Good set-up for a newbie?

[jfksabal]

To the Commnunity:

I have ~ 20 dives under my belt and I want a simple set-up for starting underwater photography. I was thinking of a Canon SD880IS with the Canon underwater housing as it has a 3" LCD and an "Underwater" setting. Comments?

I could use a little guidance, please, namely what are the most important camera attributes on which I should be basing my selection? ISO? Optical zoom? Mega-pixels? Something else?

I already have the SD880IS so I was thinking of just buying the housing....

TIA,

John Sabal

 

[Darmok]

I have the same question, but thinking of the SD790IS... any ideas? Canon's case or Ikelite?

 

[TEERLKAY]

my advice would be to get some more dives under your weight belt before getting into underwater photography.

recognizing that advice probably won't be heeded - an underwater housing (canon would be fine) for the camera you already own would be a great place to start - as long as you understand you will probably outgrow it.

 

[diver 85]

To the OP and poster #2, below is a link to Alcina's info on UW cameras etc---with some newbie info in it---remember---she is a guru on this stuff........In general, I would start with a Canon A series(something that allows manuel controls) either the 570 or the 720---supposedly both are being or have been DC'ed but you can still get some(with the canon UW cases)---check with Amazon.com, a week or 2 ago the 570 & UW case could still be gotten for a total of under $300 US, did not check on the 720.......good luck......see my sig for some examples of these cameras........again good luck & do get some practice under your belts before really getting with it....

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/un...techniques-rebates-deals-look-here-first.html

EDIT: I occasionally use the zoom on video(never stills), the IS is unimportant UW, & anything 7 MP or higher is all you'll need for printing up to 8X10's......again you want something that can give you some manuel controls----although in the heat of battle(esp on nite dives) I have taken some excellent pics with the automatic UW builtin filters.....

 

[chewslife2]

I have an SD870IS and an Ikelite housing, I love it, I loaded in the CHDK download and it's awesome lots of manual control is enabled and tons of stuff to keep us beginning photographers busy for a good long while, Ikelite is the best , their customer service is great, , and their products very high quality. Also I "think" the variety of lenses you can use on an Ikelite housing is more than what is useable on the Canon housing, though I could be mistaken on that. I just got my gear and so only one photo dive so far, with camera and housing only, and internal flash, very good pictures for a first photo dive. CHDK gives you the capability to take RAW photos, so editing is easier and white balance can be adjusted as an after picture operation. Anyways it's alot of fun learning and there is a lot to learn, enjoy
Robert

 

[jfksabal]

Hi all -- thanks for your responses. I wound up getting a camera dedicated to UW photog., only: I got a refurb. Nikon P5100 and a Fantasea housing.

You can find me on "Nikon Niche"!

Thanks again,

John

 

[Andy077]

i got the 880IS for Christmas, and a deal on the wp-26 housing hit amazon so i grabbed one, we'll see how it turns out.

 

[scubadada]

To paraphrase others, the newest, most intense risk to the coral reefs are inexperiensed divers with new digital cameras. I make a plea to work on diving skills prior to assuming the responsibility of underwater photography.

Good diving, Craig

 

[jfksabal]

scubadada: I heartily agree!

I wound up diving 13x in Belize (FANTASTIC) and bringing my camera on ~ 1/2 of those dives, and definitely NOT the first dive of the trip. Got some great photos and movies, too!

What I recommend to other newbies is to ensure their buoyancy control is excellent before trying UW photog. "Excellent" = minimal use of hands, being able to hover for a prolonged period, being able to get close to something but NOT TOUCH it, etc.

I would also recommend that there is no minimum number of dives before trying UW photog. When you are proficient at buoyancy control, then is when you're ready.

Good diving, all.