S95 or ZS7 or something else for my first buy?

[darkhound]

Hi everyone,

I am buying my first underwater camera. I have a budget of $1500, but would love if I could spend less than $1000.

Above ground, I have a SLR with a variety of lenses, but the underwater housing for that costs too much!

So I have been looking at a couple compact cameras and accessories. Any recommendations considering my budget?

I am thinking a Canon S95 or a Panasonic ZS7 with the cheapest housings possible (around $250 I think)

For the Canon S95, I was also thinking about getting a wide-angle wet-lens because it only goes down to 28mm. The Panasonic, on the other hand, has a 25mm lens. Any thoughts on whether 3mm makes much difference? I do love wide-angle stuff though (on land, I have a 10-22mm lens)

I think my focus might be more on video rather than photos. Is it true that the Panasonic is better than the S95 at videos? Does anyone know if the Panasonic is able to change its focus and zoom while recording? As far as I know, you can't with the S95...

Should I bother with a strobe at first? It seems bulky...

Thanks very much. And if you have any suggestions on setups other than the S95 and ZS7, I would love to hear them.

 

[FrankPro1]

In the compact class, the S95 is hard to beat. The Fix or RecSea seems the go to housing for the S95. It is ultra compact, very durable and accepts a wide range of wet lenses.

Seeing as you shoot with an SLR topside and like to shoot video I would recommend looking at the micro 4/3rds setups. The Oly ELP-1 w/ Oly housing will run you about 1100$. It has a larger sensor and quicker focus then a compact camera, interchangeable lenses, a great video function and a growing list of expandability options. I am currently waiting to see what Canon has to offer in the micro 4/3rds setup before upgrading to a new system.

 

[slowhands]

I'd suggest the Canon S95 with Canon Housing for better performance and price. Image quality is quite good. It's true that the Panasonic lens is wider, but it's also slower (F3.3 vs F2), which is a huge difference underwater. The Panasonic ZS7 is an excellent land camera, but does not shoot in RAW mode, which is necessary for best white balance adjustment. The housing for the Panasonic is hard to buy in the USA, but can be found in Japan and Malaysia online. The Panasonic housing is more expensive too, at about $380 versus $175 for the Canon. The Canon has the edge for now.

 

[darkhound]

Thanks FrankPro1. Would you recommend that I get a wide-angle wet lens for the S95? If so, is there a particular lens you would recommend? Or should I spend the money on a strobe instead?

The Oly EPL-1 sounds like an outstanding option (the videos I see on YouTube look amazing). But I plan on upgrading to full frame Canon in a couple years and buying a housing for that then. So it seems like too much of a waste to get a Oly EPL-1 with a housing now...

 

[darkhound]

Thanks SlowHands. The Panasonic doesn't shoot in RAW? Geez, that does it for me... I only shoot in RAW. I guess the S95 is more suited for me then.

How do I figure out if I can buy wet-lens for the Canon housing? I saw somewhere that I would need an adaptor?? Would that adaptor affect image quality?

Perhaps I might simply go for a used housing for my Canon xTi and give up video. It's an older SLR now, but I guess my 10-22mm lens would still be quite nice for UW photography. Any ideas on where to find used UW housings? (or should I not bother... too sketchy to get used equipment?)

 

[FrankPro1]

The Fix UWL-04 is a great wet lens, gives you 160° field of view and doesn't vignette at full 28mm when paired with the Fix housing.

The Fix housing w/ S95 camera alone will cost you 1200, a hundred more then the Oly setup. Add the UWL-04 and its bumped up to 1600. A strobe "or two" is pretty much mandatory for underwater stills. You can get by with using the on-board flash / diffuser for some shots but good luck doing any wide angle or close in macro.

If your looking to upgrade in a year or two and this is your first time dabbling in underwater photography you might want to hold off investing too much into what most likely will be a temporary setup. The S95 w/Canon housing can be had for about $580. You could always invest in quality strobes as they will transfer over to future setups.

 

[darkhound]

FrankPro1, great. Thanks for your thoughts. I think I will just go with what you suggested... the S95 with a Canon housing.

It should be good enough as a temporary, learning setup until I get my new SLR.

Also, the small form factor along with the price should keep the wife happy. Always important!

 

[bvanant]

Once you get the housing, you can add-on a Dyron wide-angle port. Wet connectable underwater and it restores the full 80 degree view of the lens. They also make add-on lens adapters for wide angle lenses but I believe they will vignette a bit.
You can get them from bluewaterphotostore.com in the U.S.
Bill

 

[HerraduraDivers]

darkhound,
do a search about canon housings just to be informed about what troubles you may run in with a Canon housing.
For +/-1000$ you should get a Ikelite housing and a Ikelite DS-51 strobe giiving you TTL.

For 1500$ you get a brand new Ikelite housing and a dome port for your DSLR and for the same amount you will find - with a bit of patience - a used rig including a strobe.

Chris

 

[slowhands]

...Perhaps I might simply go for a used housing for my Canon xTi and give up video. It's an older SLR now, but I guess my 10-22mm lens would still be quite nice for UW photography. Any ideas on where to find used UW housings? (or should I not bother... too sketchy to get used equipment?)

These housings show up on eBay from time to time. Do a search on completed auctions to get a current price range. With patience, you can find one in the $500 range. As I recall, Reef had a few of these for sale as demos at a higher price. If you need support, they provide that quite well.

The housing is only part of your cost, you will be buying ports, strobes, trays, the works... so as others have said, be prepared for the expense.