Aardal once bubbled...
Is the Sea & Sea Motormarine II W/YS-50 strobe a good camera to start taking underwater pictures with?
My wife is very interested in taking underwater pictures but she doesn't want something as complicated as Nikonos V set-up. She is a advanced open water diver, so she is pretty confident in her scuba skills.
I own both, The MMII EX is no "easier" to use than the NickV
Both have the same controls. The Nikonos Vs controls are better made and easier to adjust underwater. Here is a series of old posts on this subject sorry if it's a little disjointed but I cut and pasted from several old posts:
(MMII Vs Nikonos)
This of course depends on how serious you want to get about your pictures. Are you diving to take pictures, or are you taking pictures while you dive? If you diving to take pictures having a camera that you can change lens U/W isn't a big deal. You more than likely plan to take a specific type of photo (wide, macro, etc.) and plan the dive to accommodate. This allows you to concentrate on specific equipment setup, configuration, and operation, for a specific goal. For this purpose the Nikonos is a much better camera, it offers higher quality, and flexibility of set up. Plus there are more quality accessories available for the Nikonos than any other U/W system.
If on the other hand your main purpose is to dive, and try to get some good photos while you are at it, then the MM II is a very good choice. As others have stated you can change lens U/W. There is a loss of quality, for this (U/W) flexibility. Yes you can take some fantastic pictures with this camera, but the overall quality and versatility is not as good as the Nikonos. The price however is a less than the Nikonos (but not 1/3 the price). This is based on a firsthand comparison, as I own both cameras. I will say this, I know quite a few divers that have moved up from a Motormarine to a Nikonos (Myself included), I don?t know anyone that has gone from a Nikonos to a Motormarine. They both have about the same number of o-rings; the MMII has fewer "user" acccessable o-rings. Every opening into the case has an o-ring or seal. This includes the battery compartment, primary lens (whether it's removable or not), rewind lever, strobe port, aperture knob, focus knob (the aperture and focus are on the lens and not through the case on the Nikonos), shutter release, and anything else that goes through the body or case. In fact the way I count them there are more case seals in the MMII Ex than the Nikonos. All these o-rings or seals need to be checked on a routine basis. If they are not user accessible, than it must be done by a qualified repair shop. Note: I have had two MMIIs both have been flooded once. I have 1 Nikonos V, more dives on the Nikonos, never been flooded. The Nikonos requires no more maintenance than the Motormarine. If your not spending the same amount of time on you MMII than you would with a Nikonos your asking for it. In fact after flooding two MMIIs I spend more time inspecting the MMIIs than I do the Nikonos.
Bottom line, the Nik V is a much better camera (than the MM) in all areas. Optical quality (the most important aspect) being far superior to the MM. Will the MM take good pictures? Yes But all thing being equal, can it take as good a picture as the Nik V? No.
I have stated this before, there are those that can take a good picture with a rock, while others can only get mediocre pic's with the most expensive equipment available. All things being equal though, you'll get better quality photos with better quality equipment. And the Nik V is a better quality camera than the MMII EX
Nik Vs hold their value, kinda like Harleys. Also as stated above, if you don't know how to take good pictures, you'll take lousy pictures with a great camera. Many people buy expensive cameras (not just underwater) and find they still take lousy pictures. They expect the equipment to overcome their inadequacies, (they don't know *how* to take a good picture), they get discouraged and sell them. I have seen this many times. Whatever camera you are using, a point and shoot or a housed system. Learn and practice some basic UW photography techniques (there are plenty of books and web sites dedicated to UW photo), learn your camera, and shoot some film.
The MMII?s 35mm primary optics (non removable) is a toy in comparison to any of the Nik V lenses. If you have ever seen the actual insides of the MMII I think you would agree. I?m not saying the MMII can't take good pic's; I too have some favorite pictures that were taken with the MMII. But all things being equal, the MMII cannot take as good a photo as the Nik V. There is nothing that the MMII will do better than the Nik V, with the exception of having the ability to change lenses underwater. But this also is not that big of a deal. I can't remember the last time I changed any MMII lens under water. And since you are interested in doing close up or macro, you can get the Nikons close up kit (that can be installed or removed underwater), or a set of extension tubes. Both the close up kit and the extension tube set produce much better results than the add on lens system of the MMII. Also if Macro is your game, extension tubes can get you to 1:1 and greater, the MMII will only go down to 1:2. A good extension tube set can be had for about $150, and normally includes tubes and framers for 1:3, 1:2 and 1:1, some go down to 2:1. I have posted similar responses to this or similar questions in the past. I always get a lot of responses defending the MMII. It is not my intension to blast the MMII. It is my opinion though, that the Nick V is a much better camera. It offers MUCH better quality, flexibility and expandability. I have stated this before; I know many people that have moved up form a MMII to a Nikonos V, I don't know anyone that has gone from a Nikonos to a MMII. To add, I know several Nikonos V users that have moved up to housed systems (Myself included), not one of them has gotten rid of their NikV. If you have any questions, feel free to post or e-mail me.
As always, this is just my opinion.
PS. All that being said, (and I?m going to choke on this), have you considered a good Digital? ;-}
