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Any recommendations on a first camera? Is there a book or website that can help?
First Camera
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PatW
Contributor
The major retailers like Backscatter and Reef Photo have websites that discuss the advantages of various systems. They are worth checking out.
Your budget for the purchase will play a huge role here... is it $500? $5000? more?
Great cameras mentioned and also the issue of budget. Here are some links to some Compact Camera systems. Remember the great thing about compacts is you can add Wet Lenses underwater so in one dive you can get images of nudibranch and mantas in the same dive. So budget for them!
Compact Systems
System Packages :: Compact Systems -
Sony RX100 & Housing Review
Education :: UW Photography Articles & Links :: Review: Nauticam Sony RX100 in Fiji -
We get this question alot so here is the long answer....
Cameras
Sony RX100 & R100II
Both have the largest sensor in the class. This results in class leading Dynamic Range and Low Light performance. It is strong at medium to wide-angle photography. A 100 or better yet 144 degree wet wide-angle lens for this camera is a must! Shoots nice video but you have to Manual White Balance in photo. They need a +10 Diopter to do decent macro. So if they have a “weakness” it is that the Sony RX’s don’t do as good Macro as the other two cameras to be covered. But remember you have 20 megapixels to play with. Otherwise this camera is Fantastic, I shoot it myself.
Canon S110 and S120
Both are good choices. The best deals can be had on the S110 right now. Smaller sensor than the Sony but still very good quality images. Stronger than the Sony at Macro shooting. Wide angle wet lenses are recommended and with Diopters you can do “super macro”. Fewer megapixels and a smaller sensor does result in grainier photos if you are enlarging/cropping. Shoots very nice HD video like the Sony. Small and pocketble like the Sony. Took 12 people to Lembeh and the diver who took 3 & 4th place in the photo contest was shooting the S100, beating fully loaded DSLR rigs.
Canon G15 and G16
Cameras in a very good line. This is the largest of the cameras and on the boarder of what I would call a pocket camera. It has a very good sensor but not as large as the Sony. One issue is with this camera is it has a very big zoom range which is great for dry land shooting but a bit of an issue underwater. There are more limited Wet Wide angle lenses that work with the G15 & G16 then the other two cameras but they do exist. Image quality is excellent, another camera that shoots 1080HD video. Like the Sony probably a little stronger on the Wide Angle side vs. Macro but shoots excellent Macro. This is a great camera who might be looking more for a dry land camera with a big zoom that can do a very good job underwater.
Other excellent cameras include the Panasonic LX7 and for some the Olympus XZ2 might be a good fit.
Housings: Nauticam vs. Ikelite vs. Fantasea
Nauticam is a metal housing beautifully built and anything the camera can do the housing can do. All the controls are silky smooth. It really is the best of the group. For cold-water divers they spread the buttons out so those wearing gloves can use all the buttons. There are housing that can claim, and rightly, they are as good as Nauticam none that can prove they are better.
Ikelite is very good at its price point. Solid build, excellent reputation and very good customer service. Buttons are placed exactly where they are on the camera so they can be hard to work for those wearing heavy gloves. In addition the controls are a little more finicky than the Nauticam. The nice thing is you can see the controls as you work them. One big advantage of Ikelite, depending on the camera, is for those who like to shoot TTL/Automatic Ike housing combined with their strobes can give excellent results. (Must use electrical sync cord)
Fantasea is the least expensive. The quality is good and you have full control of the cameras options. A major issue with Fantasea is their square ports. These limit your choice in wet lenses which Is one of the major advantages of going with a compact camera
Wet Lenses
This is one of the major advantages of buying a camera in this class. Diopters allow you to shoot smaller subjects. They come in powers of +5 to +16. Wide Angle lenses allow you to shoot larger subjects and get close enough to light them with your strobes. Typically they give you 100 Degrees of view up to 145 Degrees of view. To get the most out of all the cameras above you want to add both.
Lighting
If you want the shots like you see in the magazines you need strobes! The more powerful the better and two are better than one!!! NO ONE has ever come into the shop and complained they had too much light. If you shoot without a strobe once you get past the top of the reef your photos will just be blue.
In General
All are great cameras and shoot at a level that will more than satisfy the majority of shooters. You really can’t go wrong with any of them. Depending on the strobes you buy you can start in TTL/Automatic and move to Full Manual as you gain experience. If you are crazy about macro then you may want to lean more to the Canon cameras.
To take full advantage of them you need to invest in Wet Lenses and good lighting. Lighting is one of the biggest factors in getting those rich, colorful shots. If you are a coldwater diver wearing heavy gloves you may need to look at Nauticam or the like where they spread out the buttons.
