Looking at buying a dSLR camera, need some input (T2i, T3i, T4i, T5i, 60D or ??)

[Tigerman]

...
If you have any questions on the T4i feel free to PM me and if you're ever down here I'll let you shoot my rig MAYBE!

Not with a speargun (or shotgun) I hope

 

[Splash-X]

Great job on the T4i, I bought mine with just the kit lens for that price about a year ago. I know you mentioned you were looking at the ikelite housing, is this a price issue or are there particular reasons why you want that housing?

If you have any questions on the T4i feel free to PM me and if you're ever down here I'll let you shoot my rig MAYBE!

I am not set on a specific housing just yet. I don't really know of many other manufacturers for underwater housings for cameras so my knowledge on that part is limited. I did some searching now that you asked and see that Nauticam makes a housing at around $2400 and Sea & Sea makes a housing around $1,500.

There are going to be a lot of hurdles to hop between now and getting it underwater. I'll need a housing, lens, port and a set of strobes. That's all going to take time and money.

Again, I haven't done a lot of research on housings yet, but what sets the Nauticam apart from the Ikelite? I don't want to turn this in to a huge long discussion where people battle about their opinions, I just wonder what sets them apart and makes the price difference $900 other than aluminum vs plastic. I see that S-TTL strobes are supported on the Nauticam out of the box but bulkheads can be added for true TTL.

 

[LowVizWiz]

I am not set on a specific housing just yet. I don't really know of many other manufacturers for underwater housings for cameras so my knowledge on that part is limited. I did some searching now that you asked and see that Nauticam makes a housing at around $2400 and Sea & Sea makes a housing around $1,500.

There are going to be a lot of hurdles to hop between now and getting it underwater. I'll need a housing, lens, port and a set of strobes. That's all going to take time and money.

Again, I haven't done a lot of research on housings yet, but what sets the Nauticam apart from the Ikelite? I don't want to turn this in to a huge long discussion where people battle about their opinions, I just wonder what sets them apart and makes the price difference $900 other than aluminum vs plastic. I see that S-TTL strobes are supported on the Nauticam out of the box but bulkheads can be added for true TTL.

I think there are only 3 housings for the T4i and I tried them all before I made my choice. This came down to ease of use and build quality. When I tried the Nauticam everything just worked intuitively for me, changing ports, setting up and plain over all build quality was great. The Ikelite housing felt well... like inexpensive plastic and the Sea & Sea was somewhere in between but not bad at all. Interestingly enough the Ikelite (polycarbonate) and the Nauticam (Aluminum) weigh about the same while the Sea & Sea is about 2 pounds lighter than those two.

Then it was a matter of what I wanted to do primarily with my rig.

I went in knowing I wanted to shoot close up wide angle shots, so I picked a lens, the Tokina 10-17 which allows me to focus as close as 5 inches from my subject and still get 180º. This made the choice very simple because Nauticam makes a 4" inch acrylic dome specifically for that lens, while I would have to purchase a more expensive Zen (glass) dome for the Sea & Sea housing to achieve the same small profile I wanted for my set up.

As far as TTL goes, I prefer to shoot with video lights instead of strobes so "true TTL" wasn't an issue for me.

I guess my advice is try to figure out what your diving is like and what your subjects are going to be for most of your diving then pick a lens. Then try to get your hands on a housing at a store or from a buddy and see how you like it. Most of the housings from a particular manufacturer, even if they are not for your camera, are fairly similar.

 

[Splash-X]

I have every intention of visting Reef Photo for in Ft. Lauderdale a little bit later this year for some "hands on" experience. They carry all three.

 

[rob1967]

I was in a similar quandary as the original poster; I have been very happy with my S100 but wanted to make the leap to SLR and wanted to stick with Canon. I did a lot of reading, and I knew I wanted a cropped sensor because I like macro. I was debating between a Rebel or waiting for the new Canon 70D, then wait for a housing, but the more I read, the more I realized that all that really matters is the sensor and a good quality lens to put in front of it. Everything else is just bells and whistles. Also, I think Live View would be better than an optical viewfinder underwater, especially if I am already used to using live view with a compact.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that probably mirrorless is the way of the future for underwater. The Canon EOS-M had somewhat mediocre reviews at first, but then Canon dropped the price to $399, and a firmware update improved the autofocus. Nauticam has a housing for it, so I jumped on it! I've been playing with it on land for a few weeks now, and can't wait for the housing to arrive, should be very soon! I'll report back!

 

[Tigerman]

LiveView on a DSLR is actually rather pointless and a bit of a hassle imo. It also does add some sutter lag and shutter lag was one of several reasons I replaced the compact in the first place...

 

[rob1967]

LiveView on a DSLR is actually rather pointless and a bit of a hassle imo. It also does add some sutter lag and shutter lag was one of several reasons I replaced the compact in the first place...

Fair enough, but it seems shutter lag is less of an issue now for compacts. I never really noticed significant shutter lag with my S100, as long as I used a focus light. (So I guess technically it was focus-lag). I think what has happened is that the computing power of cameras has reached a point now where shutter lag and "live-view lag" is no longer an issue, which is why IMHO the mirrorless is the way to go underwater. My EOS-M is basically a Rebel without a mirror, so the live view is a lot better without a mirror in the way.

The whole point of DSLR is you needed the mirror+optical viewfinder because live view was not good enough. Until now.