Making the leap to digital

[DalTexDiver]

Currently using Sea&Sea MX 10 with strobe. Getting good results but hate running out of film and cutting the tops off of my pix.

Thinking of digital....

Looking at Olympus 5050 for the camera.

That a good idea?

Also, found brand of housings made by Backscatter.
Anyone used those with success or failure?

Also looking at Ikelite but price is double.

Backscatter uses a Sea&Sea canister strobe with the base.

Any thoughts on this before I spend $1500 and the wife leaves me?

 

[ScubaRon]

There is probably no topic on this board that has already been more extensively discussed than this one. If you go to the Olympus forum in Underwater photography, you will find more about this camera than you ever wanted to know.

And I am sure Dee will soon respond to you too...

FYI: why not go with the Olympus housing?

 

[Dee]

Yep...here I am! Dal, the 5050 is an excellent choice. You can use it as a simple point and shoot or proceed into advanced photography with it, whatever you need. I know exactly what you're going through with the MX-10, that was my first camera for the first 3 years. You'll love digital. Not just because you won't run out of film, you can still run out of memory (digital's film) but because you'll see your results immediately and can correct your mistakes or change what you want right there, not wait for a week to get your photos printed.

My best advice is to do a search for 'new to photography, new to digital" etc. and read the past threads on this most often asked question. Also read Gilligan excellent article on Getting Started in Photography pinned to the top of the page.

I'm not familiar with Backscatter 'brand' of housings, I know they do carry several other manufacturers. Unless you plan to consistantly go deeper than 130ft, do rough shore entries where you'll need a toucher housing, I would highly recomment the Oly housings. Don't the fooled by their price, low price doesn't mean cheap quality.

 

[Gilligan]

Congrats on going to digital. I'm sure you will love it.

Something to add to you decision making process on housings using the 5050 as an example:

The 5050 is out of production but is still available and will be for some time if you include the re-furbs.
The Ikelite and other high end housings are very expensive in comparison to the Oly housing. Yes, they are rated deeper than the 40 meters of the Oly housing. Are you going deeper than that? How often will you use it in a year? Housings are camera specific due to shape, size and camera control locations. If the camera dies or the housing floods down the road and the camera is no longer available you have a high end expensive housing to put in the closet versus an under $200 Oly housing.

If money is no object then go with a high end housing. If that is the case then buy two cameras so as to have a backup for the housing for several years to come.

The more practical cost effective decision is to go with the Oly camera in the Oly housing. If the camera become less expensive as a re-furb then buy an extra one for a few hundred bucks. That should hold you for years to come.

 

[saholz]

I finally got a chance to use my new Oly 5050/PT-015/DS-50 setup in February on a dive trip to Cozumel. I've always been a diehard 35mm advocate and have gotten some great results with my old Motormarine setup.

My buddy still used his Motormarine on this trip and we just sat back and compared results. He shot 10 rolls of film...360 pictures. I came home (after deletions) with just over 400 shots. Of my total shots, I would consider 200 to be okay to good and about 200 very good to excellent. My buddy, after printing, has less than 50 useable shots of which maybe 20 are really good. He just made up a bound photo album and admitted that about 3/4 of the shots included are mine. :cheeky:

Last week he bought a new 5050 for $439.95. He just got back from a 3 day business trip and took the camera. Last night we reviewed the 100 or so pictures he shot...he was excited with the results. Next, his 35mm gear goes up on eBay. :smash:

As hard as it is for me to finally admit this, there is no comparison between the ease of getting good results in the 35mm versus digital debate. In fact, it's not even a debate anymore. 35mm film IS a higher resolution format, but that's about it as far as its advantage goes. Except for very specific professional applications, digital is the way to go.

(Lauren, you better not be laughing at me now). :54:

Stan

 

[Mverick]

I finally got a chance to use my new Oly 5050/PT-015/DS-50 setup in February on a dive trip to Cozumel. I've always been a diehard 35mm advocate and have gotten some great results with my old Motormarine setup.

