Help me choosing camera and case please
- Thread starter padeiro23
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kadleck
Contributor
Hello and welcome to :sblogo:
I can recommend what I have (but there is an updated version now!).
I use a Canon Powershot G9 (G10 is now available) in an Ikelite housing. Canon make their own housings (for both G9 and G10), but the Ikelite is superior: gives access to ALL the camera buttons and has a deeper pressure rating.
A lot of underwater camera advice will really come down to personal choice. But I will say get a camera which will shoot RAW (as the G9 and G10 do). You will need a large (say 8GB) card to store a reasonable number of RAW images, but the real advantage is you can manipulate things like white balance after you leave the water. Then you can save as a .jpg to make a reasonable size photo to share, print, etc.
Enjoy!
I can recommend what I have (but there is an updated version now!).
I use a Canon Powershot G9 (G10 is now available) in an Ikelite housing. Canon make their own housings (for both G9 and G10), but the Ikelite is superior: gives access to ALL the camera buttons and has a deeper pressure rating.
A lot of underwater camera advice will really come down to personal choice. But I will say get a camera which will shoot RAW (as the G9 and G10 do). You will need a large (say 8GB) card to store a reasonable number of RAW images, but the real advantage is you can manipulate things like white balance after you leave the water. Then you can save as a .jpg to make a reasonable size photo to share, print, etc.
Enjoy!
floridanewbe
Contributor
welcome aboard
Hello and welcome to :sblogo:
I can recommend what I have (but there is an updated version now!).
I use a Canon Powershot G9 (G10 is now available) in an Ikelite housing. Canon make their own housings (for both G9 and G10), but the Ikelite is superior: gives access to ALL the camera buttons and has a deeper pressure rating.
A lot of underwater camera advice will really come down to personal choice. But I will say get a camera which will shoot RAW (as the G9 and G10 do). You will need a large (say 8GB) card to store a reasonable number of RAW images, but the real advantage is you can manipulate things like white balance after you leave the water. Then you can save as a .jpg to make a reasonable size photo to share, print, etc.
Enjoy!
Hi Kadleck,
I am glad you mentioned the Canon Powershot G10.
I have been looking very closely at the G10 and the different housing and strobe options.
I am currently using a museum piece in terms of digital cameras. It is a 5MP Sony P10 with Sony housing, color filter and no strobe. I think anything I buy today will be a big step up. I am looking for a camera for underwater use that gives me more control and ok video. I am not willing to spend the money on an SLR (the Nikon D90 looks very attractive but it beyond my budget).
My understanding of the various comments/assessments made by persons who have bought the G10 and used it on land (especially in comparison to the G9) are as follows:
Major Pros:
1. Well built/Good access to manual controls (almost like slr)
2. Wide angle improvement from G9 (now max is 28mm)
3. Acceptable telephoto zoom (optical 5x)
4. Great image quality in good lighting situations
5. Good auto focus and servo auto focus (tracking focus)
6. Nice big display
Major Cons:
1. A) Bad image quality in low light situations
1. B) Lots of image noise at higher iso due to high megapixel count and relatively small ccd sensor.
2. Slow RAW shooting when trying to take several shots in succession.
3. G10 RAW format not yet usable in Adobe Photoshop.
4. A step down in video quality from the G9
MY QUESTION:
Since the major gripe I seem to be reading is regarding shooting in low light conditions, and since shooting underwater is primarily a reduced light activity:
1. Should this be enough to turn me off this camera?
2. Can I compensate for this sufficiently with a strobe?
I definitely plan to add a strobe (fortunately I won a Fantasea Remora in their recent competition, woohoo!).
Thank you in advance for your input,
Yafi
The best way to get advice would be to post in this forum. What kind of videography are you interested in doing? How much money do you want to spend? There are lots of options out there.