Everyone we work with is on a budget. So you have to be honest with your budget and how much money you will have to add parts in the next 1-2 years. All these cameras are so good that they will stay relevant for at least 4-5 years.
Compact Systems
System Packages :: Compact Systems -
Sony RX100 & Housing Review
Education :: UW Photography Articles & Links :: Review: Nauticam Sony RX100 in Fiji -
We get this question alot so here is the long answer....
Cameras
Sony RX100 & R100II
Both have the largest sensor in the class. This results in class leading Dynamic Range and Low Light performance. It is strong at medium to wide-angle photography. A 100 or better yet 144 degree wet wide-angle lens for this camera is a must! Shoots nice video but you have to Manual White Balance in photo. They need a +10 Diopter to do decent macro. So if they have a “weakness” it is that the Sony RX’s don’t do as good Macro as the other two cameras to be covered. But remember you have 20 megapixels to play with. Otherwise this camera is Fantastic, I shoot it myself.
Canon S110 and S120
Both are good choices. The best deals can be had on the S110 right now. Smaller sensor than the Sony but still very good quality images. Stronger than the Sony at Macro shooting. Wide angle wet lenses are recommended and with Diopters you can do “super macro”. Fewer megapixels and a smaller sensor does result in grainier photos if you are enlarging/cropping. Shoots very nice HD video like the Sony. Small and pocketble like the Sony. Took 12 people to Lembeh and the diver who took 3 & 4th place in the photo contest was shooting the S100, beating fully loaded DSLR rigs.
Canon G15 and G16
Cameras in a very good line. This is the largest of the cameras and on the boarder of what I would call a pocket camera. It has a very good sensor but not as large as the Sony. One issue is with this camera is it has a very big zoom range which is great for dry land shooting but a bit of an issue underwater. There are more limited Wet Wide angle lenses that work with the G15 & G16 then the other two cameras but they do exist. Image quality is excellent, another camera that shoots 1080HD video. Like the Sony probably a little stronger on the Wide Angle side vs. Macro but shoots excellent Macro. This is a great camera who might be looking more for a dry land camera with a big zoom that can do a very good job underwater.
Other excellent cameras include the Panasonic LX7 and for some the Olympus XZ2 might be a good fit.
Housings: Nauticam vs. Ikelite vs. Fantasea
Nauticam is a metal housing beautifully built and anything the camera can do the housing can do. All the controls are silky smooth. It really is the best of the group. For cold-water divers they spread the buttons out so those wearing gloves can use all the buttons. There are housing that can claim, and rightly, they are as good as Nauticam none that can prove they are better.
Ikelite is very good at its price point. Solid build, excellent reputation and very good customer service. Buttons are placed exactly where they are on the camera so they can be hard to work for those wearing heavy gloves. In addition the controls are a little more finicky than the Nauticam. The nice thing is you can see the controls as you work them. One big advantage of Ikelite, depending on the camera, is for those who like to shoot TTL/Automatic Ike housing combined with their strobes can give excellent results. (Must use electrical sync cord)
Fantasea is the least expensive. The quality is good and you have full control of the cameras options. A major issue with Fantasea is their square ports. These limit your choice in wet lenses which Is one of the major advantages of going with a compact camera
Wet Lenses
This is one of the major advantages of buying a camera in this class. Diopters allow you to shoot smaller subjects. They come in powers of +5 to +16. Wide Angle lenses allow you to shoot larger subjects and get close enough to light them with your strobes. Typically they give you 100 Degrees of view up to 145 Degrees of view. To get the most out of all the cameras above you want to add both.
Lighting
If you want the shots like you see in the magazines you need strobes! The more powerful the better and two are better than one!!! NO ONE has ever come into the shop and complained they had too much light. If you shoot without a strobe once you get past the top of the reef your photos will just be blue.
In General
All are great cameras and shoot at a level that will more than satisfy the majority of shooters. You really can’t go wrong with any of them. Depending on the strobes you buy you can start in TTL/Automatic and move to Full Manual as you gain experience. If you are crazy about macro then you may want to lean more to the Canon cameras.
To take full advantage of them you need to invest in Wet Lenses and good lighting. Lighting is one of the biggest factors in getting those rich, colorful shots. If you are a coldwater diver wearing heavy gloves you may need to look at Nauticam or the like where they spread out the buttons.
Everyone we work with is on a budget. So you have to be honest with your budget and how much money you will have to add parts in the next 1-2 years. All these cameras are so good that they will stay relevant for at least 4-5 years.
Last edited:
00wabbit
Contributor
I would recommend the canon s series for a first camera. S100 s100 etc.
I started with a s90. It was a very forgiving camera. The underwater mode worked well in caribbean waters and it had full controls and raw when I needed it.
