SeaLife or Sea & Sea??

[richtpe]

Hi. Very new to this board (my first post right here actually) and fairly new to u/w photography. I have been using a very cheap u/w 35mm camera and have not been too happy with the results. Heading down to the Keys in a couple of weeks and want to upgrade to a digital package with strobe before then, which comes to my question(s).

I've narrowed my choices down to the SeaLife DC500 Pro package (comes with regular strobe) or Elite package (with digital strobe and wide-angle lens), or the Sea & Sea DX750G package with the strobe. Does anyone have any overall recommendations between these choices?

Regarding the SeaLife packages, is the digital strobe really worth the extra $$$ to upgreade to the Elite package (I think I can do without the wide angled lens that comes with it)? Regarding the Sea & Sea package, am I going to be disappointed with the YS-15 strobe that comes with it (I saw some comments elsewhere in this board that implied it's not too powerful)?

Many thanks for any suggestions you may have.

 

[Ryan]

I personally wouldn't buy an underwater camera that didn't allow you to manually set shutter speed & aperture, regardless of whether or not you think you'll use these features now. You'll want them eventually, especially if you add a strobe.

Olympus SP350, Oly 7070, Canon S70, Canon S80, Canon A620, Sony P200, all have every feature these cameras have, and more, and aren't too far away in price. If you really want something from Sea & Sea, call around and look for a retailer closing out DX=5000g (I am, and Helix is too based on an email I got yesterday). This is a lot more camera for close to the same money.

You can get a lot out of a camera without an external flash, and would suggest starting there until you can afford a strobe that has a bit more pop. S&S YS15, YS25, Sealife whatever, etc are all closeup only strobes. Do you have the discipline to consistently get 1-2 feet from your subjects, and desire only to shoot closeups? Inon's S-TTL System (D-2000 & D-2000w) yields the most accurate automated external flash exposures I have experience with, short of hard wired TTL. The D-2000 is also more than twice as powerful as any of these options. The auto modes of the Sea & Seas, or manual of Sealifes will be "trial and error" systems.

There are specialty retailers that do this every day (I am one). Check out the sponsors of wetpixel.com or digitaldiver.net, and call a few. See what they suggest. Most of them are very friendly and will spend lots of time with you on the phone, helping you make a good decision. Some of them can't sleep at night and post on these forums, too

Hi. Very new to this board (my first post right here actually) and fairly new to u/w photography. I have been using a very cheap u/w 35mm camera and have not been too happy with the results. Heading down to the Keys in a couple of weeks and want to upgrade to a digital package with strobe before then, which comes to my question(s).

I've narrowed my choices down to the SeaLife DC500 Pro package (comes with regular strobe) or Elite package (with digital strobe and wide-angle lens), or the Sea & Sea DX750G package with the strobe. Does anyone have any overall recommendations between these choices?

Regarding the SeaLife packages, is the digital strobe really worth the extra $$$ to upgreade to the Elite package (I think I can do without the wide angled lens that comes with it)? Regarding the Sea & Sea package, am I going to be disappointed with the YS-15 strobe that comes with it (I saw some comments elsewhere in this board that implied it's not too powerful)?

Many thanks for any suggestions you may have.

 

[maltbyg]

hi there.i have been using cameras sinse i started diving 12 years.i have a few kinds but i have just bought the sea life dc500.i have allways used sea and sea cameras. i am amazed what a great camera the dc500 is.it takes great pics and you get great video with sound from it with very good quality.it is so easy to use with no fuss.i put a 1G memory card in and it will let you take nearly one and a half hours of video footage.buy one.you wont be disapointed. get the strobe with it though.

 

[richtpe]

Thanks very much for the feedback. I was looking for a point & shoot camera, as I am an extremely amateur photographer and don't even really understand the concepts of setting aperture and shutter speed. On the other hand, I've kicked myself plenty of times before for buying a lower-end item and then upgrading within several months. I'll have to re-think everything and will probably just bring the cheap 35mm camera for the Keys trip.

A follow-up question -- is there any difference between the sealife digital strobe and the regular (cheaper) strobe?

 

[Ryan]

Let me know when you'll be in the keys, I'll see if there is anything in our demo locker that might be of interest to you...

We stock the Bonica Neon Flash, which is the exact same strobe as the Sealife Digital Flash. This is a manual flash, you'll dial the power up and down for correct exposure.

I've never gotten a straight answer as to whether the basic flash was fixed output or used an auto sensor. Either way, it is extremely limiting with compact digital cameras.

Thanks very much for the feedback. I was looking for a point & shoot camera, as I am an extremely amateur photographer and don't even really understand the concepts of setting aperture and shutter speed. On the other hand, I've kicked myself plenty of times before for buying a lower-end item and then upgrading within several months. I'll have to re-think everything and will probably just bring the cheap 35mm camera for the Keys trip.

A follow-up question -- is there any difference between the sealife digital strobe and the regular (cheaper) strobe?