New To Photography, Have Some Questions

[dive2617]

Hey guys,

I have been diving for a while now and haven't really been interested in photography. However, I am about to go work in a dive shop for a few months and though I won't be using it while I'm working, on my off days I would like to get into underwater photography. So I would first like to buy a camera, I've been doing some research and there are just so many cameras and housings I have no idea where to start. My price range is 500-800. Is cannon the way to go? Sea and Sea housing? Or just a simple all in one sealife? How necessary are strobes? Fish eye lens or no? I'm sorry for all the questions, any advice is much appreciated!

 

[diver 85]

Short answer here is-------you won't get any strobes or WA stuff going with your "price range", thinking more like(?minimum of) 2500 to get a camera/housing/strobe(s) & WA going(thinking of the Canon way----have no idea what the Sealife stuff sells for).......Good luck, let us know what you decide upon..

 

[bmorescuba]

First off, buy Martin Edge's book - The Underwater Photographer. Read it. Then, start looking for used equipment. You can get some phenomenal deals on used gear. The classified boards here and at wetpixel have many listings every day. For your price range, I would look at the high end compact market (Canon G16, Canon G7x, Sony Rx100[1,2], etc). These are good cameras with affordable, decent, housings available. You can probably add one used low-end strobe and keep it under 800. It won't be great for wide or macro, but will let you practice each one. Another option would be the lowest end Micro 4/3 (Olympus E-PL[2,3], or Panasonic GH3) with a kit lens (14-42). This would be more expandable if you think you might do lenses in the future. Make no mistake, this is an expensive endeavor. But the most important thing is to practice, and you can definitely start to do that within your budget. The setup that took these shots would be less than $500 now (G12, Canon Housing, 1 YS-110a strobe). Have Fun!

 

[diver 85]

S&S YS 110 a's are DC'ed as of almost 2 years ago......

 

[bmorescuba]

S&S YS 110 a's are DC'ed as of almost 2 years ago......

Right, which is why my whole post is about how you can get quality used equipment for affordable prices.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I bought used gear in the form of two Ikelite DS 51 strobes and the dual synch cord.
But I still have about 3K in my "entry level" DSLR rig.
This is when you figure in the the ultralight arms, two ports, 3 lenses (2 purchased used), the Ikelite housing and the Canon SL1 DSLR body I'm using.

 

[Hawkwood]

First off, buy Martin Edge's book - The Underwater Photographer. Read it... But the most important thing is to practice, and you can definitely start to do that within your budget. The setup that took these shots would be less than $500 now (G12, Canon Housing, 1 YS-110a strobe). Have Fun!

View attachment 372922 View attachment 372923

I have the same setup, but a DS51 for the single strobe. Understanding the what and how is just as important as the equipment. More so, even.

 

[JackConnick]

You might want to check out the articles I wrote here on ScubaBoard:
They're in two parts:

Part 1: Choosing a Camera for Underwater Photography.
Part 2: Underwater Housings:
Protecting Your Camera & Making It Accessible

 

[diver 85]

Right, which is why my whole post is about how you can get quality used equipment for affordable prices.

I added a 2nd(now have twins)S&S YS 110a about a year and a half ago to go with my original one(from about 4 years ago)---took me forever to find that 2nd(used) one......In my experience, good luck on finding a used 110a these days....,cost me about 400 bucks on the used one.....