U/w camera for Pro, compact or dslr?

[alcina]

Hey sunkarm
If you love to dive (actually enjoy the diving experience) and want to take pictures that will knock your socks off go with a Sea & Sea P&S (fun and easy to get great pictures with). If you dive only to take great pictures then go with DSLR and when the dive is over look back and see if you had any fun on that dive.
Britt :fish:
:fish:

Ummm...I don't know where to begin LOL!

The Sea&Sea is a nice happy snapper but "great pictures" and "knock your socks off" wouldn't be how I would describe things. You sure can have fun, though.

And I have a fabulous time with my slr rig - each and every dive. Pretty sure which camera you use has nothing to do with if you have fun or not

I always like to see different people's perspectives - it's one of the things that makes this board great.

 

[bladephotog]

The amount of fun I'm having on a dive with my DSLR is directly related to how well the system is working. If the camera is working but the strobes aren't, then I'm less happy. If nothing is working then I'm not happy at all. And we all know that when taking cameras underwater things happen.

Fortunately I have few problems now. I make sure to take the time to properly assemble my rig. And then I test everything before splashing in. I had more problems with my P&S flash which used a fiber optic cable. It often wouldn't fire and that just bummed me out.

 

[alcina]

I can relate to that, but I have to say I still have enormous fun - yesterday I took my new second strobe down for the first time and had no clue how to run it (what? read the manual??). It was firing the preflash but not the real one hehehehe, I didn't bother to figure it out while under there, I just toddled on and did my own thing. Luckily back on the boat my bud told me to pay attention to the little knob and it was all systems go on the second dive.

But not having the strobe fire and not being able to do what I set out to do didn't detract at all from how much fun I had nor how many very cool things I saw! My theory is that I just don't take the whole photo thing too seriously - if it starts to get in the way, I'd give it up!

 

[bladephotog]

What are manuals?

 

[alo100]

You can't seperate art from technology, not in a technological world. I'm not saying that a great system is going to make a great photographer. But it can help you become better. So yes, you can buy your way into a more pleasing image. Like I said earlier though, it won't make you David Doubilet. But better gear helps.

Here's an example of buying your way into a more pleasing image. Many people dump their P&S systems because of the frustratingly slow shutter lag. They are tired of getting nothing but fish butts. A DSLR, with substantially less shutter lag, can decrease the amount of fish butts you are getting. You still have to focus, compose and light the scene. But now you have one less problem to worry about, allowing you to concentrate on the other issues at hand.

As for a great rig staying out of the way, tell that to the IMAX folks. I don't think their rig stayed out of the way of anything. Yet their footage is astounding. The best rig isn't always the easiest to use. That's why is imperative that no matter what you use you are completely comfortable using it. You have to be able to work all of the controls without looking at them.

This is something I feel strongly about. I'm sorry I have to be the one to tell the truth but sometimes you just gotta cough up the money to get the better shot. I do a lot of guest speaking on photojournalism, nature photography and occasionally UW photography. And especially in nature photography, I get a lot of people who ask "how can I get shots like yours of those little warblers with my P&S?" And the short answer is you can't. You need the gear. The gear costs money. Period.

Take your guitar analogy. I'm a crappy guitarist by most standards. But when I bought a Martin, even though it's an entry level Martin, my playing got much better. Why? Several reasons. It's an easier guitar to play. It sounds better. I was more excited about playing so I practiced more. More practice equals better playing.

Again, I'm not trying to say a great rig will turn a crappy photographer into an award winner. 95% of great photography comes from your brain. But don't discount that 5%.

The point I'm really trying to make is that better gear will even out the technological playing field. After that it's all in your head.

I strongly agree with you with the shutter lag issue; from my point of view instead of saying P&S it is impossible to minimize the shutter lag for P&S camera, I would think it can be done easily with extra buffer. It seems to me that the manufacturers just do not want to do it, maybe they are trying to a gapbetween P&S and DSLR. To a certain extend, when I am using a P&S, my shooting behavior is changed, I always keep in mind that I should try v. hard to press the shutter button ahead of time. Well, sometimes it does work and sometimes it doesn't.

Then other issue for P&S, I think is about lighting, if the lighting is taken care of, P&S can actually do a lot in terms of offering good images.

 

[sunkarm]

i use sp350 but haven't dove with it yet. previously i was using sony p9 but i got it flooded because i did not close the casing properly.