Moogyboy
Contributor
hey all
Starting to think about making the switch to digital, at least for underwater photo. It makes my head spin trying to weigh all the different variables when I compare all the different cameras available. There doesn't seem to be any one perfect camera, of course. But here are some of the considerations I'd like to get yall's advice on:
1) Megapixels. Should I be concerned with bigger numbers? 5.0 seems to be a good compromise between resolution and price right now--good for roughly 8" x 6" at 300dpi--and loads of cameras with this rating out there.
2) Accessory lens capability. Do many of you guys use these, particularly for wide angle, or is the built-in lens usually capable enough? Also, the OEM manufacturers' housings are awfully tempting, but do they allow for using wide accessory lenses?
3) Am I right to assume that I should be more concerned with maximum aperture than the smallest, since underwater there isn't as much ambient light? 2.8 seems to be kind of a standard. Although it'd be good to have a minimum of f/8 for depth of field, some of the cameras only go down to like 5 or 6.
4) Although I reckon I'd be using an internal flash to trigger an external one, since the OEM housings don't seem to have flash sync sockets, do you think I should prefer a camera without an external flash connection. Coming as I do from the world of 35mm SLRs, part of me feels uncomfortable with such an omission, even though I rarely use it.
5) Not specific to a camera, but is the list of cameras and housings at, say, B&H Photo complete? It seems like an awful lot of cameras don't have housing, and some of the cameras aren't listed at all, although with the pace of progress these days they probably get obsolete pretty fast.
One last question: do you generally use your uw camera as your general-use camera as well, or do you buy one specifically for uw use? I'm tempted to just get some kind of ok but not super-duper point&shoot thing, with decent resolution and a modicum of expandability, to put into a small OEM housing, and later try to get a more robust model to complement my film camera. Or maybe save up and splurge on one really nice one. Either way, it equals a load of cash which is to a large extent merely pipe-dreamin'.
To give you an idea of where my head is going, here are some models that have caught my eye:
Canon A95--good balance of features and a good price
Canon S60/S70--really nice, just more expensive; if I could afford it this'd probably be my frontrunner
Olympus C60--nice res and price, but no accessory lens mount
Anyway, sorry to toss so many boneheaded questions at you, I'm trying to get a handle on what's important in this mess of numbers and facts. If you all have any suggestions of your own please make them, I'd really appreciate any help. Basically keep in mind that what I'm looking to put together is a reasonably priced uw camera setup using an OEM-type housing and an external flash triggered by the camera's internal flash. Good resolution and an accessory lens mount are preferable. I'd like to be able to use the camera for semi-serious topside photography as well if I can. Okay, I turn the conch to you. Thanks in advance, guys.
cheers
Billy S.
Starting to think about making the switch to digital, at least for underwater photo. It makes my head spin trying to weigh all the different variables when I compare all the different cameras available. There doesn't seem to be any one perfect camera, of course. But here are some of the considerations I'd like to get yall's advice on:
1) Megapixels. Should I be concerned with bigger numbers? 5.0 seems to be a good compromise between resolution and price right now--good for roughly 8" x 6" at 300dpi--and loads of cameras with this rating out there.
2) Accessory lens capability. Do many of you guys use these, particularly for wide angle, or is the built-in lens usually capable enough? Also, the OEM manufacturers' housings are awfully tempting, but do they allow for using wide accessory lenses?
3) Am I right to assume that I should be more concerned with maximum aperture than the smallest, since underwater there isn't as much ambient light? 2.8 seems to be kind of a standard. Although it'd be good to have a minimum of f/8 for depth of field, some of the cameras only go down to like 5 or 6.
4) Although I reckon I'd be using an internal flash to trigger an external one, since the OEM housings don't seem to have flash sync sockets, do you think I should prefer a camera without an external flash connection. Coming as I do from the world of 35mm SLRs, part of me feels uncomfortable with such an omission, even though I rarely use it.
5) Not specific to a camera, but is the list of cameras and housings at, say, B&H Photo complete? It seems like an awful lot of cameras don't have housing, and some of the cameras aren't listed at all, although with the pace of progress these days they probably get obsolete pretty fast.
One last question: do you generally use your uw camera as your general-use camera as well, or do you buy one specifically for uw use? I'm tempted to just get some kind of ok but not super-duper point&shoot thing, with decent resolution and a modicum of expandability, to put into a small OEM housing, and later try to get a more robust model to complement my film camera. Or maybe save up and splurge on one really nice one. Either way, it equals a load of cash which is to a large extent merely pipe-dreamin'.
To give you an idea of where my head is going, here are some models that have caught my eye:
Canon A95--good balance of features and a good price
Canon S60/S70--really nice, just more expensive; if I could afford it this'd probably be my frontrunner
Olympus C60--nice res and price, but no accessory lens mount
Anyway, sorry to toss so many boneheaded questions at you, I'm trying to get a handle on what's important in this mess of numbers and facts. If you all have any suggestions of your own please make them, I'd really appreciate any help. Basically keep in mind that what I'm looking to put together is a reasonably priced uw camera setup using an OEM-type housing and an external flash triggered by the camera's internal flash. Good resolution and an accessory lens mount are preferable. I'd like to be able to use the camera for semi-serious topside photography as well if I can. Okay, I turn the conch to you. Thanks in advance, guys.
cheers
Billy S.
