Good camera for a beginner and other suggestions wanted!

[VaScubaGirl]

I've been diving for two years and now feel I'm at point I can start taking up underwater photography. I've tried the little disposable camers...they were terrible! Not that they cracked or anything, there just wasn't enough light to capture anything decent. That being said, I would like to know what is a good basic camera (that won't break my budget) to start with, if you must get additional light sources (strobes etc) and what the ballpark price range I can expect. Also, I see all kinds of underwater cameras being sold on ebay. What are y'all's opinions on those? Thanks!

 

[pdoege]

Lots of stuff on the board.

Click here.
http://www.scubaboard.com/search.ph...d=446043&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending

Peter

 

[norcaldiver]

the majority of people use the Olympus c4040, c5050, but the C4000 is a 4megapixel camera that has everything the 4040 does, except the monster zoom ( I think). The c4000 can be had for $400 or less brand new at most stores like circuit city or best buy. A housing for it can be had for $250.

A few people, myself included, have the Nikon Coolpix 4300. It's a 4MP camera that is virtually identical to the Olympus 4000, but a little smaller. A housing for it runs about $180 and comes with 1 year of flood insurance.

There are 2 good starters for under $650. Good luck.

 

[Scubatooth]

another good set up to start with would be the canon powershot A series and the housings that they have for them.

the more recent A series have more manuel contorls that once you learn how to get good pictures will let you tweak the camera any way you would like, but for a beginner the auto or program modes are perfect.

as for strobes i think the sea and sea DX 25 or DX 90 are the two to use for underwater (but thats my opinon)



a A seriies camera with housing can be done for around 500 and then with a strobe around a grand

talk to Dee as she seems to have the oly items down on the in and out on them

 

[SimonJ]

Hi VaScubaGirl,

I was in almost exactly the same position as you, in that I had been diving for a couple of years and really wanted to get into underwater photography. Unfortunately I had yet to find this board, but I still think that I made a good choice.

The consensus on here (almost to a religous fanatacism ) is that the Olympus cameras and housings are the best choice. The trouble is, that I was a huge Canon devotee and also really wanted a nice camera for use on dry land. As a result I went for the Canon S400 and housing, with a Sea&Sea YS-25DX strobe. My view was that I really wanted to spend more on the camera than anything else, and I could always upgrade the other bits as time went on.

I would have to be honest and say that I love my Canon and the limited results that I have had from it. I have really only taken one dive holiday with it, but have taken a great deal of other land photographs as well. My next dive trip is just 3 weeks away (2 weeks in Grenada) and I can't wait.

So where does this leave you....The Canon kit is a great choice, particularly if you want to take land pics, have a great camera that is really small and want to take videos....BUT.....the Olympus kit does have a few advantages...mostly in the peripherals that can be added, such as wide angle lenses.

Hope this helps in some way.

Simon

 

[Dee]

You don't say whether you want digital or film. I'll go on the assumption of digital because we all know it's the best! :tease:

You also don't mention budget so I'll go on the assumtion you want something affordable that will give you printable results.

Yes, I am a huge Olympus fan. For a beginner who wants what I've assumed above a C-3040 would do a very nice job. It is a 3MP camera with some nice, easy to learn features. The C-4000 would be a second because of the lack of available flash with macro. My first recommendation would be the C-4040 but it is no longer in production. Unfortunately the Oly PT-10 housing that fits all of these cameras has been discontinued. Some cam still be found if you look for around $250. So this leaves you with the C-5050, which is a great camera. I'm just not sure it's for the rank beginner but I could be horribly wrong! The controls are a bit more confusings, needing 2 hands to access the menu for one. The 8 My Mode setting will let you work around that by setting each one for different exposure situations. The 4 storage medias are nice as are the tilt LCD screen and other bells and whistles. Just because the bells and whistles are there doesn't necessarily mean you have to use them. I've been told if you know how to shop the internet that the C-5050 ($550) and the PT-015 housing ($149) could be had for around $700.

Simon is right....the Canon has a sweet set-up. For price and size it can't be beat. It's my second choice after Olympus. If you don't want to upgrade your system to additional lenses, dual strobes, etc. the Canon may be your best choice.

Gasp! Did I just say that! I'm very disappointed in Olympus at the moment. I'm waiting for reports from DEMA but it seems that Oly has ended their C-series cameras and are devoting their R&D time and $$ to producing the new Stylus series which is a small pocket size camera that I doubt will ever have a housing produced for it and the E Series is their efforts for digital SLR which is way over the budget of most of us. Not just the camera and housing but in the lenses needed to get the advrtised results.

 

[MstrDiver]

VaScubaGirl once bubbled...
I've been diving for two years and now feel I'm at point I can start taking up underwater photography. I've tried the little disposable camers...they were terrible! Not that they cracked or anything, there just wasn't enough light to capture anything decent. That being said, I would like to know what is a good basic camera (that won't break my budget) to start with, if you must get additional light sources (strobes etc) and what the ballpark price range I can expect. Also, I see all kinds of underwater cameras being sold on ebay. What are y'all's opinions on those? Thanks!

I'm an Olympus fan too. I use a C-4040 in a PT-010 housing. This picture was taken with the camera at about 15 feet on an overcast day using only the built-in flash. I would think that if Olympus is discontinuing the C Series, you should be able to pick up a new one very reasonably. Make sure you get a large capacity memory card for it. The one it ships with just doesn't do much if you take fairly high quality pictures.

 

[MstrDiver]

MstrDiver once bubbled...


I'm an Olympus fan too.

This was done with the same setup. It was taken on a sunny day at about 50 feet. Still only using the internal flash. Part of the trick in doing that is getting close.

 

[VaScubaGirl]

Thanks you guys for all the info! I definitely have a lot to learn!! I hadn't even considered digital or film. On land, I have used both (though the digital one I used was about 4 or 5 years ago and I know the quality has gotten a lot better) so I prefer film, plus I have yet to find a decent printer that prints nice quality photos. So, for underwater, anyone have preferences about film or digital? I guess it is nice not having to mess with rolls of film on the boat and trying to keeo them dry, but how are the quality of the photos? Do cameras come with software, do you print your own photos or do you take them somewhere?

And I have to say...WOW what an investment. From what I gathered, it looks like on the low side I'll be investing about 700-1000 bucks. What about buying new vs. used equipment? Thanks again guys!

 

[Scubatooth]

VA

what part of the state are you from ?

personally for me film under water is a real waste because buying and processing it (with prints)i dont know what i will get because of film differences and the fact that im limited to max of 36 shots a roll, as i prefer to do the same shot in different orientations/angles and bracketed shots for best look exposure, and then i can print the ones i like the most.

most cameras come with a basic photo editor (photoshop LE (which is lower then elements), or something else, if you have the money go ahead and get Photoshop, but if you on a budget elements ver 2 would fill your need and its around 75

quality of the photos has a fair number of factors but normally anything at 3 mp or above will make very good prints. personally i have a HP 230 mini photo printer that does 4x6s very well and i only paid like 200 for it (which is cheaper then other good photo printers which can be as high as 700+). as for me its about a 50/50 split weather i print them my self or take them to a lab (if its going to be a very large print or i wanted done a certain way, or if im having a large qty done, it just really depends)


well for the price range you have listed could get you a camera, housing and maybe a strobe (sea & Sea DX 25) but then that depends on the camera.

as a rule of thumb try not to buy used because you dont know what it has been through, there is one exception and that is refurb (used) is good as long as it has been done by the manufacture and they will warrenty it.

if you need help picking a camera PM me and i will help you with that by walking you through a simple set of questions to narrow the field down

if you have anymore questions feel free to ask