My buddy still used his Motormarine on this trip and we just sat back and compared results. He shot 10 rolls of film...360 pictures. I came home (after deletions) with just over 400 shots. Of my total shots, I would consider 200 to be okay to good and about 200 very good to excellent. My buddy, after printing, has less than 50 useable shots of which maybe 20 are really good. He just made up a bound photo album and admitted that about 3/4 of the shots included are mine. :cheeky:

Last week he bought a new 5050 for $439.95. He just got back from a 3 day business trip and took the camera. Last night we reviewed the 100 or so pictures he shot...he was excited with the results. Next, his 35mm gear goes up on eBay. :smash:

As hard as it is for me to finally admit this, there is no comparison between the ease of getting good results in the 35mm versus digital debate. In fact, it's not even a debate anymore. 35mm film IS a higher resolution format, but that's about it as far as its advantage goes. Except for very specific professional applications, digital is the way to go.

(Lauren, you better not be laughing at me now). :54:

Stan

No offense meant to you or your friend. But Maybe you're a better photographer then he is. The eye still has alot to do with the shot.

Sure, the digital camera shows a preview. But by looking through the viewfinder. So does a 35mm. Now after you get out and delete pics that you don't like. Sure your gonna come home with more keepers. But you still took the pic. Then deleted it. If he would have shot more film. He'd of had more keepers too. Maybe. But still. It has alot more to do with who's behind the camera.

My problem with digital is. Now that you have those 200 Very Good to excellent Keepers. It sure would be nice to get a Dead sharp enlargement to 16x20. Mated in a frame on the wall. That's where the 35mm film shines. It's tack sharp at 16x20.

This is my whole reason to shoot. Not to get 200 or 400 nice shots. I want the one that takes your breath away. And I want it on the wall. Or Mantle. Or my book. And digital just wont do that yet. At least not tack sharp.

I agree. Digital is nice. Preview pics are great. Guess what. I do it in the studio all the time. It's called a poloroid. I have a back that fits on my 6x7 camera. That shows me the lighting and look of a shot. Always check that. Then shoot away.

And I do like Digital. It's just not what I prefer. Heck. I just bought 2 Oly 8080's. And I just got a 5060 for Christmas... LOL Neat, but I still get pissed when I see a Sweet shot on the 5060 and KNOW. I can't get a Great 16x20 print out of it. It really burns my ass....

A good rule of thumb with Film is. Out of a 36 exposure roll. If I get 1 Great shot. I'm Happy as hell. Because those are the ones that take your breath away. And then, I want it Tack Sharp when I print it. And the ability to make it BIG. That's why I exclusively shoot Medium Format or Above on land. 6x7 is 5 times the size of a 35mm. So 5 times the info to Print.

But, Main point. Man behind the camera makes the shot. Don't care if it's Film or Digital. The Camera is just a tool.

 

[Stingray81888]

I'm not very good at uw photography yet but after wasting 20 rolls of film with the sealif reefmaster, i switched over to the Olympus c5050z and its ALOT easier. You can see if you screwed up or not right on the spot and fix it. you can also delete any shots that you don't like. And with two 128mb cards in the oly 5050 and a full battery, you wouldn't need to open your housing in between a dive for anything! And if your looking for a fairly cheap housing, olympus makes very good ones in fact. i got mine for 200. It has 2 o-rings which i think is a good safety measure. Anyways, this is just my opinion. Hope this helps

 

[friscuba]

Man, he got 400 usable shots, 200 of which were good to great, on one trip. Beats the heck out of one out of 36. As far as that 16X20 enlargement goes, apparently there are things you can do relatively cheaply (s-spline, neat image,or just send it out to jumbogiant.com) that will increase resolution and decrease noise to the point where you can make a huge image out of a 3 megapixel camera shot.

I do agree it's the eye of the photographer that get the great shot, but it's tough to knock what can be done with the new technologies these days.

Steve

No offense meant to you or your friend. But Maybe you're a better photographer then he is. The eye still has alot to do with the shot.

Sure, the digital camera shows a preview. But by looking through the viewfinder. So does a 35mm. Now after you get out and delete pics that you don't like. Sure your gonna come home with more keepers. But you still took the pic. Then deleted it. If he would have shot more film. He'd of had more keepers too. Maybe. But still. It has alot more to do with who's behind the camera.

My problem with digital is. Now that you have those 200 Very Good to excellent Keepers. It sure would be nice to get a Dead sharp enlargement to 16x20. Mated in a frame on the wall. That's where the 35mm film shines. It's tack sharp at 16x20.

