Newbie w/ camera questions :D

[g-rella]

Hi :fruit:

My name is Gabi for short (aka Gabrielle). I'm a complete marine biology ... I wish I had gills, but I don't ... now I just want to be able to document my underwater experiences so that I have something to daydream about in between dive vacations!

I have an older Sea & Sea (film) that I'd like to retire (for obvious reasons) ... my question to everyone/anyone is how to proceed down the u/w digital path w/ not so much fund-age on hand? I really like the little critters (macro), so that will be more important to me than wide angle, but I would like to have the ability to do BOTH (mantas & whale sharks).

I currently have a Canon G10 (point & shoot) and a Canon t2i (w/ a few different lenses).
My thoughts were:
1) get a housing for the G10 (recommendations on manuf?) and find a way to attach
& sync my one external strobe (forget what type) ...will I be able to get decent
macros w/ this camera and ONE strobe?
2) save up and buy a Sealife DC100 or DC1200 w/ an external strobe/flash OR
save up and buy a Sea & Sea DX-1G or DX-2G? Any preference or recommendation
from anyone on one or the other?
3) head-in-the-clouds thought ... get a housing for the t2i w/ strobes, etc ...
don't think I'll be able to afford this for quite a while ... esp after I pay for my
plane ticket, etc.

Thanks in advance anyone & everyone!
ctopus:

 

[FrankPro1]

Since you already have the G10 and prefer macro, your best bet would be to get a G10 housing. The Sealife cameras are great for beginners but the G10 will be something you can grow with in your photography. The FIX or Patima housings are by far the best, but they are quite pricey. The Ikelite can be had for about 500 bucks and are widely available. The cheapest option would be the Canon OEM housing but I haven't seen too many of them floating around the internet these days. The G10 strength is in its macro capability and with one strobe you'll have plenty of shooting options. The DX-1G and 2G are very comparable to the G10, so it would be a waste to save up for a complete camera/housing package. The T2i housing + ports will be extremely costly but of course has the most shooting options. Here are a couple of my shots taken with a G10, Ikelite housing, DS-51 strobe combo:

 

[g-rella]

Wow! Those are amazing pictures! Thx so much for your input, I'll start investigating housings for the G10 and see what I can afford. Do you use one strobe or two? How do you get them to "sync" w/ the G10?
Thanks again!

 

[PatW]

I have the G10. It is one of the most advanced point and shoot cameras. For an rather inexpensive housing, you could go with an Ikelite housing (about $600) and a DS-51 strobe which allows a pseudo TTL connection. Many people like using Manual settings on both their strobe and camera. I have gone over to Manual on the camera but still let the strobe adjust (at least initially).

Also, I shooit RAW format. It takes a lot more memory on the card than JPEG but it allows complete fiddling with white balance (a big plus) and much better recovery of lost highlights and shadow details.

Canon makes a housing for the G10 and it is less expensive (about $300).

Other manufacturers make housings for the G10 and most of them come in at around $1000. These housings do have more wet lens options than the Ikelite.

 

[M_Bipartitus]

I agree with everything mentioned thus far, but will add that it's good to get a quality strobe if you have any thoughts of upgrading to dSLR in the future. The Ikelite DS-51 (or higher), an Inon D-2000, a Sea & Sea YS-110a, and similar could last through many different camera and housing combinations.

Ikelite strobes are best when paired with Ikelite housings if you want to use the wired TTL sync. Other than that there is a lot of flexibility in strobe choice. If you go for an optical sync, you will need to know that your housing allows the internal flash to be used.

 

[SoCalSwami]

I would suggest spending the extra money on the Ikelite DS125/DS160/DS161 strobe, if you decide to buy an Ikelite housing.

 

[MarineResearch]

My wife uses a Canon G10 with the Canon housing. I've attached an Inon Z-240 strobe with a fiber optic cable and used ULCS strobe arms. Reef Photo sells a Fiber Optic Cable Adapter to for the Canon G10 hoousing (WP-DC28).

She takes great pictures with this setup and its good for travel since overall it is very light. A picture of her setup is below.

 

[FrankPro1]

Wow! Those are amazing pictures! Thx so much for your input, I'll start investigating housings for the G10 and see what I can afford. Do you use one strobe or two? How do you get them to "sync" w/ the G10?
Thanks again!

I use one strobe and a Fantasea 44 LED as a focus/video light. My DS-51 is hardwired to the housing via the G10's hotshoe connection.

 

[Doubler]

This is just me but while the G-10 is an outstanding P&S the T2i is a much more versatile choice. True the housing and ports cost more but with the G-10 you get one fixed lens, with the T2i many,many lens choices. Think long term here and what will make you happier in the future. The problem with underwater photography is it is an addiction. I have 4 underwater rigs and each one got progressively more expensive. If I would have just waited a year and saved my money I could have spent all that money on a real great rig instead of 4 so-so ones. Did I mention 18 megapixels and 1080i HD video capability. My advice is wait and save and set the T2i up as your underwater photo rig.

 

[Big fish63]

What would you have bought if you had waited?

If I would have just waited a year and saved my money I could have spent all that money on a real great rig instead of 4 so-so ones. Did I mention 18 megapixels and 1080i HD video capability. My advice is wait and save and set the T2i up as your underwater photo rig.