G10 in Canon housing not a good solution

[peterbj7]

After my preferred U/W camera was stolen I decided to get a G10. Lovely camera and I like playing with it. I also bought Canon's U/W housing and started to use it under water, using the internal flash as I don't want to have to carry a long-armed strobe.

But I was very surprised and even more disappointed to find that the "nose" of the housing obscures the flash on the lower half of the picture and close ups using internal flash are useless. To the extent that I'm considering complaining to Canon about it - it's something they should say about their housing. Although I have a long-armed strobe I won't use it with this camera as its totally defeating the object - I want a compact setup I can easily carry with me on every dive. If I want all the gongs and bells I'll take my DSLR setup.

On land I like the camera, though interestingly it doesn't give results any better than my Samsung L85.

Underwater I managed to buy a used Casio EX-Z55 to go into the housing that hadn't been stolen, and now I'm again getting U/W pictures like the ones I used to.

I have to say the whole G10 experiment has been rather disappointing, and I recommend anyone considering one to be very cautious.

Does anyone know if Canon reads these pages? I am very pro Canon as a brand, I have a Canon DSLR and several Canon compacts, and I've found their after-sales service to be superb. But the G10 is VERY disappointing.

 

[jd950]

I can see how the long nose or port would severely limit the usefulness of the onboard flash. I have been using a G9 and now a G10 with an external flash and am very happy with it, within the limitations of any "point and shoot."

To be fair, the G10 does offer a wider angle of view than the Casio, which although not huge by the numbers, is enough to make a big difference to me and is why I went from the G9 to the G10, and offers RAW file output which I greatly prefer. Those factors would make it worth the cost and inconvenience to use an external flash, but in addition I can position and external flash to provide top or side lighting and to minimize backscatter.

I am glad you found the camera you wanted. The good news, I guess is that you will probably find it easy to sell the Canon and the housing without suffering much of a loss.

 

[peterbj7]

But I'm annoyed that this obvious defect wasn't mentioned by Canon in pre-sales literature. They must know about it.

How do you get your external flash to fire? I read that there are difficulties with Canon's G10 housing.

 

[Nemrod]

They expect you to use an external flash. Get a small single arm tray like the Inon tray and get their miniature (super small) but full feature and power, S2000 strobe. Don't get an arm, just use a butterfly connector clamp from the strobe to the ball on the tray. This would be a very compact rig and should solve your problems and having the tray actually makes handling and shooting underwater easier and the S2000 will make a world of difference in your pics. N

 

[Warmwater Wank]

So you zoom out if you want to use the internal flash, especially for closer in shots. Yep, the housing does cause a shadow. It's why an external stobe is a must and I'd agree, if you don't want the "gongs and bells" the Canon housing wouldn't be a good choice.

On the other hand, for a "reasonable" cash outlay (compared to DSLR), it's a sweet camera when used w/ an external strobe. Check out Gilligan's pics (or Ed Dman's and others) for some superb work done w/ a G-10. I understand not wanting to always take a DSLR and it's cumbersome setup but a Canon housing w/ an external strobe needn't be that cumbersome.

Of course there are much more compact setups for simple (on-board only flash) shots UW, cheaper solutions too (Fuji F series comes to mind). They just don't give the quality results of a G-10. A shooter does have to think about all this and decide, there is no one best camera.

For the quality and control you get using a decent external strobe w/ a G-10 it is difficult to beat. The Canon housing? Well, not great but a low-cost solution, especially w/ an external flash (have I mentioned that yet?? ) Ah, but that's just my opinion--and I don't own any other Canon gear but a G-10 ! // ww

 

[FrankPro1]

How do you get your external flash to fire? I read that there are difficulties with Canon's G10 housing.

Its not as easy as plug and play, but its not that hard either. If you want to use a fiber optic line and not just a EV sensor, all you have to do is simply attach the line to the flash window. This can be with a piece of tape, velcro or other home made contraption. I personally wanted a hardwired TTL connection with my G10, so I went with the Ikelite housing. Unfortunately the Ikelite housing too suffers from its "long nose" as you put it. Where there is a dramatic lens shadow on the flash. I know its not an answer, but when getting really close on a macro subject, line up your target in the left hand corner. Post shot, you can crop out the dark area. I have done this successfully with quite a few of my pics. Now that I have an external strobe, I no longer have to deal with this, but atleast macro was still capable without it. Also have you tried just shooting with ambient light? Play with the EV controller to brighten up your shot without sacrificing preferred aperture or shutter speed.

The G10 is a superb camera. Simply put its the best P&S you can buy without moving up into the DSLR level. Many people on this board will agree with this opinion. The Canon's housing is not my preferred option, but there are those who have had excellent results. Look at Gilligans posts :
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/underwater-photography/278967-april-1-bohol-pics.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/underwater-photography/292600-july-5-bohol-pics.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/underwater-photography/291299-june-26-bohol-pics.html
And to a lesser extant my own:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/underwater-photography/286409-spring-diving-palos-verdes-peninsula.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/socal/287553-neptunes-cove.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/socal/292450-christmas-tree-cove-7-3-09-a.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/socal/281790-christmas-tree-cove-4-21-09-a.html
Every one of my photo posts were done with the internal strobe besides the 7.3.09 Christmas Tree Cove. You can get decent results with the onboard flash and just ambient light, it just takes some practice.

 

[stu_in_fl]

But I'm annoyed that this obvious defect wasn't mentioned by Canon in pre-sales literature. They must know about it.

How do you get your external flash to fire? I read that there are difficulties with Canon's G10 housing.

I agree - Canon should have stated the internal flash can't be used without a shadow. As far as I know it is their ONLY housing that is like this, so they should have mentioned it. I had to wait until people here started reviewing the housing to see that there were some issues - even then I'm not sure anyone really stated that limitation.

Ikelite are up front with information about all their housings as to whether one NEEDS an external flsh (as does the G10).

I also agree with Peter's sentiment - I do have a strobe and will use it when conveinent, but also want the option of not needing to use one, e.g. if needing to travel light or not wanting the bulk for a certain dive...hence deciding not to upgrade to the G10....waiting to see if this limitation will go for most of the future high end compacts - i hope not.

 

[FrankPro1]

Also, Are you making sure to use the diffuser plate? It lets you get closer to the subject with having such a dramatic shadow. If your not, then you'll be surprised how much it will make a difference.

 

[maged_mmh]

I'd buy the whole setup in a heartbeat if you wanna sell

 

[peterbj7]

Also, Are you making sure to use the diffuser plate? It lets you get closer to the subject with having such a dramatic shadow. If your not, then you'll be surprised how much it will make a difference.

If you mean a separate removeable diffuser plate, there wasn't one in the box. Rather surprised me.