Looking for advice on an Underwater Camera

[phoenix1131]

IÃÎ looking to get a good / great birthday present for a friend of mine. We are very new to scuba diving (getting OW certified this month in Florida), but are taking a long trip to Australia in February to scuba along the Great Barrier Reef.
IÃÎ looking into getting my friend an underwater camera. He works with video cameraÃÔ in his daily life, i.e. in the camera department on films, but has not worked with underwater cameras.
IÃÅ like to get a camera (with necessary accessories hopefully under $1000) that would have a good automatic setting to allow for easy use in the beginning, but also with a versatile manual mode so that he can grow with his photography w/o having to buy another camera in the not so distant future. IÃÅ like either setting to allow for ÁÎagazine quality pictures (assuming heÃÔ a good photographer? and IÃÅ to like to have the option to blow up the pictures beyond 8x10.
IÃÅ also like the camera to be easily portable (i.e. not too unwieldy), some video capability is a plus but definitely not a main concern.

If anyone could help me out itÃÅ be much appreciated (I apologize for the broad question). IÃ×e read through a number of the posts within the Canon, Nikon, Olympus and SeaLife forums but havenÃÕ gotten a clear sense of what might be my best option and since weÃÓe leaving in a few weeks, IÃÎ in a bit of a time crunch.

Thanks!

 

[seaducer]

Well, Sealife makes some pretty good packages for under 1k. You can also check out the Olympus and Canon threads, there are some pretty nice cameras and housings for not a whole lot of money, but with room to grow.

As an aside, though Australia is a perhaps one time shot for those of us on the East Coast of the US, I would suggest not taking a camera on your dives. Get good at diving first, before trying to learn uw photography also. In the end you will have more fun, take better pictures, and be safer both for the photographer, the buddy, and the sealife.

To document your dives, find a photographer who is diving in your group. Most of us love to show off our stuff, and I often email pics to buddies, or, have also burned an entire vacations worth of shots onto a cd. If you bring some cds with you, I am sure you will bring back many more wonderful shots than you would if you guys were working the camera.

And one last thing, do you need any new friends? Gee whiz, I wouldn't mind someone buying me a $1k present!

 

[DiverLS]

I agree with getting the diving down before you try photography.

Sealife does have some reasonable stuff for under $1K but any point 'n shoot has a horrible problem underwater. It's shutter lag. I have a Sealife DC500 sitting in the case on the shelf because of it. I invested tons but now have a Nikon D80 with Ikelite housing. I've had it in the water for 5 dives and the learning curve is still near the bottom.

 

[M_Bipartitus]

First, I'd second the statement that it is good to get firm diving skills before adding a task like taking photos. If you get this friend a camera, I'd recommend having them avoid taking it into the water for their first several dives until they are comfortable in the water. It also helps to try the camera out in a pool before leaving for a trip, if there is a local dive shop that has open pool time, or if you have a pool.

That said, there are many good cameras available for underwater use. If you want to be sure that the camera has some room to grow with increasing skill level, you should consider a camera that can record RAW files. These allow for more control over the results after files are transfered to the computer and most cameras that save RAW files also have other advanced features such as manual exposure modes that will allow your friend more creative control over the photos.

I personally am a Canon user and have the most experience with Canon, so I'll stick to some comments on these cameras. Olympus has good options as well as some Nikon cameras, but I'm not familiar with those.

I would start by looking at the G10 from Canon, or a slightly used G9. This series are very well respected. I even know some pro photographers who choose to carry these around on their days off.

Canon | PowerShot G10 Digital Camera (Black) | 2663B001 | B&H

There are several underwater cases available for this camera but the least expensive are*

Canon | WP-DC28 Case for Canon PowerShot G10 | 3156B001 | B&H

and

Ikelite | 6146.10 TTL Underwater Housing for Can | 6146.10 | B&H

The main difference between these are

- the Ikelite allows for easy connection to external stobes but does not allow for using the internal flash.
- The canon allows one to use the internal flash, but external strobe use is more limited.

If you're interested in some convincing info on how good the images can look from the G10 in ideal situations, give this a read.

Kidding


*I'm have no affiliation with B&H photo, but they are a respected online seller and generally have good prices.

 

[SeaLife Joe]

ON the note about shutter lag, the Sealife cameras when in External Flash mode and synched up with our Digital Pro Flash have a shutter response time of less than .33 seconds, so I wouldn't say too much shutter lag.

Also as has been noted by most everyone, our DC800 Pro Set which has camera and single Digital Pro Flash runs well under $1000.

Joe

 

[diver 85]

Good luck with your diving & trips...let us know what you decide on & the outcome of the pics, will be interesting ie "to blow up the pictures beyond 8x10"....

 

[phoenix1131]

Thanks for all the tips! I'll definitely make sure to tell my friend to do his first few days of diving without the camera - we're going to be around the great barrier reef for a while so I think we can get some more practice dives in and then once we get comfortable, start using the camera.

For the cameras mentioned, do I need to buy an external strobe? For example for the Canon G10 or for the DC800?

 

[phoenix1131]

Any thoughts on the Sea and Sea DX-IG:

Sea & Sea | DX-1G UW Digital Camera | SS-06581A | B&H Photo Video

I was recommended this by a friend but it's at the very top of my price range and I'm not sure if it's worth it...

Thanks!

 

[mksmith713]

You're buying your friend a $1000. camera?

I want to be your friend....

 

[seaducer]

For the cameras mentioned, do I need to buy an external strobe? For example for the Canon G10 or for the DC800?

The ikelite housing for the G10 will block the internal flash, so if that is the setup you choose you will need a strobe. The Canon housing does not block the flash, and the Sealife camera will have a useable internal flash, at least as long as you don't use a wide angle lens.

As long as you stay shallow, in clear water on sunny days you really don't need the strobe. But, like many things, when you need it, you need it, and nothing else will do.