SeaLife DC2000 RAW Shooting

[scubachad36]

Hi there,

I've got my next underwater camera narrowed down to the DC2000 or the Olympus TG5 with a housing. The one thing that's making me hesitant about the DC2000 is the shot rate with RAW. Can any DC2000 speak to this issue (or non-issue?) as I'd like to make a decision in the next 2 weeks prior to a planned Maui trip!

Thanks!

 

[Ricardo V.]

Ok. I’m not clear I understood your question, but sounds like you are wanting to know if the DC2000 SeaLife camera has an issue recording RAW files.

It does record images in RAW. It takes a few seconds to record a RAW image, and will prevent you from rapid fire or from taking multi-frames in rapid succession. I’m assuming that’s the issue you are inquiring about.

If you take jpgs, then the DC2000 records much faster and you can rapid fire as compared to RAW, which will limit your ability to capture multiple shots in rapid succession.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
Ricardo

 

[scubachad36]

Ok. I’m not clear I understood your question, but sounds like you are wanting to know if the DC2000 SeaLife camera has an issue recording RAW files.

It does record images in RAW. It takes a few seconds to record a RAW image, and will prevent you from rapid fire or from taking multi-frames in rapid succession. I’m assuming that’s the issue you are inquiring about.

If you take jpgs, then the DC2000 records much faster and you can rapid fire as compared to RAW, which will limit your ability to capture multiple shots in rapid succession.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
Ricardo

Thanks for the response, Ricardo - yes, sorry, my question wasn't as clear as I could have made it.

That answers my question... I think I might have to go with the TG5, just for that reason - I love the idea of full manual, but one shot every 5 seconds won't work for me, especially given how fast some things under the sea move!

Chad

 

[Trailboss123]

Thanks for the response, Ricardo - yes, sorry, my question wasn't as clear as I could have made it.

That answers my question... I think I might have to go with the TG5, just for that reason - I love the idea of full manual, but one shot every 5 seconds won't work for me, especially given how fast some things under the sea move!

Chad

It is more like 2-3 seconds for RAW images with the DC2000.

 

[Ricardo V.]

Chad,
The DC2000 has some bullet proof features that position it as a pretty good choice in today’s market.

I’m not familiar with the Olympus TG5, but am with the DC2000 and as with many things, a little bit of practice will go a long ways.

It has a wet wide angle lens that you essentially just press into place while diving, and it gives you pretty decent results. It’s got macro features too, plus the ability to use it as a regular top side camera when your out and about.

I can’t say how many seconds it takes for raw file images to be recorded, but @Trailboss123 is pretty good with his system and he has gotten some impressive images with it. It could be that with a faster memory card, the recording speed is much faster and perhaps it will free up your buffer.

If you want to be able to post process RAW files all of the time, then the DC2000 may not be the best choice for you. If you are fine with jpegs and want to have the flexibility of doing macro and wide without having to remove the camera from the housing, then this may be your best choice. BTW, it records de ent video too.

I’ve seen amazing results from divers that have put in some practice time with this system and it’s pretty good. I’ve also had users complain about the camera, but in reality... it’s from not having enough practice identifying what setting is best, knowing what the camera is telling you it’s doing, and trusting that the system is responding as the user expects. All becomes clear(er) with practice. It’s also important to keep in perspective that SLR, or full frame mirrorless results are going to call for non-point and shoot systems.

In any case, here are a few samples. My wife shot these for an introductory class to the DC2000 we put together a few months ago. These are non processed. Straight out of the camera as shot.

Hope this helps with your decision making process.

Ricardo

 

[Trailboss123]

Couldn't agree more with @Ricardo V. -
He nailed it!
I am a total amateur and none of these photos or videos were done in RAW- just goes to show you how good the DC2000 is- in my humble opinion- I only use JPEG with my SeaLife- Sea Dragon 2500 lumen video/dive light. I have a lot to learn and could do much better if I really knew what I was doing.

 

[scubachad36]

Cheers, all - and thanks for the feedback. I'm going to dig some more, but you've given me food for thought. Can't take too long, as we have a Maui trip lined up six weeks from now!

Thanks!

 

[Alucard]

I am a relative newbie with the DC2000 and tend to like to shoot in RAW. It may take 2-3 seconds for it to store the images, but it often seems like 5 than you have a fish swimming past you! The fix is to not shoot in RAW, of course, and you can get some awesome results, still.

I hope that SeaLife can improve that aspect of the performance, because that is my only quibble so far!

 

[kelemvor]

The Olympus TG-5 apparently has a much larger high speed buffer. It shoots up to 18 frames in raw at 20 frames per second. When the buffer fills, it slows down to 3.17 shots per second. You should be able to shoot at that speed infinitely if you've got a reasonably fast card. Even with a full buffer it's vastly quicker than Dc2000.

However

Olympus TG5 only has a 12Mp sensor while Sealife Dc2000 has 20Mp. If you can manage to get the shot with the sealife, it has the potential to be a bit better. However, your analysis of the speed situation is accurate. You'll get far more attempts with the Olympus.

TG5 has an f/2.0 lens while DC2000 has an f/1.8 (lower is better).
TG5 will shoot 100 ISO while DC2000 is 125 (lower is better).
Both are designed primarily to be underwater cameras. Both are popular models.

It's a tough choice, TG5 is kind of old - I wonder if Olympus has a TG6 in the works with a better sensor to compete better with the newer DC2000.

 

[dmaziuk]

It's a tough choice, TG5 is kind of old - I wonder if Olympus has a TG6 in the works with a better sensor to compete better with the newer DC2000.

Define "better": 12 vs 20MP at the same physical size means physically larger cells that capture more light just because more photons land on that larger area. So you get better ISO just because of that -- FVO "better" = shorter exposure times in low-light conditions.

12MP is usually 4290 x 2800, @100 ppi of a computer screen you're looking at 429x280" screen, or ~500" diagonal. A super-hugh quality printer @1200 dpi will print this as a 3.5x2.5" card, which doesn't sound great but you really don't want to print at that resolution. Maybe 600 dpi if you're trying for NatGeo cover. At 300 dpi the difference between 12 and 20MP is somewhat academic if you print to A4/letter.

I'd say if you want to primarily shoot in in RAW and not turn your shots into wallpaper, TG5 wins. What DC2000 has is the waterproof camera that maybe won't flood when (not if) the housing leaks.