Question on Sealife and underwater photography in general

[RichBolduc]

Just got in to diving about 2 months ago and I'm doing a night dive the end of the month. I've never done any photography but I'd like to. I've been looking at some of the Sealife DC1000 and 1200 cameras for this upcoming dive and am wondering how needed a strobe will be. I don't mind buying one with the strobe if needed, but is it? Would I be better off getting the a single strobe now and a second one later?

Also, any chance someone has examples of the difference of picture quality w/ and w/o a strobe?


I'll be doing most of my dives in the Gulf Of Mexico, and so far the visibility there's been pretty damn good with a canister light. It gets a little dark in some of the wrecks though. Nothing like going around a corner to see a Goliath Grouper the size of a VW bug staring you down either... But man would I of liked to get pics of them and some of the sharks I've seen.


Also, how low can I go in the megapixel range under water and still get good results? I know when I worked at a camera store years ago, you could get photo quality 4x6's out of a 2 megapixel. So would that be just as good under water? Could I get away with say a used 6 or 8 megapixel?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[RichBolduc]

Never mind.. just bought a DC500 with lights for cheap.... I'll give it a shot and I figure if I don't like it I'll sell the camera and just pick up a DC1200 and use this light..


*digital camera
*underwater housing
*dual mounting tray
*sealife strobe
*wide angle lens to fit on housing
*akona focus light
*tray weight for buoyancy
*ballast weights
*charger and mounting dock for camera
*8 rechargable batteries for strobe
*2 batteries for camera
*2 chargers for strobe batteries
*av cables for camera
*manuals for camera

 

[Scuba.com]

You will probably find taking pictures using the strobe will make a big difference. The red, orange and yellow colors start be lost in as little as 20 ft, depending on the water clarity. Using the strobe will bring back the true colors of the subject you are photographing. The following is a short video to help with editing your pictures. Scuba.com Video: Scuba.com tutorial on editing underwater photos - Cameras

 

[RichBolduc]

Awesome thanks

Now to get the 5MP in and see how it works and weather or not I want to / need to upgrade to the 10/12MP

 

[Scuba.com]

This short video will give you some of the features on the new DC1200 for comparison. We have to warn you it's pretty cool. http://www.scuba.com/video/289/Seal...l-Digital-Underwater-Camera-Video-Review.html

 

[RichBolduc]

Now if I don't like the 500, will the strobe, and lens from this ebay purchase fit on the 1200?

 

[Scuba.com]

Sealife's SL970 wide angle lens fits all the camera housings. But, is not recommended for the DC800 because it had the wide angle feature built into the camera. For the strobe you would need the flash link adapter that fits the DC1200, SL17052, to attach the fiber optic cable to the camera housing.

 

[RichBolduc]

Man.. thanks for being super helpful... Totally going to get those items from you if the camera isn't what i'm looking for

 

[PatW]

The 1000 and 1200 both have plenty of megapixels.

I did not see that either had RAW capability. Having a RAW mode is really important for underwater photography. RAW allows you to reclaim far more detail from shadows and highlights. It also allows you to change the white balance to suit your photo. RAW means you have to buy a bunch more memory in your cards. But it is worth it.

Another thing is shutter lag. For fast moving critters, shutter lag can make certain shots impossible to get. I had a camera that had enough shutter lag that I was not able to get decent photos of damsel fish and butterfly fish. They move too quickly.

Is a strobe a must have? It sort of depends. If you are taking shots of really big objects, even a powerful strobe will only replace to colors on the foreground. However, for macro shots and things in close, the strobe will work great.

It is good to have a camera with macro capability. Small critters are cool. Strobes work well. Also many of the small guys sit still. Another good thing with macro shots is they tend to come in sharp because there is not much water between the camera and the shot to sap the sharpness out of the photo.

Another thing you want is wide angle capability. Having a wide angle lens lets you get in close. The closer you get the better your strobe works and the sharper your photos.

Can you get all of that with a point and shoot? Well no. The really top of the line advanced point and shoots will do pretty well though.

 

[RichBolduc]

I decided after turning a few corners in wrecks this week only to be face to face with growling Goliath groupers... that I really wanted pictures of them.