This is my whole reason to shoot. Not to get 200 or 400 nice shots. I want the one that takes your breath away. And I want it on the wall. Or Mantle. Or my book. And digital just wont do that yet. At least not tack sharp.

I agree. Digital is nice. Preview pics are great. Guess what. I do it in the studio all the time. It's called a poloroid. I have a back that fits on my 6x7 camera. That shows me the lighting and look of a shot. Always check that. Then shoot away.

And I do like Digital. It's just not what I prefer. Heck. I just bought 2 Oly 8080's. And I just got a 5060 for Christmas... LOL Neat, but I still get pissed when I see a Sweet shot on the 5060 and KNOW. I can't get a Great 16x20 print out of it. It really burns my ass....

A good rule of thumb with Film is. Out of a 36 exposure roll. If I get 1 Great shot. I'm Happy as hell. Because those are the ones that take your breath away. And then, I want it Tack Sharp when I print it. And the ability to make it BIG. That's why I exclusively shoot Medium Format or Above on land. 6x7 is 5 times the size of a 35mm. So 5 times the info to Print.

But, Main point. Man behind the camera makes the shot. Don't care if it's Film or Digital. The Camera is just a tool.

 

[Mverick]

Man, he got 400 usable shots, 200 of which were good to great, on one trip. Beats the heck out of one out of 36.

Maybe you didn't understand. What use do I have for 400 shots? Or even 200 shots? I pick the best out of the 400. Not the OK or the Gee, that's kinda nice. I'm not going to enlarge 200 shots. I like "The Best". Make a nice print out of those Few. Sure, I might put them in a book. But show someone 400 shots and they get real bored. I've seen it. Ever shot a Wedding. All the shots look great. All are Keepers. But, you only want Certain ones enlarged. Why? Because they are the Keepers. The ones That really move you. The others are great shots. But there's only a Very few that meet that criteria. People that were in the wedding usually want to look through the whole book. People who don't know the Family. Don't want to see all the pics. Because it gets boring. They don't know anything about the people. So all the pics don't talk to them. As they do the Family. So, You enlarge the few. 3-5 that Just look Incredible. And those go on the mantle and wall. And those I want tack sharp. I don't want them in a 3mp with alot of Manipulation done to them. To try to make them look better. My 35mm will look good. For sure.

As far as that 16X20 enlargement goes, apparently there are things you can do relatively cheaply (s-spline, neat image,or just send it out to jumbogiant.com) that will increase resolution and decrease noise to the point where you can make a huge image out of a 3 megapixel camera shot.

You said "apparently there are things you can do relatively cheaply. "

Does this mean you've sent stuff in to them? And seen the results against a 35mm Print? Maybe, but it doesn't sound like it. I've seen prints enlarged at the lab. And there Sharpness is lacking. Nice prints. But not outstanding. And I've seen them done off Hasselblad and Leaf Backs. That make a Nice 8x10. Still not quite as sharp as you can get off a 35mm. But a 3 mp. Isn't a Hassy with a Leaf 22mp back. Not even close. If you don't have the information there to begin with. How are you going to keep sharpness? It just doesn't happen that way.

If you're talking about what you THINK it would look like. And you haven't done it yourself. You shouldn't be making statements about it. Because you're opinion isn't based on a comparison. It's just pulled out of the air.

I do agree it's the eye of the photographer that get the great shot, but it's tough to knock what can be done with the new technologies these days.

Steve

Yea, New technology is great. Really neat. But it still doesn't beat a 35mm print in Sharpness. Not yet. No matter how much you wish it would.

 

[saf_25]

DalTexDiver,
I've had my 5050 for a few months now, and just got it wet for the first time in the pool yesterday. It is a great camera! Easy to use, and takes great pics. I've never been a great photographer and have not found picture taking to be too much fun because I would always take pics, then get them developed to find that they didn't come out good. But, with the feedback the digital camera offers, it's really easy to see wht you're doing right and wrong, make adjustments, and try again. I've learned so much more about how to take good pictures already, and haven't even used it that much. My advice - get the 5050!
BTW - I have the Oly housing and it's really nice - easy to use and with it, the camera is fully operational.