Looking at buying c-8080 but.....

[scubavince]

I'm new to diving (30 dives ) and even newer to u/w photography :babycrawl . I'm considering the c-8080 over the c7070. The c-8080 has a pop-up flash. Is it usable u/w with a IKELITE housing or do I need to go with a strobe?

I looking to start with a great base set: Camera and housing. So I want the most flexibility so as to add on strobe, additional lenses or other things that I'm ignorant of at this point in time.

Thx,
Vince

 

[artusor]

I am in the same boat you are. A newB, just started U/W photography. I am not familiar with the Ike housing, but, I would definitely suggest going with a strobe. Remember, the water absorbs the light a lot more than air does. For me, the question is not whether to have a strobe or not, but whether just one is enough or should I add another.

I bought an 8080 with the Olympus housing and a Sea & Sea strobe. With the Oly housing the on camera strobe is just used to fire the external flash.

The use of a seperate strobe not only gives you more light but also allows flexibilty to arrange the type of lighting you want. Probably the most important thing to think about in photography under water is that you want to be lighting the subject, not the water column in front of it, an off camera strobe allows you to do that.

Also, if your serious about your photography you might want to think about taking an underwater photography class. Just make sure you look for someone who is truly a photographer, not just a dive instructor with a camera. I just finished one in St John USVI. It was well worth the time.

 

[scubavince]

I am in the same boat you are. .....<snip>.... I just finished one in St John USVI. It was well worth the time.

I'm guessing my first accessory would be a strobe or two. I figure a single strobe will tend create a shadow while a second strobe, I presume, will tend to negate the shadow. I would prefer to purchase the Ikelite housing because of comments on other threads about the sturdy construction and it allows the use of TTL . Don't know what TTL is but it has its own acronym, so it must be important... :dontgetit

Does Oly housing allow the use of the pop-up flash? I just want to practice with the camera before moving on to using a strobe(s).

With whom did you take your course in St. John. I was planning to take a course in the Cayman Is. with the Churches next year. We'll see...

Thx for responding,
Vince

 

[artusor]

I took my UW Photography class through Low Key Divers. The instructors name was Nate. You can see some of his work on his website:

http://www.lovasphoto.com/

Low Key Divers site is:

http://www.divelowkey.com/

 

[CUunderH2O]

In answer to your question, the Oly housing allows the use of the pop-up flash; the Ikelite does not.

I use the Oly C-4000 with the Oly PT-010 housing, and after 6 months of using it I have not yet used a strobe. In clear blue Caribbean waters, the internal flash was all I needed. In the darker, green fresh water of the St. Lawrence river, where there are lots of particles in the water, I'm wishing I had a strobe; the result of using the flash here is too much backscatter.

If you can't afford strobes right now, just use the internal flash if you get the Oly housing; at least you'll still be able to practice your u/w photography skills, and then when you can afford the strobes & other accessories, you've already gained some experience.

 

[f3nikon]

If you can't afford strobes right now, just use the internal flash if you get the Oly housing; at least you'll still be able to practice your u/w photography skills, and then when you can afford the strobes & other accessories, you've already gained some experience.

Good point, some of the best advice I've seen. To add to that, do not add anything else to your camera/housing setup until you fully understand what exactly you are looking for, that will fill a certain need.

Meaning, to stay with the basic setup without any external add on lens (wideangle or closeups) and strobes, get a "baseline" in the areas of max. focus, resolution and the limitations of an internal flash.

Then educate yourself on what is needed to improve your photos. My first addition would be two external strobes. Notice I said two, that is because when shooting at close distances UW, a single strobe is really limited, and they do not have to be new $600 strobes!

I bought two more MS or MV-50 Ikelite substrobes on ebay for $60 each! Yes, they have to be hardwired in but in the end this is the better setup.

I am still on the fence on between the Olympus and Ikelite housings for the 8080, I do have two PT-23 for the 8080 but use Ikelites for my SLRs.

I am going towards the Olympus, because of the Athena wide angle optical "glass" dome port that I what to try out. The Ikelite domes do not look very sharp. Another plus for the Olympus PT-23 is the black rubber skirt on the inside of their flat port, to prevent glare to the lens. The Olympus flat port (included in the PT-23) is also made from optical glass, the Ikelite is plexiglass.

With the largest hi res. lens of all PS cameras, producing razor sharp photos, 8mp, almost no shutter lag, fast focusing etc. the 8080 is tough to beat in UW photography, proven by nick,dan and others in their galleries.

Dive Safe

 

[deputydan1]

great points, indeed~~

and yes, i love my 8080....just a little bit bigger than my previous canon...

i'm still learning my new system.....and my shots could still use much improvement, nevertheless, i think you'll like it....ike or oly....

i preferred the ike because i plan on doing more shore dives....in tougher waters....i wanted a "buffer" housing....and the ike seems pretty bulletproof......

so far, no probs with the set up....F3 is totally right on....i'm thinking of getting another strobe already.....the ds50 does quite well for a small guy, but another would be better...

take care, all...

happy shootin' and safe divin'...

-dan

 

[scubavince]

Well, went ahead and purchase the c-8080 and the Oly pt-23 housing. Should have everything by friday...hopefully. :bang: I'll be testing the housing this weekend. Thanks for the responses!

Vince

 

[kapula]

I'm looking to buy c-8080 aswell but I heard that it has been discontinued. Then I started doupting if I'm going to get all accessories later.. for example ttl cables from camera to housing and from housing to flash. Does anyone know if those cables are compatible with different cameras for example c-7070? That way they'd be more likely to be found later aswell. When it comes to add-on lenses I'm even more douptful. What other brands do them except olympus? They propably aren't that easy to switch from one model to another since lense seems to be quite different in size in 7070 and 8080. If anyone has a better clue on these issues I would be really happy to hear from you