Kevster
Contributor
I would recommend the P&S approach.
I have been using a canon S70 last 2 years. Recently i flooded 2 of them.
I spent a long time thinking about upgrading to DSLR(had 100+dives with P&S ). I have a Nikon D80 which i have been using topside for a year. Its a nice camera. But the bottom line is that it cost a lot of $ to take it underwater.
Looking at the cost of the housing alone is not realistic. When you add all the bits & pieces you end up double/triple the cost (housing/stobe/strobe firing/arms/lens/ports.....)There is not much point housing a DSLR unless you get a couple of lenses (Wide & Macro). The kit lens will be an in between lens (not good at wide & not good at macro )
In the end i bought a S80 and a G9.(i learned the hard way that having a back up camera is a good idea).
I use the S80 for wide as i have the Inon UWL & dome. G9 is for video & macro.
Macro & video on the G9 are great. Having Inon UCL & UWL add ons are great.
Also being able to hack Raw into various canon models is also a big plus.
In my opinion P&S is the way to go. The quality from P&S are sufficient in most cases for the average diver as long as you know how to use the camera. The results are sufficient to show friends,web & to print out large size. I suggest you look at Eds & Junglematts photo galleries for what a good P&S can do in the right hands.
On a recent trip one diver on the liveaboard i was on had a Canon DSLR (not sure what model) & ikelite housing. He was using the standard kit lens with a 4 to 6" standard port. During the dives i was amazed how he used his set up. He was always at least 1-2 m away from the subject matter. I would not have swaped my S80+UWL+Dome for his set up.
Weight and bulk are also an issue travelling and diving with a DSLR.
Unless you are really prepared to spend big bucks (or get a decent setup second hand) and make a reasonable commitment i would avoid housing your DSLR without first checking out the capabilities of a decent P&S.
I would also suggest you give the Sea &Sea 1G a miss.(no experience using this but have talked to several divers who are not happy with the 1G)
If you are starting from scratch i would recommed a new Canon A model (get one that you can hack raw, one with the new sensor (III), canon housing, wet attached wide lens (Inon) & strobe. Unfortunately this will prob cost about $1200 but shop around.
I have been using a canon S70 last 2 years. Recently i flooded 2 of them.
I spent a long time thinking about upgrading to DSLR(had 100+dives with P&S ). I have a Nikon D80 which i have been using topside for a year. Its a nice camera. But the bottom line is that it cost a lot of $ to take it underwater.
Looking at the cost of the housing alone is not realistic. When you add all the bits & pieces you end up double/triple the cost (housing/stobe/strobe firing/arms/lens/ports.....)There is not much point housing a DSLR unless you get a couple of lenses (Wide & Macro). The kit lens will be an in between lens (not good at wide & not good at macro )
In the end i bought a S80 and a G9.(i learned the hard way that having a back up camera is a good idea).
I use the S80 for wide as i have the Inon UWL & dome. G9 is for video & macro.
Macro & video on the G9 are great. Having Inon UCL & UWL add ons are great.
Also being able to hack Raw into various canon models is also a big plus.
In my opinion P&S is the way to go. The quality from P&S are sufficient in most cases for the average diver as long as you know how to use the camera. The results are sufficient to show friends,web & to print out large size. I suggest you look at Eds & Junglematts photo galleries for what a good P&S can do in the right hands.
On a recent trip one diver on the liveaboard i was on had a Canon DSLR (not sure what model) & ikelite housing. He was using the standard kit lens with a 4 to 6" standard port. During the dives i was amazed how he used his set up. He was always at least 1-2 m away from the subject matter. I would not have swaped my S80+UWL+Dome for his set up.
Weight and bulk are also an issue travelling and diving with a DSLR.
Unless you are really prepared to spend big bucks (or get a decent setup second hand) and make a reasonable commitment i would avoid housing your DSLR without first checking out the capabilities of a decent P&S.
I would also suggest you give the Sea &Sea 1G a miss.(no experience using this but have talked to several divers who are not happy with the 1G)
If you are starting from scratch i would recommed a new Canon A model (get one that you can hack raw, one with the new sensor (III), canon housing, wet attached wide lens (Inon) & strobe. Unfortunately this will prob cost about $1200 but shop around.