Now I have the rx100 and it is capable of much better images but I think it is a little less forgiving if you are not familiar with manual controls. In auto mode it likes to default to f1.8 in lower light (underwater) and that gives to shallow a depth of field for most images. If you understood that last sentence then the rx100 might be good for you too!
BOth options are great because they take really nice photos underwater and are very small and compact on the surface. So they make great all around travel cameras for above and below water.
With the canons you can buy the canon housing which worked well for me and is pretty inexpensive. For the sony you have to buy a housing from a housing manufacturer like ikelite, recsea, or nauticam. Ikelite is the least expensive but still more than the canon housing. I had the ikelite for a couple of days though and returned it because I didn't like how the fit of the camera and alignment of the buttons was set up. I bought the nauticam which costs more than the camera and I am very happy with it (my bank account isnt so happy though
)
I started with a s90. It was a very forgiving camera. The underwater mode worked well in caribbean waters and it had full controls and raw when I needed it.
Now I have the rx100 and it is capable of much better images but I think it is a little less forgiving if you are not familiar with manual controls. In auto mode it likes to default to f1.8 in lower light (underwater) and that gives to shallow a depth of field for most images. If you understood that last sentence then the rx100 might be good for you too!
BOth options are great because they take really nice photos underwater and are very small and compact on the surface. So they make great all around travel cameras for above and below water.
With the canons you can buy the canon housing which worked well for me and is pretty inexpensive. For the sony you have to buy a housing from a housing manufacturer like ikelite, recsea, or nauticam. Ikelite is the least expensive but still more than the canon housing. I had the ikelite for a couple of days though and returned it because I didn't like how the fit of the camera and alignment of the buttons was set up. I bought the nauticam which costs more than the camera and I am very happy with it (my bank account isnt so happy though
)
As with so many of these questions, there is no "right" answer, except "it depends."
OK, on what does "it depend?"
a. Are you a camera novice? That is, are you comfortable with the various aspects of photography or are you just starting out? (And here I'm talking photography, not just underwater photography.) If a novice, then a "point-and-shoot" (with manual and RAW would be nice) would be the place to start. If you already understand aperture, shutter speed, ISO, depth of field, etc., then an Evil or DSLR may be in your sight.
b. Budget -- as mentioned, money really controls a lot of the decisions. A small Point-n-Shoot with an OEM housing can be had for several hundred dollars and will take "decent" images and video -- add a strobe (another few hundred) and then add, add, add....
c. What do you want from your camera -- video, wide angle, macro, use it on land, what?
Backscatter, one of the nation's leading UW camera stores, does a very nice job of reviewing cameras/packages and I suggest you should study it before making any purchases (better than the link provided above -- BTW, not to criticize Optical Oceans a place I just dropped $1400+ yesterday -- and yes, that was just for a couple of add-ons to my existing system):
Underwater Camera Articles: Best Underwater Compact Cameras for 2013
OK, on what does "it depend?"
a. Are you a camera novice? That is, are you comfortable with the various aspects of photography or are you just starting out? (And here I'm talking photography, not just underwater photography.) If a novice, then a "point-and-shoot" (with manual and RAW would be nice) would be the place to start. If you already understand aperture, shutter speed, ISO, depth of field, etc., then an Evil or DSLR may be in your sight.
b. Budget -- as mentioned, money really controls a lot of the decisions. A small Point-n-Shoot with an OEM housing can be had for several hundred dollars and will take "decent" images and video -- add a strobe (another few hundred) and then add, add, add....
c. What do you want from your camera -- video, wide angle, macro, use it on land, what?
Backscatter, one of the nation's leading UW camera stores, does a very nice job of reviewing cameras/packages and I suggest you should study it before making any purchases (better than the link provided above -- BTW, not to criticize Optical Oceans a place I just dropped $1400+ yesterday -- and yes, that was just for a couple of add-ons to my existing system):
Underwater Camera Articles: Best Underwater Compact Cameras for 2013
I was reading about this subject today and had a couple of questions of my own (don't mean to hijack your thread).
What's your view on the Gopro Hero3+ adventure?
Does it differentiate itself for being a video camera rather than a point and shoot?
I am tempted to get the Gopro because of its versatility: being able to use it skiing, diving, or motorcycling. However I am not sure about the quality of the pictures I could take with it.
Any input would be highly appreciated.
Thanks
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
What's your view on the Gopro Hero3+ adventure?
Does it differentiate itself for being a video camera rather than a point and shoot?
I am tempted to get the Gopro because of its versatility: being able to use it skiing, diving, or motorcycling. However I am not sure about the quality of the pictures I could take with it.
Any input would be highly appreciated.
Thanks
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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