New equipment, what to buy?

[bannaN]

Hi,

I have been diving alot this summer and now i want to try underwater photography.


I have tried to get an overview of what is the equipment out there today(With price/picture quality in mind) and here is some suggestions:

Equipment option #1
Olympus E-PL2 $539
Olympus PT EP03 Housing $599
Total: $1138

Equipment option #2
Canon PowerShot G12 $483
Canon WP-DC34 Housing $169
Total: $652

Equipment option #3
Nikon Coolpix P7000 $374
Fantasea Line FP7000 $399
Total: $773

Ofcourse i am drawn against the olympus option, but is it worth the extra cash? And does anyone have other equipment suggestions in the same price range?

I will also need a starter kit with flash\lights, does anyone have tips on good starting kits for a reasonable price?

Best regards

 

[Wisnu]

For fair comparison, the option 1 should Oly XZ-1 with PT050- so all camera is in the same class.
But if you're looking for camera with interchangeable lens, then option 2 and 3 should be NEX-5 and Panny GF-2.

 

[bannaN]

ofcourse i know that the olympus system is the best one of the three options. But my question was, is it worth the extra cash..? The Panasonic GF-2 options is blown away by the housing, which is way to expensive compared to the one that fits the Oly E-PL2 camera.

 

[Gilligan]

Compare Option 2 to the Oly XZ-1 with it's PT-050 housing. The price for the Oly setup is about $150. more than the G12 and WP-DC34. The XZ-1 has a larger sensor than the G12 as well as a 1.8 lens versus the 2.8 in the G12. The PT-050 also has a threaded lens port for wet mount lenses.

 

[FWADIVER]

Compare Option 2 to the Oly XZ-1 with it's PT-050 housing. The price for the Oly setup is about $150. more than the G12 and WP-DC34. The XZ-1 has a larger sensor than the G12 as well as a 1.8 lens versus the 2.8 in the G12. The PT-050 also has a threaded lens port for wet mount lenses.

If you order from amazon the oly setup is about the same $409 for the camera and $250 for the housing as of today.

 

[Wisnu]

It is difficult to compare EVIL with compact.
I have EPL-1 + 10bar housing + semi dome port - and with panny 7-14mm, very wide but $$$ and if you use PTEP03 you'll need another $$$ for the port. EVIL does not work with wet WA.
But if you shoot mostly macro, I do not see significant difference with above compact cameras - or at least with my XZ-1 or G9 (i don't have G12 or P7000)
What I want to say, I'm happy with my E-PL1 system but if XZ-1 is released at the same time, then I will choose this camera instead of EPL1. I love compact because its flexibility. And I have to say, oly PT-050 is much better built than canon WPDC-xx. The downside of XZ-1 - no flash on supermacro.
That's why, when XZ-1 is released I bought it for my daughter - here is few example of XZ-1 taken by her (note she's 11 years old)

 

[bannaN]

wisnu,

Are thoose picture taken with or without extra flash?

Anyone got a suggestion for a cheap light pack?

 

[Wisnu]

she took those picture w/ Inon D2000 in manual. Although Oly claim the internal flash can be used, but I doubt will give you sufficient lighting.
The Inon D2000 or S2000 is nice strobe but if your budget limited, I can recommend S&S YS-02 - similar as YS-01 except no STTL, you can get it for around 300 bucks. There's cheaper strobe such as ultramax or Intova but I can't comment as I never try.