For a school project, me and a couple friends are going scuba diving and doing some research. We need to document some of the marine life, and therefore need to get an underwater camera. Were looking to spend no more than 500$. Can someone point us in the right dirrection to a good camera to buy?
noobie camera question
- Thread starter Marco333
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Fun Diver
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why not just get a disposable underwater camera, or rent one from a dive shop for the project..? Otherwise just about any digital camera has an underwater housing available (minus the strobe) which should keep within the budget.
Charlie99
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Fun Diver made an excellent suggestion. An underwater housing for a digital camera is also useful above water for taking photos in sloppy envirionments such as boats, heavy rain, snowboarding, at the beach, etc.
Just look around to see what digital cameras you and your friends already own, and then start searching for a housing for one of them.
Just look around to see what digital cameras you and your friends already own, and then start searching for a housing for one of them.
Rockdivr
Registered
Wellcome to uw photography Marco,
In my personal experiance, before I was even a scuba diver(deep freediver) I did not have the budget I have now for my hobbies so I too was forced to a 500.00 budget.
In late 2001 I bought a Sealife Reefmaster RC set comprised of a camera, strobe & close up lens for around 399.00. I think they run about 300 or less now. It is a sturdy little 35mm rig with a fixed focus 5ft to infinity lens on the housing, and it comes with a coated closeup lensyou can attach-detach underwater for shooting objects and fish at a fixed focus range of about 3 ft.(fixed focus for the housing...you have to be at least 5 ft away for the subject to be in sharp focus.....w/ the closeup lens you have to be around 3 ft to be in sharp focus)
I bought 2 of these rigs and used them mercilessly for 2 years and never had either of them flood, I have since given one to my brother and keep one as a backup for my backup's backup's backup. hehe. It is a point and shoot system that if WELL MAINTAINED should serve you well for a long time. Buy it online, you will save some money, get it faster & not be disappointed. But dont take my word for it....I have enclosed some photos taken on a 2002 trip to Cozumel shot exclusively w/a reefmaster setup.
good luck,
Rocco
In my personal experiance, before I was even a scuba diver(deep freediver) I did not have the budget I have now for my hobbies so I too was forced to a 500.00 budget.
In late 2001 I bought a Sealife Reefmaster RC set comprised of a camera, strobe & close up lens for around 399.00. I think they run about 300 or less now. It is a sturdy little 35mm rig with a fixed focus 5ft to infinity lens on the housing, and it comes with a coated closeup lensyou can attach-detach underwater for shooting objects and fish at a fixed focus range of about 3 ft.(fixed focus for the housing...you have to be at least 5 ft away for the subject to be in sharp focus.....w/ the closeup lens you have to be around 3 ft to be in sharp focus)
I bought 2 of these rigs and used them mercilessly for 2 years and never had either of them flood, I have since given one to my brother and keep one as a backup for my backup's backup's backup. hehe. It is a point and shoot system that if WELL MAINTAINED should serve you well for a long time. Buy it online, you will save some money, get it faster & not be disappointed. But dont take my word for it....I have enclosed some photos taken on a 2002 trip to Cozumel shot exclusively w/a reefmaster setup.
good luck,
Rocco
Welcome to the board.
Unless it's not allowed, how about having a diver who already has a camera (and more importantly knows how to use it) come along with you. You could point out what you want to photograph and the other diver could do the actual photo. This way you would most likely get a lot better pictures and not have to buy a camera. Otherwise, renting a digital camera would be the best way to go......or maybe you could find a local diver who would let you "borrow" their camera- you do the picture taking with them over your shoulder. I would bet there is someone off this board who would be willing to help.
Unless it's not allowed, how about having a diver who already has a camera (and more importantly knows how to use it) come along with you. You could point out what you want to photograph and the other diver could do the actual photo. This way you would most likely get a lot better pictures and not have to buy a camera. Otherwise, renting a digital camera would be the best way to go......or maybe you could find a local diver who would let you "borrow" their camera- you do the picture taking with them over your shoulder. I would bet there is someone off this board who would be willing to help.
My 2nd UW setup was a Minolta DiMage Xg with the Minolta housing. It does a very acceptable job of capturing images and has a decent video option -- plus it is a great "carry around" camera.
It isn't made anymore BUT you can get a "refurbished one" through Amazon for $135 (Xg ) and a new case through Adorama for $190 ( UW Case)
It isn't made anymore BUT you can get a "refurbished one" through Amazon for $135 (Xg ) and a new case through Adorama for $190 ( UW Case)
I'd throw my two cents towards one of the Canon A series cameras and Canon UW housings. I know for quite a bit of experience hands on with people who have never shot UW before that these little units do a great job with just a few basics under your belt.
And they are great cameras on land, too, so should work well with other school activities. They allow full manual control and also have some good presettings and auto modes - so a wide variety of users should be able to get nice results.
The S70 is also something you might consider as it has RAW so if your school is going to teach photoshopping/digital photography that might be something to consider. RAW is also available on the Fuji 900, 810 and some Olympus models.
There are quite a few choices out there but I would definitely head to something that can be multipurpose...
And they are great cameras on land, too, so should work well with other school activities. They allow full manual control and also have some good presettings and auto modes - so a wide variety of users should be able to get nice results.
The S70 is also something you might consider as it has RAW so if your school is going to teach photoshopping/digital photography that might be something to consider. RAW is also available on the Fuji 900, 810 and some Olympus models.
There are quite a few choices out there but I would definitely head to something that can be multipurpose...
Thanks for all the helpful support. I'll look into renting one, but I am still considering purchasing one. I currently have a Kodak EasyShare CX7530 which is 5.0mp and should be ok, but I can not find anywhere that sells an underwater case for it. Does anyone know if a specific case for this camera is made?
Only Kodak housing I know of is Ikelite, and I think they only make the Z/DX 7590. If it has the same body, that might be adaptable, but you'd have to contact Ikelite.
rafaelaustin
Registered
I'll put my vote in for a Canon and Canon housing as well. Canon makes great cameras in that price range. An A610 for about $205, the housing for $170, a bunch of rechargeable batteries and charger for another $40 and 2 - 1 GB SD cards for another $70. That's just one example of an affordable Canon pack.
Be aware that Canon housings are rated to 100' or 130' depending on the model. If you need something more, you'll probably have to go to a camera that fits an Ikelite housing or something similar. That'll double your cost.
Be aware that Canon housings are rated to 100' or 130' depending on the model. If you need something more, you'll probably have to go to a camera that fits an Ikelite housing or something similar. That'll double your cost.
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