Underwater Camera??

[reubenray]

Have been reading this forum for a few weeks looking for the answers to my camera needs so decided to register and ask here. I am looking for a good digital camera on land that also has a housing to use for snorkling and scuba. Several things have me confused while searching for the perfect camera. One question is how critical is the optical zoom when used for scuba? Will it still give me a great picture if zoomed in a ways? I have been mainly checking on cameras that have 8 to 10 optical zoom. I have been back and forth to www.digideep.com checking to see what cameras have housings. One camera that has caught my eye is the Canon S1 IS, but if the 10x zoom does not work good underwater this may not work.

I would like to keep the total cost around $400 to $500.

Thanks,

 

[Cecil]

The zoom is all but worthless underwater and in fact you should forget your camera even has a zoom and always shoot wideangle. This is so you get the lesast amount of water between your subject and your lens. More water equals worse pictures. On the other hand a bigger zoom is very nice out of the water. The only thing I see as a problem with the Canon S1 IS is it's only 3 megapixels which is on the low side now days.

If underwater is very important to you get a camera with less zoom and more megapixels or not.

 

[reubenray]

The zoom is all but worthless underwater and in fact you should forget your camera even has a zoom and always shoot wideangle. This is so you get the lesast amount of water between your subject and your lens. More water equals worse pictures. On the other hand a bigger zoom is very nice out of the water. The only thing I see as a problem with the Canon S1 IS is it's only 3 megapixels which is on the low side now days.

If underwater is very important to you get a camera with less zoom and more megapixels or not.

Thanks that is the info I needed. I now will look for a camera with more megapixels and less zoom. The Canon brand seems to be the choice of a lot of people. I do not like the zoom mode being right at the button for taking the picture. I am afraid I will push this buttom while trying to zoom in on something.

 

[friscuba]

A little caveat to "zoom is all but worthless" mentioned earlier is that an 8-10X zoom is more than you need, a 3-5X zoom is used by a lot of the underwater photographers for framing purposes. The big trick with zoom underwater is that it generally doesn't pay to zoom into a subject which is beyond the reach of your flash. Most of the cameras with onboard flash are really only effective within maybe 18-24" as far as the flash filling in enough light to give you good color.

I only mention this because there are some pre-housed cameras with no zoom which can't hold a candle to some of the other cameras out there.

Aloha,

Steve

Have been reading this forum for a few weeks looking for the answers to my camera needs so decided to register and ask here. I am looking for a good digital camera on land that also has a housing to use for snorkling and scuba. Several things have me confused while searching for the perfect camera. One question is how critical is the optical zoom when used for scuba? Will it still give me a great picture if zoomed in a ways? I have been mainly checking on cameras that have 8 to 10 optical zoom. I have been back and forth to www.digideep.com checking to see what cameras have housings. One camera that has caught my eye is the Canon S1 IS, but if the 10x zoom does not work good underwater this may not work.

I would like to keep the total cost around $400 to $500.

Thanks,

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Optical Zoom is great for above water, but like the above stated, its only helpfull in flash range UW. Its also good to keep as little water as possible between you and the subject like above stated. I use my zoom UW(4x) for framing purposes, mostly while taking pics with ambient light only - along with manual white balancing(or PS'n back at home). Digital Zoom is worthless, regardless of environment. Increase MP isn't a huge concern for the most part, but within the price range you stated, you can find a nice 5mp and housing. A95 and housing by the same manufacturer would stay under your budget.

 

[alcina]

Actually, zoom isn't "all but useless underwater". It allows you more control of your images for framing, for isolating details and for shooting skittish fish. You can also use zoom to help with your depth of field and sense of space. It is a tool in your photographic arsenal and you should learn to use it to your advantage. Digital zoom has its problems, but optical zoom is something I use on EVERY dive with my cameras, I'd venture.

As said above, when using zoom to make something farther away appear larger, you must remember the range of your light source. You can also use the manual white balance technique or shoot in RAW format.

So saying, zoom would not be on my top three list of importance when choosing a camera system.

 

[reubenray]

I have been seeing the Canon A510 and 520 at several stores. Are these replacements for the A80's & A90's?

 

[alcina]

Oh, and on the Canon A series housings the zoom lever sits in front of the housing while the shutter button sits on top- it is a very easy housing for many hands. Extra large hands may have to concentrate a little bit on the button array at the back as they are small and set close together.

 

[reubenray]

Oh, and on the Canon A series housings the zoom lever sits in front of the housing while the shutter button sits on top- it is a very easy housing for many hands. Extra large hands may have to concentrate a little bit on the button array at the back as they are small and set close together.

This is a concern of mine with Canon. Is it easy to accidentely push the shutter butter while operating the zoom lever?

 

[herman]

Another camera for you to consider is the Opympus C-765. 4mp, 10x optical for topside use and it has good macro and supermacro modes for UW use. The camera is in the $300 range and the Oly housing is around $250