Fuji F30 or Canon S70

[Varoshiotis]

Hi all,

Haven't posted for ages so feel like a newbie so please go easy on me

I own both of these cameras and wish to take one of these underwater to 30m. I am looking at the camera that will give me the best performance as well as the best video. I have an external stobe (Sunpak) that has a fibre optic cable trigger that I could use though I might prefer if I can get away without the strobe if the performace of the "standard" camera is good enough.

Thanking you in advance
Alexis (London)

 

[Larry C]

Can't attest to the video capabilities, but both of those cameras should do a terrific job under water. I've seen lots of good pics taken with both. The Sunpak should function fine with either. It's reasonably strong, but not especially reliable. Make sure you take care of the battery o-ring and check the tab indicators on the cover constantly. To see some nice shots done with the Sunpak, check Sea Yoda's Gallery. I think he used a Fuji as well, but not positive.

 

[pakman]

Alexis, hmm tough choice... I used to have a Canon S70 that I used with a Inon D-2000. Having some regrets on selling that when I upgraded to a DSLR. Currently I'm really liking the little Fuji F30 which I'll toss in my wetsuit thigh pocket to take along even when I have my DSLR. Great low light shooting. Both are great little cameras.

Video wise, F30 does a nice job (again thanks to its excellent low light performance) and best of all the video length is limited only by your flash card (I recall the S70 was limited at the best quality video setting). Now the trade off and something I really miss is that the S70 allowed you to shoot in RAW and gave you full manual control over shutter and aperture. With the F30, I've got to remind myself to set manual WB every now and then for wide angle shots.

While both cameras can take a decent closeup macro pic with the internal flash, the pictures will really sing if you get a external strobe.

 

[Matt S.]

It seems to me that if video is the priority, the Fuji wins. If still, take the S70 and shoot everything in raw.

(Raw mode is useful for much more than white balance. The way that you can adjust exposure during "developing" is very powerful, and can't be duplicated by messing with brightness, lightness, contrast, or curves on a jpeg file. If an image is slightly misexposed, you can rescue it... amazing.)

I recently wrestled with which of these cameras to buy for my UW photo setup, and the S70 won. But that's just my $0.02.

 

[DesertEagle]

If you plan to use the strobe, the Canon is a better choice. On the other hand, the Fuji is much faster and does a great job with higher ISO.

 

[Varoshiotis]

Thanx to Larry, Pakman and Matt S fpr responding.

I did find Sea Yoda's gallery but could not determine the camera that he used - is this info somewhere and I am being too stupid to see - is there any EXIF data attached to the images by any chance? I would love to answer my own question (S70 vs F30) by looking at some galleries - can anyone point me to the right direction?

One thing that I forgot to mention is that I am quite long-sighted (+2.5). Although I have a specially made Cressi bifocal mask, the screen/menus on the Fuji might be easier to read I guess!

The only thing holding me bak from getting a housing for the Fuji is the 28mm of the S70 and RAW - are these 2 factors significant enough to sway me towards the S70?

Thanx again
alexis

 

[pakman]

Alexis, here are some shots I took from the Similan Island, Thailand last year with a Canon S70 + Inon D-2000 strobe. Also used a Inon macro lens and tried a friend's Inon wide angle add on lens. Not the best, but gives you a rough idea what the S70 can do with strobe lighting. and yes the S70 going 28mm wide is nice...

(used the Inon addon macro lens)

(used the Inon wideangle dome add on lens)

 

[Varoshiotis]

Fantastic images and thanks also to DesertEagle for response.

Looking at the Sunpak strobe that I originally bought for the Canon S1 (which I have now sold) I wonder if it will be simply too big with either of these cameras? I have just come across a Fuji strobe called "UW 120" that looks quite compact and well balanced and is (according to the little info I found on it) be compatible to both the S70 and F30. Anyone know this strobe?

regards amd thanx again
Alexis

 

[ghnouer]

Hi Varoshiotis....maybe I can help you. I just bought a F30 and a Fuji housing...This is my first UW camera and I just did two dives with it. I have no external strobe and I am very happy with my firsts results. I will try to upload some pictures here.

 

[ghnouer]

I'd like to upload more images but I couldn't !!! I will try again tomorrow...Sorry







http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r247/ghnouer/FotoSub_Bombinhas_2006_10x15_002.jpg