Need help with setup for Gallipolis trip

[mth1993]

I am a fairly new diver, last summer I got advanced certified. I am planning on going on a 7 day trip with my daughter’s high school to Gallipolis next summer. I am a fairly avid photographer and am really trying to figure out what to type of camera as setup to use.
I have an Olympus 8010 with a PT-048 housing that I am planning on having my daughter use. I will be traveling with a Nikon d7000, D80, a couple of lenses primarily Tokina 11-16 f2.8
So I am considering:

1. Get another Olympus 8010 with a PT048 housing with some type of external flash, possibly adding in a wide angle lens attachment. $400 + flash ($est 250) + $250 wide angle lens = total $900
· Pro – cost, simplicity, one system to learn, redundancy
· Con – quality with a once in a life trip
2. Get a used housing for the d7000 or maybe d80 with port and dome for 11-16 and external flash. Est $700 + $400 port and dome + $400 flash = total $1500.
3. Get a new housing for the d7000 or maybe d80 with port and dome for 11-16 and external flash. Est $1600 + $600 port and dome + $400 flash = total $2600. Then sell it for est $1300 for total cost of $1300
4. Rent housing and flash
5. Buy higher grade point and shoot with housing with external flash. If I am going this route cyber Monday would be a good time to pick up the camera.
Do my cost estimates seem in line and what option would people recommend?
I am trying to schedule a Feb or April trip to the Keys as a warm-up for the trip, so I would like to have things finalized.
Thank you everyone for your assistance.

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

A SLR housing would be quite a bit to handle for a new diver. In fact, having to constantly fidget controls, strobe exposure, placement, white balance, etc, could overwhelm a relatively new diver, causing buoyancy and air consumption issues. Maybe you are used to using the 8010, so using a camera underwater would not be so alien, but the SLR w/strobe will still be a much bigger load to handle, especially holding it steady while staying perfectly buoyant.

SLR, having to compose thru the viewfinder, is much harder, although now they have live-view capability.

Also, a external strobe is more than just $400, you need strobe arm. Plus, if the housing doesn't allow the flash to pop up, you can't use a fiber optic TTL, thus you need a strobe with TTL triggering via a sync cable, which occurs on more expensive strobes.

Are you stuck with the choice of those 2 cameras? I would get a better P&S w/a small external TTL strobe. The 8010 seems to one of those cameras that is only a step above a camera phone.

 

[fdog]

Get an Olympus EPL-2 in the Olympus PT-EP03.

The camera/lens/housing will be about $1150 and you'll be amazed at how much better the image quality is than a point-n-shoot. Sizewise, it is a nice fit between the full size DSLR housing and a P-n-S. And if you are alredy an avid photographer, you will be able to take good advantage of the extra controls of the EPL-2.


All the best, James

 

[Quero]

+1 on Lwang's advice. My son is a professional photojournalist with images published, e.g., in Newsweek, so we can say that having a camera in his hand is second nature. Nevertheless, the first time he went under with his old D700 backup that he had outgrown and given to me, along with a used Ike housing/strobe setup (that I had bought for $1500), he couldn't get a single good shot.... and he is a pretty experienced and accomplished diver. He found it frustrating, to say the least, and spent whole dives just fiddling with settings to try to get it right.

Unless you can spend a significant number of hours underwater just playing with the housed DSLR before your trip, bringing it along without that kind of preparation may very well spoil your once-in-a-lifetime trip to Galapagos (at least this is where I think you mean to say you're going). If you don't have the opportunity to get enough practice before your trip, stick with a simpler rig. My experience with the old Oly series your 8080 is part of is that the shutter lag is maddening, and this will likely also spoil your fun in taking photos since you're used to the agility of the DSLRs you shoot on land. So rather than buying another 8080 for your own use, my advice would be to get a new good-quality P/S with a housing and a strobe--you'll find it easier to handle, less work to set, and the resulting images will still be good. I have pro-photo colleagues here who publish the u/w work they do with p/s cameras like the Canon G series and the Oly XZ1.

 

[RonFrank]

There is nothing all that difficult about shooting a DSLR UW vs shooting most other cameras UW. The size maybe a bit more of an issue. I went to Coz several years ago, and the DSLR put me on the edge and that was back when 2 50lbs bags and 2 heavy carry on were allowed. I went to LA recently and traveled with the DSLR and mailed the housing and strobe out ahead to avoid hauling so much baggage.

James may have a good idea buying into the 4/3rds system with a smaller camera and housing. They are also a lot less $$$ where a full blown DSLR is $2800 for the housing with a good strobe. I would look into Inon strobes as they are smaller that say Ikelite. They also use AA batteries which are nice when traveling.

You will need some time to learn the equipment so a trip to the keys is a perfect idea. Give yourself several days-week to get comfortable. You may want to buy the UW stuff at Reef Photo. You could pick it up in FT. Lauderdale, and picking it up there would allow you to get a lesson in setup at their store. Allow a couple hours to get help and give them a heads up on what you intend. They are great in helping put together complex systems. Once you have it together leave it setup so you can review. They would likely mail it back to your house when you're done shooting, or they used to do that since they offer free shipping.

Just realize that your buddy is more important than a shot and that is some advanced diving with the current, water temps etc. Get a good lanyard so you can clip off the camera and forget about it.

Good luck the trip sounds amazing.

 

[RonFrank]

I should add for camera settings S priority set at 1/125 depending on the lens, or M works well. If you have an UW white balance use that or you can shoot Raw and daylight and mess with it when you get back. You may also use a white object to set you white balance while UW (custom). I would shoot RAW for sure. Bring extra batteries for both the camera and flash even though most cameras have amazing battery life... flash not so much. Bring lots of memory, however you plan on dealing with that.