What to do? (Pro photographer but new to diving)

[bladephotog]

I went through the same thing. I started putting my cameras in a Ewa Marine housing, then went with a Canon A85 and gradually moved up to a DSLR. The EM housing is okay but you really don't want the flash mounted on camera.

A camera like the SP-350 will give you raw, coupled with an external strobe and wide angle you'll have plenty to work with. It will be more cumbersome to work with than what you're used to but you get some great shots.

Have fun.

 

[kapula]

Have to add that I visited your website and you really are a professional photographer! It's great to have more excellent shooters on board! Truly magnificcent photos!

 

[mikerault]

Try online for the camera and housing. I got a used Canon 20D for $700.00 (then used it to leverage a $650.00 price in SF China town for a new one!) the 18X55 and 90X300 lens as well as a Wideangle/macro attachment and a Ikelite housing with 8 inch port and strobe total cost a little less than $3000.00 I realize thats more than the $1500.00 you wanted to spend but since you are a pro you may get frustrated with the limits of the Sealife set of cameras. You may be able to find a housing for your DSLR Ikelite runs about $1500.00 sometimes with a strobe included.

Ikelite has a housing for the 5D but nothing listed for the 1D. Nexus has a housing for the 1Ds for about $3000.00.

 

[alcina]

Welcome to ScubaBoard!

As others have said, you may find going to anything non SLR will be frustrating in the long run, but you may find that being a new diver starting with a reasonable quality compact will let you develop the dive skills you need to really utilize your photography skills.

It really depends on what your goals are for your underwater photography, and I would break those into your immediate goals and future goals. I'd concentrate on the immediate goal - getting in the water and diving as much as possible. You could go the dslr route right away but you'd have to double (at least) your initial budget and the rigs aren't that easy to carry around for a new to intermediate diver - and this will definitely impact the quality of your photos.

A compact would let you get started in determining where you want to go with your photography and allow you to start building a good solid system - start with the strobes. Buy more than you think you are going to need right now - do not skimp on these. Photography is light and underwater light just gets sucked away phenomenally fast!

RAW or not is always a question. Yes, it's a totally fabulous thing to have. Do you absolutely positively need it to begin? Probably not - especially with your very solid foundation of exposure. There are cameras out there that support RAW - Olympus and Fuji are the leaders here - so they would definitely be a place to start. There are also quite a few very good cameras out there without RAW. You won't have quite as much information to work with after shooting, but you can still get strong results without RAW.

Does this help? I hope so...just be aware that it is a slippery slope...once you start, it's just a giant money pit as there is always one more thing to buy But you'd be used to that!

First and foremost, concentrate on your diving - it's the number one thing you need to have before you can get those stunning shots.

 

[parabolic]

Kydonia
I can't believe that anyone with your talent who can make a living taking pictures of beautiful women in beautiful places would want to risk it all by getting involved in underwater photography. WARNING. It can become an obsession, drain your funds, alienate your friends, ruin your life. With luck you will fire off a few thousand bad, scientifically unidentifiable images, and lose interest within a year or two. Then you can go back to enjoying your other life. But if you are unlucky, your 1000th image will be some masterpiece of a beautiful and colorful marine creature, or a breathtaking reef scene with a perfect sunburst, or a photo that is so beautiful it will bring tears to your eyes. Then it will have you and you will be unable to escape for life. Be careful, you are playing with fire.

 

[donnyb]

I wouldn't start out with a camera, its just too distracting.
Give yourself at least 50 dives before taking a camera with you on scuba.
You need to have a few things become second nature, and then add the task load of UW photography.

I went straight to a housed system with my land cameras. It was easy since I was so familiar with the camera inside the housing. FYI the EWA marine bag is useless at 60ft, the squeeze pushes all the buttons at the same time!

 

[Starboard Tack]

I have to agree with everyone else here. I can hardly wait to see what happens when you get a handle on u/w lighting and ports. Like Alcina said, strobes are what will make or break you at this point. Gotta get the light on the subject in order to record it.