snorkeling camera?

[tie]

I would like an underwater camera I can use for both snorkeling and diving. (Not everyone I vacation with dives, unfortunately. I've just started.) So far, I've just used the cheap disposable cameras. But they are extremely technically limiting so I'd like something better. I'm looking at digital to avoid the film hassle.

Recommendations? Is it advisable to take a housed camera to a sandy beach, or just rocky entries (Kealakekua Bay in Hawaii is a favorite spot of mine).

I think a small package would be nice. From my experience, I think a flash is definitely necessary -- certainly if there are any clouds at all. Swimming with an external strobe might be a bit too much.

For camera, the Olympus 5050(60?) seems attactive, in the PT housing. I'm shying away from a dedicated underwater camera, since I'm not sure I trust the image quality, and would like pics above and below water.

Strobe options are the Inon D-180 (3.9x3.9x5.4", $525+), S&S YS-90DX (4.5x3.5x7", $625+), Ikelite substrobe DS-50 (3.2x4.7", $350+150 for EV controller), other S&S. The Inon has an auto exposure feature that might be nice when I'm holding my breath! I don't like the Ikelite control setup. Manual slave, not TTL, seems like the way to go (?).

Anyway, I've thought about this a bit, and could use some input. I'd like a system I can grow with -- for diving and snorkeling.

 

[Gilligan]

Aloha tie,
Your off to a good start by thinking about the Oly 5050. It is an excellent camera above and below the water which you will no doubt hear about here in your post. Hopefully Dee will jump in here and talk to you about the strobe setup. As far as using housed cameras on the beach, be very careful of exposing them to the heat as it has no place to escape. You can destroy a housed camera left in the heat for too long a period of time. I always keep my Oly camera (C2040) and Oly housing (PT-010) in a soft beverage cooler to protect it from the heat.
:shades:

 

[Dee]

You're on the right track with the C-5050. It's an excellent choice for U/W as well as topside. The Oly PT-015 will keep it a small package for you, too.

The Oly internal flashs are strong enough to give you good lighting for anything within 2-2.5 ft., depending on your depth. But if you add a strobe I can highly recommend the S&S YS90DX. It's a manual strobe with 12 power settings and it slaves off your cameras internal flash via a fiber optic cable for a simple, dependable system.

Another strobe that I would look at if I were in the market is the new Inon Z-220, Z-200s or D-180. Check them out at

Underwater Camera Pros. I like the size of these strobes and the coverage they provide. Without having any hand-ons experience of them, it looks like they work similarly to the YS90DX but I can't say totally for sure. I'm resisting the pull to buy one.....Beast needs a wide angle lens first!!!

 

[Meddler]

I'm resisting the pull to buy one.....Beast needs a wide angle lens first!!! [/B]

Ive been wondering what to get next. I would like to get a Wide before the strobe because I think fiddling with strobes would be too much for me to take on with my level of inexperience.

But surely a wide angle lens would block the internal flash?

 

[Dee]

Meddler once bubbled...
But surely a wide angle lens would block the internal flash?

You don't use the internal flash with a wide angle lens. One reason is the lense partially blocks the light, as you mention. Another is the internal flash will not travel far enough to light what is covered in your lens.