At this point in my underwater picture taking the gear isn't holding me back, even with a point and shoot I'm getting better pictures than most of what I see from multi-thousand dollar rigs. I want to focus on getting better at composition, lighting and subject choices underwater without having to worry about the camera which I'd be doing on a continual basis if I took under my D300 and 105mm macro lens so the relatively cheap and very simple point and shoot rig is a great choice for me.
FWIW the red filter was pretty much a bust, I couldn't find an exposure setting\ white balance that wasn't radically under-exposed in the half a dive I played with it so I just left it off for the majority of the trip. I didn't want to miss a good shot because I was playing with a filter. I think it could have improved some of my shots by making them less blue but I think I need to play with it above water on a gloomy cloudy day to try to find settings that it works well with. The moisture munchers worked great though, no problems with fogging at all even though I was opening the housing to swap batteries between each dive and it was very humid at times.
The package we purchased included the AF35 strobe. It uses a light sensor to fire the strobe based on detecting the built in flash of the camera. I'm still learning the camera and the rig but I found that for almost all of my macro shots on the recent trip I actually shut off the strobe since it was giving me some fairly radical shadow issues no matter how I adjusted it. None of the pictures are captioned yet but they are up for you to see. Knowing that it's not an "if" but rather a "when" talking about flooding I really like the fact that I can pick up a new camera to use in the housing for under $70. At this point in my underwater picture taking the gear isn't holding me back, even with a point and shoot I'm getting better pictures than most of what I see from multi-thousand dollar rigs. I want to focus on getting better at composition, lighting and subject choices underwater without having to worry about the camera which I'd be doing on a continual basis if I took under my D300 and 105mm macro lens so the relatively cheap and very simple point and shoot rig is a great choice for me.
FWIW the red filter was pretty much a bust, I couldn't find an exposure setting\ white balance that wasn't radically under-exposed in the half a dive I played with it so I just left it off for the majority of the trip. I didn't want to miss a good shot because I was playing with a filter. I think it could have improved some of my shots by making them less blue but I think I need to play with it above water on a gloomy cloudy day to try to find settings that it works well with. The moisture munchers worked great though, no problems with fogging at all even though I was opening the housing to swap batteries between each dive and it was very humid at times.
OP
medic2927
Registered
Thanks for the update, Phil. Those are some very good looking pics, to say the least. I appreciate the input. Like you, having something that is inexpensive to replace when the housing floods would make me much more relaxed on a dive than a 500 dollar camera. Glad to hear the moisture munchers worked well.
When I get my significant other certified (this spring I hope) I intend to get a rig for her to take pics with (she is much more the photographer than I).
Cheers,
Lott
When I get my significant other certified (this spring I hope) I intend to get a rig for her to take pics with (she is much more the photographer than I).
Cheers,
Lott
PatW
Contributor
I was in a dive shop the other day. They had an Ikelite case for a nikon cool pix. I have a case for another brand. The ikelite seems to me to be far better. I have read that Ikelite has the best service in the industry. So if you like the cool pix, the ikelite case will probably suit you very well.
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