Expensive not flash? Cheap with flash?

[Michael_Lambert]

Hey guys,

Running to aruba in a couple of weeks on our honeymoon and have been itching to buy a digital camera for it,

I currently photograph above water using a Digital rebel and will not dump$1500 into a housing on that just yet. I would much prefer to buy something entry level untill i get the hang of things.

I was looking for digital and ran into this delema!

I can buy a decent camera like the Sea and Sea 750G but can not afford the strobe package yet so that would be something i could pick up in a couple of months, but was thinking thsi camera should do fine with out the strobe? As it would be clear somewhat shallow water?

Or i could go to a camera such as teh Bonica Snapper XP its only a 3.2mg camera but i could afford to buy there package in one shot including the Neon-XP External Flash now i know its not a strobe but much better than the onboard flash. which could be upgraded to a strobe at some point or make a decent resale to buy the housing for my rebel when the time comes.



Anyone have any experience?

 

[jghflash]

There are a lot of options in the digital point&shoot arena and many work quite well with the internal flash. There are limitations for sure, and sometimes you get backscatter, but they will perform quite well. For your first underwater camera it's probably good to keep it somewhat simple and you'll probably get better pictures intially anyway. The task loading goes up a lot while diving with any camera that has manual controls (which are desireable). You'll get lot's of advice as to which brand to buy so I won't get into that.....other than to say I am pretty pleased with my "old technology" Oly C5060. All the shots in my gallery are internal flash only and were taken during my first dive trip shooting underwater. Just do a little research and get one, you'll love it!

 

[alcina]

I'm a bit shy of the Bonicas as I cannot find anyone who uses them or any good reviews or real life shots with them. Maybe you'll be the first! I'm not sure how much resale value they would have or how much that little flash unit would have. I personally wouldn't count on much, if any, and then at least you might be pleasantly surprised!

There are ways to get around not having an external strobe. Jamdiver uses a Canon A620 in the Canon case and no external strobe. He uses manual white balance or internal flash to capture his images. The Canon A series cameras are well tested and there is a lot of support for them. You can even add strobes and lenses later as money, interest and needs evolve.

If you follow the link in my sig and scroll down a bit you will find a list of various models with links to images and discussions on them. It may help you refine your search.

If you do go the Bonica route, please post images and your impressions of the unit!

 

[Michael_Lambert]

Thanks guys,

I decided to go with the SP-350 its 8MP lots to work with, it has full manual options with underwater modes, I am picking up the Olympus housing for now pt350 but it does have the better Ikeite housing available with the use of external digital strobes using the TTL or something to that nature. And has optional lens for wide angle and multiplier.

here is a link to it.

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/sp350.html

 

[alcina]

Popular choice Congratulations on your new toys!

If you look for LarryC (or is it Larry_C) posts he uses one. I believe there are few others out there, too!

Looking forward to photos!

 

[alo100]

There are a lot of good ways to do it, one of the method is exactly like what you've said, get a good and inexpensive digital camera, the cost of the corresponding housing would be around $100 to $150 (comparing to the thousand dollar housing for DSLR), then have a decent strobe, good enough for you to keep it for your more expensive camera setup in the future.

Cameras like, S80, F30, C7070 or C5060 (be careful with the 5060 housing though, pls ask other users of this particular housing, how to take care etc), then get an Inon strobe or Ikelite strobe. e.g. D2000 has it's own S-TTL which would work together with the camera TTL, or simply you can also use it as a manual light if you decide to have more control. These strobes would be good enough for your other cameras comming up in the future.

 

[JackConnick]

Check out Fantasea's new Nano strobe packages. The Nano is a small strobe for close-in photos that works great with P&S cameras. The sets below are complete with tray, arms, strobe and sync cord at affordable prices.

Nano Set 1
MSRP: $206, OpticalOcean Price: $174

Nano Set 2
MSRP: $399, OpticalOcean Price: $334

Flat rate shipping $25 via priority mail.

I'll have a web page up soon, but in the meanwhile just email me to order.

 

[divekraz]

I now do video but started with a canon digital power shot. Cost about $450 with the housing being $180. Have a red filter that lays on the housing. Don't use a strobe. Keep in mind to use a strobe you need to be within a few feet of the subject for best effect. Takes great pictures in low light, very simple to use, and no problems with housing and it's very compact. I would just do a back roll with it tucked into my body or stride holding it straight up. The video camera with lights I need to go back to the boat and have it handed to me.

 

[dbh]

Check out Fantasea's new Nano strobe packages. The Nano is a small strobe for close-in photos that works great with P&S cameras. The sets below are complete with tray, arms, strobe and sync cord at affordable prices.

Nano Set 1
MSRP: $206, OpticalOcean Price: $174

Nano Set 2
MSRP: $399, OpticalOcean Price: $334

Flat rate shipping $25 via priority mail.

I'll have a web page up soon, but in the meanwhile just email me to order.

Do you use them Jack?

 

[CompuDude]

Check out Fantasea's new Nano strobe packages. The Nano is a small strobe for close-in photos that works great with P&S cameras. The sets below are complete with tray, arms, strobe and sync cord at affordable prices.

Nano Set 1
MSRP: $206, OpticalOcean Price: $174

Nano Set 2
MSRP: $399, OpticalOcean Price: $334

Flat rate shipping $25 via priority mail.

I'll have a web page up soon, but in the meanwhile just email me to order.

Scottfiji, who posts here occassionally, uses Set 1 with his Fuji f10, and loves it. He takes some really nice shots with it. Very light and compact for a strobe setup... I'm a little jealous.