s80 vs 710 IS

[niu_roadkill]

Hello all. I'm looking at getting a new camera. I've basically come down to the S80 (when and where it can still be found) or the 710 IS. Any thoughts on which is the better option. For me the camera will get tons more use on land than underwater. I want to pick this up for my trip to Cozumel in July and practice with it before Maldives next year. My second question is whether the Ikelite housing is worth the extra cash for either camera or is the Canon housing good enough for govt work? Thanks in advance.

 

[DesertEagle]

Image stabalization is great for land, but not helpful underwater. If I were to choose between the two, I'd definitely go with the S80. It is one of the more SLR-like cameras. It's got a wider lens, and both the Canon & Ikelite housings have additional wide angle choices. The Canon housing is fine for most people, but if you plan on a lot of diving, the Ikelite is worth the extra money.

The tricky part is finding an S80. They were discontinued. I think Adorama is selling some refurbished ones for $350. Someone here on ScubaBoard was also selling the Ikelite housing.

 

[Dusty2]

Hi there and welcome to the board.
I had the S80 and was very impressed with it however I would recommend the 710IS or the A640 which I now own.

There are several reasons for this choice not the least being the S80 is no longer in production, is pricey for what you get, and I found that it is very susceptible to moisture getting into it an causing it to fail. Also for underwater use you cannot use several of the features because the function dial is not supported and it uses propriatary batteries which don't last as long

Having said this my choice would still be the A640 over the 710IS. Here is why. 10 mega pixels over 7.1, A movable LCD which allows you to shoot from any angle including self portraits, overhead, and waist level and allows you to close the LCD and thus protect it when carrying it in a pocket or bag plus angle it so the sun glare doesn't make it hard to see. It uses 4 AA batteries instead of 2 which makes for longer service when using the flash allot such as underwater, and with 10 mega pixels you effectively get the same zoom value as the 710 because you can crop the pix down to feature the same area without going to a higher zoom and sacrificing picture quality.

As far as cases are concerned??? it's a tough question. The canon case functions well if properly maintained and costs less than half of the ikelites cost. They are smaller, lighter, & allow the use of the on-board flash which the ikelite case more or less blocks due to the large lens barrel requiring an external strobe. However the ikelite case is much stronger and better built and will allow use of add on lenses and deeper dives but it is bigger heaver and bulker. If your going to only use it casually I'd go with the canon case but follow the instructions for care to the letter or you may lose you camera due to flooding. If your serious about U/W shooting and have deep pockets go with the ikelite especially if you like to go deep.

Thats my take for what it's worth

 

[azcaddman]

the ikelite case comes with a flash diffuser, that lets the built-in flash work (as well as it can), with no shadows (unless you get really, really close)

 

[niu_roadkill]

Friends. Thanks for the info on the cameras. I'll definitely have to look at the 640 more. What I liked more about the S80 was its form factor. Since it was more or less rectangular, I thought it would be easier to stash away. How bulky is the 640 and the 710? I'll have to find some place local (shouldn't be too hard in the Chicago burbs) that has one that I can touch and feel.

About the housings. Interesting point about the control capabilities and the flash support. I'm tempted to go with the Canon housing because of costs, but then again if/when I get certified to go to decompression diving for Chuuk in the hopefully not to distant future, I guess the Ikelite housing would be better. I'm not there yet, but hope to be soon.

Thanks again for all the comments and keep them coming.

 

[azcaddman]

I posted some comparison photos here for a ikelite a640 vs a canon s70 (the 2 I owned at the time) .. considering that the a640 is a fair amt bigger (the camera itself) the diff in the housing size isn't that much.

where it gets bigger is when you add tray/strobes.. but then the canon would be a bigger setup if you added them to it as well

this post shows the size with the dual tray, and how I use it (dual ttl sensors, on a cut-down top bar from a SLR tray setup). the arms for strobes just attach to the 1.25" balls on either end.

 

[Peter Guy]

I've been using the S80 for a year now with the Canon housing. Contrary to what someone wrote above, you can access all of the functions with the Canon housing (it just takes two hands). I believe I've gotten some wonderful pictures with the camera -- including some nice macro using an Inon wet lens.

That said, the housing did flood ruining the camera on the year anniversary of its purchase! I sent the camera back to Canon which told me it was toast but to send the housing back to see if that was the issue. After dawdling for quite some time on this, I sent the housing back (at Canon's expense) and today I got a phone call from Canon that it was going to replace both the camera and the housing! (BTW, I bought a replacement S80 on Ebay so I'll have two of them.)

I bought the Ike housing bought sent it back because of how the buttons were set up. While I can use all of the Canon buttons with dry gloves, I couldn't use the Ike buttons with dry gloves -- which meant I would have real problems here in the PNW. If I was just doing warm water, I would probably go with the Ike housing.

Now if only someone would hack the firmware and get RAW available for the S80....

 

[azcaddman]

i've been able to use the ike buttons, with 5mm scubapro gloves.. just takes some practice/determination, i use the 'edge' of my thumb, instead of the 'pad'.

granted it's not as easy as it was on the s70.. but at 175' the buttons come back out too (they would tend to stay pushed in on the s70, but it didn't leak)

 

[CompuDude]

I dive with 3mm gloves and have no problems with the buttons on my Ike housing for my S80. Great camera, incredibly well-built housing. The main concern with the S80 at this point is availability of replacements, should a flood occur.

And no matter how careful you are, they can and will occur when you least expect it. My only floods with my Ikelite case have been entirely user error, I will say.

Despite what post #3 says "is very susceptible to moisture getting into it an causing it to fail" that is completely untrue. The S80 is no more prone to "moisture" problems than any other camera. Any camera can flood. And that's more a function of the housing than the camera, so blaming a model of camera for floods is disingenuous at best.

The S80 takes some of the best, sharpest, and closest to dSLR photos of any out there. It costs more, however. It is definitely smaller and easier to pocket compared to the A series cameras, although nowhere near the SD series (which lack manual controls). The battery pack (and charger) also travels a lot better than handfuls of AAs and a bulky AA charger. A spare battery pack in your pocket also takes up a lot less room than 4 AAs jumbling around.

Then again, the A series cameras are a lot less money, for a very fine camera. Just not as good as the S80, IMO.

The S80 works just fine with the Ike housing and diffuser. No flash problems. The Canon housing is less bulky, however, especially if you add a handle and tray to the Ike housing, which it really needs because the OEM "strap" is a joke, while the Canon gets along fine without it. Both are pretty much equally bulky once you start adding strobes and trays, of course.

 

[azcaddman]

i dumped the hand straps on both, used some cave line, and a bolt snap to make your own.