Green Water Photography

[Lil' Irish Temper]

Never touched an underwater camera in my life and seeing how I dive the Green depths of Lake Erie I have a few questions.

1) I don't know if underwater photography is right for me, so I dont want to blow a bundle of money to try it out. So is there a decent camera to try that wont break the bank. Around $ 200 ? I'm not trying to get the shots into a magazine, I just want to share our underwater world with friends.

2) Lake Erie is filled with the greenest water known to mankind, is it even worth it to try to take photos in this kind of water.

Before someone yells at me for saying 200, and I know isn't going to get me very far. . . please remember I just want to see if it's something I would like to pursue. Then I would upgrade later after I knew for sure.

Thanks, LIT

 

[Machiavelli]

Well, you obviously wont be taking wide-angle shots so you're pretty much limited to super-close macros. You could probably find a point and shoot 4MP camera and housing for around or a little over $200. Then all you need to do is get super close to your subject and take your picture.

 

[Lil' Irish Temper]

I am diving 2 trains next week that are sitting in 40 feet of water, so I'm not too scared that they may move when I take a shot

I thought photos would be cool to have since its something you don't see everyday

This is a pic someone else took

 

[DrSteve]

I am diving 2 trains next week that are sitting in 40 feet of water, so I'm not too scared that they may move when I take a shot

I thought photos would be cool to have since its something you don't see everyday

This is a pic someone else took

You're not going to try and raise them are you?

I'd recommend one of two things...either buy my Sea and Sea MX10 film camera with YS40A strobe and close up lens for 250 ONO, or...splash out the money for an Oly c5050. Camera runs 330-400 (depending on availability) and housing for about 150-180. The c5060 is about the same price. You get a good 5MP camera and housing good for 130 feet. My wife has one and I loved it so much I bought one as well!

 

[alcina]

If you just want to see if you even like carrying a camera check out hiring one in your area or find one of those reuseable ones (Snap Sights makes a few choices and they are pretty sturdy little units). You might not bring back a whole roll of keepers but it will give you a feel for things and if you even like it - all for under $50.

Or, get on ebay etc and look for something like a Canon A70 or another early model - you should be able to pick one up for a good price. Housings are around $150 so you might be just over the $200 limit. You can always resell it. I still use my Canon A75 (3.2 MP) and it gets great results. Might be a good way to try things out...

 

[fpoole]

Yah above...
If you're just trying one out, not sure if you even want to get into it, the ebay might be the first stop, but I'd also look at the little minies like Sony DC9 or whatever their current model is... 4minimum mpix but for snapshots only you could get by with 3mpix if $$$ was really a factor and you're not sure.. Just plan on upgradeing aka "dumping that system for a new one..."
Those little Sony's are nice, small and handy to have even above water... If I recall, could have change by now, they were a little cheaper than the Oly rigs...

Green water is kewl.. heheh... you "Can" take some good shots.. I use WA all the time in Green Water, natrual light... fuzzy, but looks OK to me... (there are other postings on Green Water and Natural light threads)
Good luck and post what you've found for others... not to mention some photos.. some get hooked and some go to Videos.. hehehe.. sigh, just another Hook... LOL...
Hope that helps..

 

[DeepDog]

It sounds like it will just be a hobby for you like 99% of us. I am not too sure about $200 for both camera and housing but I can get you close. I have seen the Olympus OS300 going for $140 and its housing at $110 but that's as low as I would go. Most divers that I have seen trying to shoot with sub-$200 cameras are pretty frustrated with the results.

My primary U/W camera for the last couple years has been a 4MP digital (OS400) but when I bought it, it was a bit more than you will pay today. I think their new 410 is about half what I paid for the 400. Imagine that.

I rarely shoot at 4MP since nearly all my viewing is on computers and a 1200 by 1600 (2MP) photo prints out on quality photo paper better than most film shots you will see and some of the 'affordable' cameras are a bit slower to respond at the higher MP settings. 2MP is also a bit easier to e-mail than 4 or 5 MP shots. I shoot at that level or the next one up most of the time for those reasons but I chose a higher MP camera for the additional features that you get with them. I also have a Pentax S5i that I chose for its size, sound video and for its marine features.

You should pick a decent land camera that also happens to offer an U/W housing. I have found that the camera manufactured housings are much more economical than the 3rd party ones i.e., ikelite. Olympus and Pentax are just two examples of good manufacturors offering their own housings for low to mid-end digitals at reasonable prices.

It would be a good starting point and may even be all you ever NEED.

But then comes the WANT part that we divers are all too familiar with.

Good luck in your pursuit.