suggestion: what would make a good beginner set?

[fish80]

Hi Scuba Board,

I am a beginner diver who is getting quickly hooked, and also a beginner in photography/videography.

I am asking your advice as I would like to buy my first camera for videos and pictures underwater. What I would like to have is a camera flexible enough to allow me to take movies of "macros" but also of larger animals like sharks etc. Maybe I am asking too much? I am going to hawaii in 3 weeks time and I would like to preserve some good memories.

From what I understand, a possibility is to use a gopro or similar cameras, but i tried the gopro of a friend while snorkeling and the wide angle makes everything look so far away, that I do not like it very much. I know there is a possible macro lens but I am not sure how well it works.

Other options would be to use a good normal camera with a case, such as canon or specific for diving like sealife. I think I will need to include also video lights.

As you see I have done some research but still I do not have a clear idea of what to go for. I am very open to buy used items so to save on the budget. Any advice from experienced guys like you would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much!

Carlo

 

[alewar]

I think the standard recommendation here is not to carry a camera until you have nailed down buoyancy and trim.

 

[fish80]

I am already not bad with buoyancy and also with air, and I am going to hawaii in 3 weeks time so i really want to bring back some good memories

 

[diversteve]

I'd skip lights for now and go with a red filter. It's all I've ever used to shoot video in clear blueish water like you find off Hawaii. They work there till about 80' if it's sunny. Below that you remove it and fix your video during editing if possible. Nothing much in Hawaii is that deep generally. You can get some depth on the Molokini Backwall but you won't be as a new diver. Most shore dives I've done there we had to work hard to find 60'. Really the light/coral growth is better at 30-40' anyway.

Since you mentioned used and budget that probably rules out a micro 4/3rds. camera due to the expense. If not the current hot choice seems to be the Sony RX100-II or the Panasonic GH4. The Sony is about $700 and an Ikelite housing is another $4-500. Plus optional wide angle ports/lenses. A lot of people seem to like the Nauticam housing - their base price is $925 with no port/lenses/adapters. I've reached the end of my knowledge in this area about now.

So you're kind of down to a couple of options. If you go with a camcorder in a housing, that can still be achieved for around $12-1500. But stills will severely be limited in quality due to the pixel count of the sensor. I shoot one and even I don't recommend it for both.

So look for the current Canon/Nikon/Olympus point and shoot that also shoots HD video, find a housing for it and buy several larger flash cards. Since you mentioned macro, I think that requires a specialized lens and port also. I don't follow that market so have no idea what's currently available.

Some people here like the Intova's also. IDK much about them. Except they seem pretty reasonable price-wise.

Someone will probably dispute this but I've always thought of Sealife as a good still camera system that also shoots video. Since they package everything together it's mostly a compromise. Wouldn't be my first choice. I don't think they sell one that does 1080P HD video - all theirs I've seen shoot 720P only.

 

[fish80]

Hi steve,

thanks for your suggestions. Your points are great but I would like to spend less than 1000$ as a beginner...

I found a sealife dc1400 which also include video lights for about 500$... buying that would be crazy? How do you reckon that would that do compared to a gopro3 with some lenses (no lights) which I can also get for about the same price?

Thanks a million!

---------- Post added May 17th, 2014 at 04:58 PM ----------

the video res of the sealife is HD 720p / 30fps - 1280 x 720 (HD), 640x480 (VGA) or 320x240 (QVGA)

 

[diver 85]

I am already not bad with buoyancy and also with air, and I am going to hawaii in 3 weeks time so i really want to bring back some good memories

Another way to think about this-----EVERYBODY & his/her mother takes cameras etc down now....You could always give someone on your dives your email addy & they would send you their pics/videos etc to you---&, lol, you'll be in 'em, not behind the camera taking 'em.......I get asked almost every dive trip for my pics/videos from non-camera divers----& I send them, only takes a couple minutes on my part......

 

[Akimbo]

…From what I understand, a possibility is to use a gopro or similar cameras, but i tried the gopro of a friend while snorkeling and the wide angle makes everything look so far away, that I do not like it very much….

The simple answer is to move closer! The reason that wide angle lenses are used underwater so much is to reduce the amount of water between the lens and subject. The water not only filters out colors but particulate matter reduces image quality. The GoPro is hard to beat for a starter video camera. You can learn a great deal from it and have a much better idea of what you want in a higher-end camera later.

 

[diversteve]

If you have a 32" or smaller HDTV chances are it's 720P. I can scale my 1080P video down to 720P for smaller screens - or online but I can't scale 720P up. Just depends on how important that is to you. If you're going to mostly shoot video and put them on YouTube or Vimeo it will be fine. I would prefer to see 720P/60FPS though.

One thing about the GoPro's - and I share your distaste for the 170^o field of view - is that they'll also shoot in 110^o. The bigger issue for me is they're fixed focus with no zoom. I'd find that unworkable. When you start adding diopters in front of the lens usually there's either some vignetting (soft focus at the corners) or a really limited critical focus range - everything else will blur. I have a Sony P&S when I switch it to Macro my focus range goes to about 3-4" from the subject - if I pull back more than an inch or two - it blurs.

The Black also shoots 4K but only at 15fps. Basically if you move the camera it will blur. Not sure whose using that setting for "action" cam footage.

I saw your other post. Functionally the difference between the Black and the Silver is 1MP in the sensor and the Black may have better low-light performance. Since GoPro doesn't specify what that is for either model (that I could find on their website) IDK how much. Save the $100 and buy a bacpac so you can actually frame your shots - otherwise you're shooting blind. Just don't get the White, it's only a 5MP sensor. Your stills will suffer.

 

[fish80]

thanks! looks like gopro is the way to go!

Funny that i found a gopro3 silver while diving but I am trying to give it back to its owner, who is a surfer. Anyway, in another post somebody suggested going for the 3+... I guess I should do some research on that, unless you have any tip? BTW you mentioned video editing... you mean protune filming then or other type of editing?

Thanks a million,

Carlo

---------- Post added May 18th, 2014 at 01:49 AM ----------

btw i am also checking out the intova... for the price looks pretty amazing to a beginner like me! Would it be much worse than the gopro3?

 

[diversteve]

I can't really answer any of your questions since I don't have personal experience with either - or ProTune.

Check some of the videos here - some were shot using the Intova IIRC.

One interesting thing about the GoPro is that in burst mode, you'll likely get the shot you want since it shoots continuous stills for some interval of time. Later you just pick the best one.

A lot of people seem to really like the results. It is an amazing piece of technology for $400.