Going digital, what to buy?

[Dingo]

HI
I am about to buy a digital camera, and since I am a keen diver it would be nice if I could get an uw-housing for it.
I have never used an uw-housing so I do not have a clue what to look out for. I currently have a Nkonos VI with a SB-103.
As for What camera to buy, I am open to suggestions. I will say i have looked at the Nikon Cool pix 5700.

Dingo

 

[Scubamedicjoe]

well i can tell you most everyon e on this board likes olympus camera's like the c 4000 and above with stobe and case will rin you approx 1000 maybe slightly less depending wear you shop ask dee has been doing this little while and does great pictures
myself still useing a sealife pro camera with strobe some day move to digital when i get rich hehe

 

[raxafarian]

the nikons are good cameras. The housings cost more than some others. Olympus and Canon make their own housings for some of their cameras which are cheaper than housings available for the nikons (ikelite, aquatica, etc). The nikon 5700 is a great camera, but the nikon 5000 would be better for underwater use because it has a "wider" wide-angle. You can use any strobe with a sync cord with the 5000, not sure about the 5700. The olympus require a "digital" strobe to handle their camera's "pre-flash" (the flash fires to gather TTL data, and then immediately fires to take the picture...). This pre-flash will fire a normal strobe during the "preflash" and there isn't enough recycle time for a regular strobe to fire for the picture.

 

[Dee]

You'll find alot of information on buying your first digital or getting started in digital photography by reading through the posts in this forum. Also do a search on getting started.

Before we can make any specific recommendations, we need to know what you expect...prints, only sharing on the web, budget limits, etc.

Olympus makes a great camera and housing, available for around $800-1000. Canon makes their A-series of cameras and housings in a lower price range. Olympus, Canon, Nikon's Cool Pix..all cameras I'd start my research with.

There are so many variables with digital cameras, there's no way to cover any fully without know more of what you want. Give us a bit more to work with and we'll help all we can!

 

[clive francis]

Dingo as Dee said search the previous posts or look at what digital camera do you use?

that will give you an idea of what everyone is using with some opinions.

if you don't give any info, people will struggle to help

take a look at my site for some sample oly photo's with an earlier c920 (1.3m) and my current c3040 (3.34m)

 

[ReyeR]

Dee, judging from the posts maybe it's time to make a 'collection' of post links or a new 'sub-section' with basic setup info and user experience/testimonials. There's quite a lot of info, especially for those new to digital, to sieve through on the site, and some of the threads do go off the original path. Just a suggestion...

 

[Dee]

ReyeR once bubbled...
Dee, judging from the posts maybe it's time to make a 'collection' of post links or a new 'sub-section' with basic setup info and user experience/testimonials. There's quite a lot of info, especially for those new to digital, to sieve through on the site, and some of the threads do go off the original path. Just a suggestion...

Funny you should say that! I've been working on a list of links to past posts, popular threads, websites for instructions, etc. It's almost finished so hopefully it'll fill in some of the blank spots.

 

[caymaniac]

How about the digital SLRs? Maybe the S2 with the Ikelite housing and one or two good strobes.
Alittle dreamin is good.
Caymaniac:mean:

 

[bholbertii]

If you haven't bought one yet, I'd really consider the Canon G2 with the Ikelite housing. both for under $1200 and if you have the change, go with the strobe with the ikelite. You'll love the pics you get from the G2. No Nikon or Olympus will beat it. If you need a cheeper housing, look at www.aquatix.com and check out their housings. They make one for both digital and video and they are reasonable. I have the video housing and get great results. As far as lights go, I getting ready to try the Ocean Brite Led lites. Will let you know how they work. Good luck!

 

[norcaldiver]

Overstock.com has a Oly c4000 for $446.20. It's a refurb, but has 2 year waranty for $28.00 xtra.

I thought this was a great deal, till I ran over to CompUSA at lunch. 449.00, NIB, no refurb.

What a crock, just goes to show, ALWAYS do the legwork.