First camera

[NickPhillips]

I saw a similar post about this, but that person was a new diver so everyone recommended making sure they liked diving first. I however am not new to diving and am finally willing to spend some cash on a nice camera. I would like a camera that will last for a long time and will be a dive only camera as I rarely take pictures here on the surface. I don't want to spend a ton of money but don't want to buy the cheapest thing around. What would you suggest to give me great picture quality that is still good for a new photographer.

 

[smellzlikefish]

Are you looking for a point and shoot or to learn a dslr underwater? I guess what kind of budget are we looking at here?

 

[NickPhillips]

Prefer dslr. Budget up to around 1000-1500 or so

 

[alcina]

I don't think you can do a dslr set up for that price. Maybe second hand.

But strobes are going to be $500+ each, arms another $x, housings - even Ikelites - are going to be at the top end of that range, ports are another few hundred a throw... and you haven't even gotten the camera or lenses yet.

Frankly, if you aren't shooting on land too - unless you are doing a ton of diving - you might want to consider one of the smaller, less expensive compact options out there. Many have a range of housings and accept wet lenses so you have maximum flexibility and lots of room to grow.

 

[NickPhillips]

I was not including a ikelite case or that price, I have priced those and I already know those run 1000+

 

[smellzlikefish]

I always recommend Canon because they consistently put out quality products. For 1500 or less you could get yourself a 7D. One more recommendation, if you are going to spend money on an underwater dslr setup, be sure to include a strobe in your budgeting.

 

[danpass]

be sure to include lenses in your budget

invariably you'll want wide angle vs a kit lens


instead of going whole hog with a dSLR setup I went with a gopro.

"well that's a HUGE difference, how can you even mention that?!?!?"

because I knew that to do it 'right' would be $4k++


Even so I'm still tempted to get an UW housing for the Nikon P7000 that I have lol; but it also means needing the wide angle lens attachment.


I've gotten real used to the WA of the gopro, I consider it perfect for general underwater video and would want the same FOV for stills and so far I'm perfectly happy with video, just turn on the rig and let it run for the length of the dive.

 

[alcina]

So what's your total budget including:
camera body
lenses- macro, wide angle, general all-rounder
ports - to suit above choices
arms - need one for each strobe and maybe bits for a focus light
strobe(s) - need at least one
cords - fibre optic or traditional synch will depend on your housing choice
housing

Pretty much any of the dslrs out there will be fine underwater but make sure that your chosen housing manufacturer supports the body you want BEFORE you buy I'd stick to Canon or Nikon simply because there are more of them out there and more support from major manufacturers etc. While our Everything thread (linked in my signature) is a little out of date with models, inside you will find stacks of great information that will help you figure out what bits & bobs you need - including a list of lenses that work very well underwater.

how much experience do you have with dslrs? IMHO I think most divers would be happier with a good solid flexible compact system rather than a huge dslr rig. There are awesome options to stay smaller, lighter, cheaper right now, more than ever before. They include not only the classic compacts but also the emerging 4/3s options. DSLRs are great and can produce amazing images and are a lot of fun but they are big, expensive, heavy, frustrating, time consuming & come with a steeper learning curve.

 

[Larry C]

Many people I know have gotten superior pictures from a quality point and shoot compared to others with DSLR's. They're smaller, easier to handle, easier to travel with, more versatile. The new ones can do just about anything the DSLR can. I shoot a DSLR, but if I were starting over with the current cameras I'd probably go for a mirrorless like the Olympus or Panasonic 4/3's or the Sony Nex or the New Canon mirrorless. Otherwise, G12/S100 from Canon with an aftermarket housing. Some longtime UW photographers are discarding their big rigs in favor of compacts just for ease of travel. There was a 17 year old on our trip to Bali last year with a Canon compact in the Canon housing who turned out terrific pictures with no camera experience whatsoever. He could get closer to subjects, maneuver in the current and could hold his camera more steady for tiny subjects, and the smaller lens/smaller sensor combo gets superior depth of field if you want sharp pictures instead of a good blurred background.
If you still plan to go with a DSLR, count on a $5K budget for camera, housing, strobe, arm, a couple of lenses and ports and a sync cable.
Two strobes, $1500. Basic arms, $500. Wide lens $500, Macro lens $500-$1000. Ports-macro $3-500, Dome $4-900, Dome spacers $150-300 each. Plus the camera and the housing. You will then use all of your carry on allowance for one bag to carry your camera and lenses and one to carry your housing.
You can do a nice single strobe compact with an aluminum housing and wet ports for about $2K-$2500 total and I can show you several photographers on this forum who will take better pictures with it than you'll take with your DSLR.
Check any post with pictures by Gilligan or Ed D_Man if you doubt me. Gilligan runs a Canon G model in Canon housing with a lower end single strobe. Edvin uses Panasonic compacts. I couldn't touch his pictures if you gave me a $20K full frame and a dozen lenses.

 

[derway]

The latest micro 4/3 camera - the oly omd is outstanding. IQ right up near apc SLRs. Great lens selection from both panasonic and oly.

A very affordable housing from oly, and even a quite decently affordable one from nauticam, who have lowered their prices a bit.

The sony nex has serious issues of almost no lenses of good quality for underwater use, and none on the announced horizon.

The canon mirrorless camera only has 2 lenses, but an adapter for all the other canon lenses. The problem are 2. Canon has yet to make a contrast detect auto focus system, that is competitive with sony, panasonic, and olympus. Even their latest g1x is really not very good at auto focus lag. The other problem is sensor size. By choosing a full apc sized sensor, they are going to be required to have the same size lenses as the DSLRs, to get the same aperture and focal length.

For me, the micro 4/3 sized sensor is wonderful - allowing significantly smaller lenses, while still having killer IQ. And there are already many many lenses to choose from that are great for underwater - including macro, fish eye, fish eye zoom, and so on.

The panasonic camera bodies are not as good, in my opinion, as the olympus - as photographers tools. When using Aperture mode, with flash, they have no way to fine tune the slowest shutter speed, to prevent motion blur, of fast moving subjects like fishies. So if using A mode with strobe, the shutter speed will often be 1/60th which is too slow.

The panasonic cameras also forbid the use of auto iso in M mode. So really, you will be forced to shoot full Manual all the time, underwater.

The oly cameras have settings and adjustments for all that. They really are better photographers tools.