Simple point & shoot with strobe package?

[diver 85]

Awesome pics, guys!! Diver85, that's a good idea I will keep an eye out for one. I'm a patient person, so I will wait until I'm really sure of what I want.

Believe I paid $380 total for camera & housing almost 4 years ago(Amazon).....1 year later right before they announced the DC'ing of the camera, the price dropped to $300 for both on Amazon.....some people out there don't have much in a UW camera & housing......-------lol, like me.....

EDIT---robb, not to get you thinking in another direction(a monkey wrench here)----but---look @ this thread & pictures taken with this camera 'naked'(2nd link)......about 250 to 300 bucks I think(search it on Amazon)---they look pretty good!!!

EDIT II---yep, $250 US with free shipping & no tax.....uh oh..
http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMC...6MJU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297289712&sr=8-1

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/un...6883-sharm-el-sheikh-9-16-october-2010-a.html

 

[Puffer Fish]

Warmwater Wank, Your G10 is an excellent camera...and as long as you are shooting around iso 80, has amazing resolution.

Canon housings are by far and away the cheapest of the inhouse cases one can buy.. however, as long as you take care of the o-ring, they don't seem to leak. After a while, the button springs get softer and the maximum depth goes down... if i remember correctly my G10 case is now good for down to around 100 ft, and after that, the buttons lock the camera up.

If one could, getting a camera that shoots raw should be at the top of everyone's wish list, so that limits one to:

Canon S95 (which has a canon case and several others)

Canon G12 (which also has a canon case and several others)

One other canon can shoot raw, but the free software is different and not as good.

The new Oly coming out.

The Pany LX-5 (but there is no low cost case for it.

The new Fuji coming out and it will have an underwater case.

Price wise the lowest cost will most likely be the Fuji F550, when their case if finally out (fuji cases are much nicer than the canon ones), followed by the S95.

If one gets one of the Oly stobes they as dumping on amazon for $182, and a simple arm package, either would be under $1000 and close to the $750 number.

Both should be able to take excellent images.

Here is a G10 image (vary downsized, the original makes amazing 13 x19 inch prints

Compared to an S90 image:

RobbC--You've answered your own concerns and don't really have a host of choices. You want decent results, you don't want to upgrade in a year and you don't want to spend more than around $1K. I've used a Canon G-10 going on 2 years and unless I flood it or lose it I'll keep shooting it. Why? It's a good camera, does what I need it to and it lets me enjoy my diving and picture taking. Prowl through the Canon forum, see what folks say about the S-95 (or the G-12). These aren't your only choices of course, so check on the Nikon and Olympus forums as well. In the price range you want to stay at, however, there are not many better camera choices than the S-95. (Yep, that's just an opinion of course... )

UW p&s has changed a lot in recent years. No, it is not dslr but it is very decent quality and better still, it is vastly less cumbersome, simpler and cheaper. An external strobe is practically mandatory but still, you can keep it simple. I use a S&S 110-A strobe and Canon housing w/ my G-10 but take a look at an Inon S-2000 or a S&S YS-01 for a strobe. A lot of folks who don't shoot the Canon housing knock it, then spend 2 or 3 times as much as the camera for a better housing. For them it makes sense, even though the housing alone does not determine image quality (though it can certainly affect wet-lens options etc.). When budget is a factor (as it is for most of us) you are the one who needs to decide your priorities.

Will you want to swiitch in a year? Who knows but like I said, unless I mess my camera up I'll stick with it. I'm including this image to give you a sense of what you can do with a good p&s. BTW, not much post-processing with these examples. Slight color and density correction, a small amount of sharpening--maybe a minute or so of playing on the computer. I dive and take pictures to have fun, enjoy this amazing planet and share my enthusiasm. A decent p&s ought to let anyone do that! // ww

Leaf fish Tulamben, Bali w/Canon G-10 + S&S 110A strobe

Detail of above photo

 

[diver 85]

Puffer fish, too bad the Flying Gurnard didn't 'open up'...By chance you have one with him fanned out???

 

[Charlie99]

I'm with you, I don't plan on winning any contests. I just want to take decent photos to show family and friends. ................... I'm a patient person, so I will wait until I'm really sure of what I want.

What sort of land photography you do today should give you a pretty clear hint as to your future direction in underwater photography.

A couple decades ago I realized that my 35mm SLR with awesome telephoto lenses was just gathering dust except for special occasions and my 35mm Olympus Stylus with an F2.8 fixed focal length lens was my camera of choice for 95% of my photography.

----------------------------------------

The optimal underwater camera system depends a lot upon what you are trying to do.

I'm pretty happy with a simple point and shoot because I just occasionally take a photo of something that I want to look at in more detail after the dive. And I take a camera along on my solo dives to document the mermaid riding by on a dolphin. Nobody believes me otherwise.

The advantages of point and shoot are size. It also does reasonable video. I just splash in off the boat carrying the camera. I'm not too worried about floods, because I bought two cameras. (My spare is now with my daughter as a "always with her" camera alternative to her larger DSLR that she uses at home.)

If on the other hand, photography is your main interest, and the diving is just a way to get you there, then you will be upgrading your setup repeatedly. For starters, though, you should take advantage of all those other divers that are upgrading and get a good quality used system.

 

[Puffer Fish]

Puffer fish, too bad the Flying Gurnard didn't 'open up'...By chance you have one with him fanned out???

Yes, several in fact, but wanted to show face on images (for comparison). When you see large prints with some of these camera's, most people are shocked at how good the image actually are.

 

[PatW]

Robb,

I have the Canon G11. It is a good point and shoot. It takes pretty good photos too. The S95 is a very similar camera and the housing & strobe are a bit cheaper with it.

For underwater photos, you want a camera that you can go full manual with (you set F stop and shutter speed). You also want to shoot RAW. RAW allows you to fool with white balance in post processing without penalty. That is a huge advantage. Also RAW allows you far more latitude in adjusting highlights, shadows and exposure. That is another huge advantage. As you seem to realize, you want a strobe. You lose the longer wavelengths of light as you get deeper. At 70', it is a green and blue world. A strobe brings that back.

Two things that are good in underwater are wide angles and macro capabilities. The closer you get to your subject the better because you have less stuff in the water column to mess up your photos. That makes wide angle really, really nice.

Macro is really nice to. You are close so you have nice photos. There is a bigger variety of small critters than big ones. Also the big stuff like groupers are often fished out. People don't seem to fish out cleaner shrimp. Finally small critters will often just sit still and pose for you. Big creatures take off.

I use an Ikelite housing. Ikelite has a housing and strobe for the S95 but an Ike strobe, housing and S95 will come in over your $1,000 budget. The Ike housing is $350 and the strobe something like $400. You could get a strobe from another maker. I understand that Ike strobes are expensive.

Now, it seems that if you get a good Canon housing, it can do you good service. There are people on these boards who have used them in 100s of dives. The problem seems to be that some housings leak. That can be tested. I heard from one person of a cheap way to do it. Get your housing. Get a package of grape koolaid. It is white when dry and purple when damp. Sprinkle the koolaid inside your housing. Seal it sans camera. Immerse the housing is as deep a water column as you can find for as long as you can. If the grape koolaid turns color, you have a problem. If not, you should be good to go. Now I have not tried it. But it makes sense.

 

[robbcayman]

A lot of great info here. Pat, the koolaid trick should work and I will try it when I get my setup. This place truly is a wealth of information. I hope to get something in the next month or so and will post when I do. You guys have given me a lot of information to digest.