help deciding??

[lil timmy]

hello, i have a dive trip coming up in the next month or so and need a little nudge as to which camera to buy. i thought i had finally chosen one....the s3. that is until i discovered that ikelite is the only underwater housing that i could find for it. i'm an amateur, so i really don't want to spend that kind of money on the housing alone ($700 or so.) now i need to decide between the g7 and the a710. originally i decided on the s3 because of the 12x zoom. now both cameras (g7 and a710) are similar in zoom but not so similar in price. for an amateur, is the g7 worth the extra jing? i don't mind spending the extra money if the quality is there. most of the cameras use will be above water. also, i have a lighting question. i'm not so sure that i want to have a large set up while diving. how necessary is a strobe or external flash for underwater photography? can one get away with using only the internal flash on the camera with decent results? i'm looking mainly to dive, picture taking is secondary. i want to enjoy the beauty around me without feeling like i'm lugging around a big rig that may feel like too much for me. if an external flash is necessary for decent shots, do you have any recommendations for any that would suffice but would be of smaller proportion? thanks in advance for any advice. cheers! lil timmy

 

[bandit_TX]

I thought Canon had housings for the S series?

 

[randini]

I know they make canon housings for the SD series. Not sure about the S though.

As I understand it, one of the first rules of taking pictures underwater is to get physically as close to your subject as possible and stay away from the zoom. That means that having a 6x or 12x will make no difference underwater. On the other hand, a good wide angle is somethig that is very sought after.

I'm in the same boat, amateur (I'm even a novice) just looking for a reasonable camera for on the surface and to start getting into UW photography. I want a camera that is small enough to carry around everywhere, yet has good set of manual controls that I can play with and grow into. I've pretty much decided on the A710is for this, but I am still waiting for a decent review of the G7 becasue the new sensor in it is supposed to do better at higher ISO. Some of the test shots that I've seen for the g7 do look good. Apparently (from what I've been reading) not as spectacular as expected, but definately good and arguably a little better than those from the S3 and the A710 in some of the details.

As for your lighting question, I can't really help since I've never taken a cqamera into the water yet. But I do recall having seen many shots that look great (at least to me) that claimed to have been taken without any strobes. Obviously the amount of ambient light will be important for this. So if you're going to be using it someplace tropical with 100ft visibility vs someplace temperate where 30ft visibility is a great day will be a major factor.

 

[REII]

I thought Canon had housings for the S series?

They do make underwater housings for the Canon S series. Try www.shop.com or www.amazon.com .

TOM

 

[markr]

Canon makes a housing for the S1 but not the S2 or S3.

 

[29South]

hello, i have a dive trip coming up in the next month or so and need a little nudge as to which camera to buy. i thought i had finally chosen one....the s3. that is until i discovered that ikelite is the only underwater housing that i could find for it. i'm an amateur, so i really don't want to spend that kind of money on the housing alone ($700 or so.) now i need to decide between the g7 and the a710. originally i decided on the s3 because of the 12x zoom. now both cameras (g7 and a710) are similar in zoom but not so similar in price. for an amateur, is the g7 worth the extra jing? i don't mind spending the extra money if the quality is there. most of the cameras use will be above water. also, i have a lighting question. i'm not so sure that i want to have a large set up while diving. how necessary is a strobe or external flash for underwater photography? can one get away with using only the internal flash on the camera with decent results? i'm looking mainly to dive, picture taking is secondary. i want to enjoy the beauty around me without feeling like i'm lugging around a big rig that may feel like too much for me. if an external flash is necessary for decent shots, do you have any recommendations for any that would suffice but would be of smaller proportion? thanks in advance for any advice. cheers! lil timmy

Timmy,
if you know FOR SURE you will never need external strobe then save the money and get the A710. With the canon housing and its diffuser you will be able to take decent shots up to about 5ft. The zoom in this case simply helps with macro shots. If you feel you may wish to expand your photography, either u/w or on land, then the G7 has a hotshoe to allow for an external flash (on land) and this also allows for TTL control of flash strobes underwater (a real and tangible benefit). It also has a metal body.
Note that the internal flash on all P&S cameras is really quite crummy, so the G7 with any capable bounce flash/diffuser setup (such as canon 420ex) will give very pleasing indoor shots...a challenge for any compact camera's internal flash.

hope this helps, ian

 

[alcina]

If you haven't already, have a quick skim through the pink link in my signature as there is a suggestion list of cameras, quick tips and some talk about strobes etc. Might help get you started.

BTW - you can use an external strobe underwater with the A710, too. You will not be able to hard wire it, but you will be able to happily use one.