Overwhelmed! Where to start?

[Sea Monster]

Hello

Can anyone direct me to a website that can concisely educate me and help me decide on a camera as a gift? There is a LOT of information out there and I am having trouble wading through all of it. I have found several websites that give me very wordy and techy advice, but I'm afraid it over my head.

I would like to get my hubby a camera for Christmas to (at least eventually) be used for underwater photography. I am not sure as to what the 'best' approach to this is: buy a purpose built underwater camera or buy a quality (land) camera and putting it in an underwater housing.

I am leaning towards purchasing a quality camera for Christmas and then purchasing the housing and future accessories for his birthday, etc. But is a purpose built camera better? If I buy a regular camera then I start wondering about what the best for underwater photography is: digital vs dslr, canon vs nikon, etc etc and it is overwhelming for someone like me who doesn't know much about such things.

I have a budget of $400-$500. Can anyone point me in a good "start" direction?

Thanks!
Kelly

 

[bvanant]

The advantage of the camera then housing is that you can have something quite nice for land use. If the $400 is for the camera alone then look at the Canon S100, G12,or for some more money look at the micro 4/3 cameras from Olympus and Panasonic. For a good review look at
Underwater Camera Articles: Best Point and Shoots of 2011

Bill

 

[Sea Monster]

Thank you for that great website, Bill. That was exactly the sort of thing I was looking for.

Is there any opinions out there on DSLR vs Point and Shoots? I would consider the hubby to be an amateur photographer who is very interested in having a camera to grow with. A lot of our friends (not divers) love the DSLRs.

The more a read about this the better I think it is to buy a nice camera in the $400-$500 range and then add accessories later. The housing seems like the next big purchase at around $1k. On the face of things I like the idea of the Canon G12 with the Ikelite accessories because I can purchase those in stepping stones (Ie camera for Christmas, casing for his birthday in the Spring, additional accessories just as surprises here and there).

Anyways, thank you so much for that website. If there are any other gems like that one please share them with me. I'm also open to personal thoughts and opinions about this.

Best,
K.

 

[bvanant]

Obviously (at least to me) DSLRs are more versatile and generally take "better" pictures than point and shoots but getting a reasonable DSLR for $450 is asking a lot. Housings for DSLR cameras cost lots more and are bigger as well so you need to think about that. The G12 is a very competent camera and there are a number of housings out there for it. If your budget was a bit larger I would say look at the entry level Canon/Nikon cameras but they are generally in the $650 range.
In any case, enjoy

Bill

 

[PatW]

With a $400 budget, the Canon G12 and S95 are out of your range. The cameras go for about that and then you need to buy the housing. Underwater photography is costly.

The Canon G12 and S95 are both good. They both do RAW format, which in my opinion is an absolutely must have for underwater photography. White balance changes constantly underwater. RAW allows you to adjust white balance without penalty in post processing.

The problems with the Canon G12 and S95 are the small sensors and you cannot do a good wide angle without buying a really pricey housing. Wide angle is critical for photographing anything about the size of a diver. The closer you get to your subject, the better the shot. Also, You lose red light at 15' and other long wavelengths fast. If you want "natural" colors, you have to take strobes down with you and two is far better than one. But again, strobes are expensive. The small sensors on the canon cameras above mean that you have to shoot them nearly wide open for F stop or lose some detail in diffraction losses. The 4/3 cameras have far larger sensors. These cameras with their relatively large sensors, small sizes, can theoretically make great underwater systems. Right now they are not up to their theoretical potential.

The thing is that getting a Canon G12 with a housing and two strobes and you are going to be hitting at least $1000 with the cheapest housing. As I said, the high end housings have the advantage of having wide angle add ons which is a big deal. I think the Olympus Pen system can be had with decent lenses for something under $2000. The housings alone for a Canon or Nikon DSLR range from $1400-$3000 and you have to buy the camera, the lenses, the ports, the strobes. You are talking about $5,000 or so once you are done.


You can get the Canon S95 with the Canon housing and no strobe (you can add one on later) for a bit more than your current system. You can use RAW and if there is a lot of light, you can correct for the white balance and do pretty well at 30'. Much deeper and you need to get a strobe unless you want everything in your photos to be blue or green.

 

[Sea Monster]

Well my budget for this initial purchase is $400-$500. At Christmas it is hard to front the entire cost because I am buying gifts for many people and my dollars must be spread around. I think the best plan is to buy a good camera at Christmas and then to buy housing, etc for his birthday in the Spring. This means he might not be dunking the camera right into the water to get started right away, but we do not have any planned dives through the winter anyways.

That said, I guess I'm just looking for the best camera to start with and what is possible for me to do in terms of add-ons for future presents. The G12 plus the Ikelite housing seems like an affordable next step for his birthday. Is this something you wouldn't even recommend as not worth it? I see that there is a wide angle lens available for the Ikelite and a Strobe package.

Anyways, still researching and asking around. Opinions still welcome :0)

With a $400 budget, the Canon G12 and S95 are out of your range. The cameras go for about that and then you need to buy the housing. Underwater photography is costly.

The Canon G12 and S95 are both good. They both do RAW format, which in my opinion is an absolutely must have for underwater photography. White balance changes constantly underwater. RAW allows you to adjust white balance without penalty in post processing.

The problems with the Canon G12 and S95 are the small sensors and you cannot do a good wide angle without buying a really pricey housing. Wide angle is critical for photographing anything about the size of a diver. The closer you get to your subject, the better the shot. Also, You lose red light at 15' and other long wavelengths fast. If you want "natural" colors, you have to take strobes down with you and two is far better than one. But again, strobes are expensive. The small sensors on the canon cameras above mean that you have to shoot them nearly wide open for F stop or lose some detail in diffraction losses. The 4/3 cameras have far larger sensors. These cameras with their relatively large sensors, small sizes, can theoretically make great underwater systems. Right now they are not up to their theoretical potential.

The thing is that getting a Canon G12 with a housing and two strobes and you are going to be hitting at least $1000 with the cheapest housing. As I said, the high end housings have the advantage of having wide angle add ons which is a big deal. I think the Olympus Pen system can be had with decent lenses for something under $2000. The housings alone for a Canon or Nikon DSLR range from $1400-$3000 and you have to buy the camera, the lenses, the ports, the strobes. You are talking about $5,000 or so once you are done.


You can get the Canon S95 with the Canon housing and no strobe (you can add one on later) for a bit more than your current system. You can use RAW and if there is a lot of light, you can correct for the white balance and do pretty well at 30'. Much deeper and you need to get a strobe unless you want everything in your photos to be blue or green.

 

[bvanant]

Go to your local camera store and play with the G12 and the S95/S100. See which one fits you the best. Either will be fine underwater and both fit your budget now. Both have Canon as well as a bunch of other housings and both can grow with you but if you are like most people you will shoot more on land than underwater and so it must FEEL right. Go play and let us know what you decide.

Bill

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

If he is an avid above water photographer, then it would be better off to get him a DSLR (not sure if you can get a serious one though), and you can get a cheaper point and shoot (maybe $300) and a mfg housing ($200) (which is almost always cheaper and more specifically built for the given camera), then maybe later a wide angle wet lens ($300) and an external strobe ($500).

The DSLR's add on accesories almost always never could be used for UW use, so there is very little dual use equipment that would have saved you money, except maybe a super wide angle lens/zoom, but those lens are ridiculously expensive (a wide angle wet lens would perform similar function for a point and shoot camera).

If you get a G12, then you end up with a camera that is not so expandable for land use, and if you bring just that camera on the trip, you will have to constantly take the camera out once the dive is over for other uses. Constantly opening/closing the housing is not what I would do, especially in a non-controlled environment.

 

[RonFrank]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/749936-REG/Olympus_262901_E_PL2_Digital_Camera_W_14_42mm.html

That what I would look at. Not quite as nice as a DSLR but will shoot damn fine images and less expensive. Nikon has a model for a bit more, Ashton does the adds. Oly calls there's the 4/3 system.

BH has this on sale now for $479, but I have no clue if that will last.