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Bonaire Photography & Videography: Looking for advise on which camera to buy
Bonaire Talk: Bonaire Photography & Videography: Archives: Archives 2003- 2004: Archives - 2004-08-15 to 2004-12-31: Looking for advise on which camera to buy
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Sue (BonaireTalker - Post #81) on Tuesday, November 2, 2004 - 10:56 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I am seeking help in looking at a buying a digital camera to use underwater. I am not looking for a professional camera to use. Before everyone jumps in to help let me give you a bit of background about myself.

I work in the photographic industry.
I have owned digital cameras since the day they came on the market.
At one time I was working at one of the resorts there as a dive instructor and photo pro.
I would like a camera that is at least 4Megs if not greater.
A flash that I could use at different positions.
I already have a Nikon D100 but I can not justifiy the cost of a housing since it would not be used enough.
I am willing to pay up to $1000 for a camera and housing.
I have looked at many sites for cameras but I want to hear from others what they are using.

So to that end any and all suggestions would help and maybe help others who are also looking into cameras.

Sue

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Cecil Berry (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #3829) on Tuesday, November 2, 2004 - 4:33 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Given what you said, seems like an Olympus 5060 may be a good choice for you. It's a 5.1 megapixel with a 4x optical zoom. The camera can be brought for around $500, the UW housing another $220. It's far and away the most popular for UW photographers and there is a long list of accessories available for it, including wide angle lens, macro lens and external strobes. The internal strobe is sufficient to get you started and used to the camera. It will do a great job up close and I know of some excellent photographers that only use the internal.

Here's a group devoted to just Olympus cameras, here. Here's some shots with an Olympus and internal flash, here.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Robert Fishman (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #142) on Tuesday, November 2, 2004 - 10:35 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post


quote:

A flash that I could use at different positions.




Does the budget include the strobe?

Expect that more than half of your $1000.00 budget will be eaten up by a decent external strobe, tray, and handle. That is the only way to get a flash to work in different positions ( unless you hand hold the external strobe)

And also consider appropriate image storage cards, batteries, chargers,.........

Cecil pointed you to a good digicam, although I'm not sure if I agree with the accessory wide angle potential, considering you'll have to add a dome (@ $300) to take complete advantage of one's true potential. If not, either vignetting will occur or soft corners, choose one.

Similar problems may occur when adding an accessory conversion type macro lens such as the Inon 165 ( c5060's have moving lens elements). This will probably limit the camera's use to only standard macro ( not bad ) considering that in super macro mode, the internal strobe is disabled, leaving the only option for illumination an external strobe for that function.

Considering your budget limitations though, I'd still consider it. I'd also look into Canon and Nikon point & shoot digicams.

Instead of suggesting a specific digicam, look for a camera that includes these important features:

1. Full manual control of aperture, shutter, and ISO.

2. A flash menu that allows for a slave feature ( no pre-flash) to optically trigger an external strobe with manual power levels.

A visit to dpreview.com or imaging-resource.com will introduce you to an abundance of choices.

If you'd like to look at what's available in the underwater external flash market today (at least 37 strobes!), visit the Strobe Finder at Digitaldiver.net:

http://www.digitaldiver.net/strobes.php

For a start, may I suggest checking off the Inon D2000 and Ikelite DS 50, then clicking the compare selected button.

hth,
bobf

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Johnson (BonaireTalker - Post #93) on Wednesday, November 3, 2004 - 12:26 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Sue:

You might also want to see what they are saying over at http://www.wetpixel.com/ .

As Robert suggests (and given your background I am sure you know), a strobe is not an inexpensive item (especially after you include the arm, sync cable, etc.). If the $1k is before the strobe, I say get the D100 housing (Ikelite for about $1,060 + a port). Not too far outside the budget.

Adding a strobe would be $480 for Ikelite DS-50 (w/cables, arm, etc.) or $775 (ouch) for the DS-125.

You also might want to see what is out there in the used market. I was able to get a nice deal on a complete setup (used) at http://www.stephenfrink.com/sf-preowned.php three or four years ago (housing for N-90s w/ports, arms, cables, trays, cases, etc. etc, for around $750).

OTOH, if the $1k is all inclusive, I would start by looking for housings, ideally ones that allow a sync cable (you can do slave sensors, but that is another cost...). The Canon and Olympus housings seem to be pretty affordable (I bought one from my Canon S30 for around $170). Plan on at least $320 for the strobe itself (plus a cable/sensor and an arm)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Robert Fishman (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #143) on Wednesday, November 3, 2004 - 1:55 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Sue,

Maybe you just got lucky.

JamesW is selling his D100 and S&S housing, including ports, etc. Quite possibly he may be willing to split up the sale. Follow the link for particulars:

http://www.digitaldiver.net/wantads.php?adID=160

or if you prefer L&M, possibly Linda may be inclined:

From: Linda Cline <lscline@dancingfish.com>
Subject: FS: Nikon D100 and Light & Motion Titan Housing

Hi Folks,

I'm selling my DSLR camera and housing, but thought I would post it
here for the list before I put it up on ebay this weekend. It's all
in excellent condition.

Nikon D100 digital SLR body
Light and Motion D100 Titan housing with ROC
LMI Subal adapter ring

This does not include strobes, sync cords, arms, lenses or ports.

$3300

If anyone is interested, please contact me off-list.

Linda


__ >////*> __ http://www.dancingfish.com __ <*\\< __


hth,
b

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Matheson (BonaireTalker - Post #28) on Wednesday, November 3, 2004 - 4:44 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Hi Sue,
I was in the same boat as you last month with the same budget but not as extensive a photo background. I ended up buying a Canon A85 (4MP)digicam for around $250 (The A95 is the same but with 5 MP I think)a Canon WP-DC30 housing for $150, SeaandSea YS-90 Auto strobe for $500, and SeaandSea arm, stay and fiber optic cable. So far, from up here in Alaska I'm REALLY happy with my choice and it came in right at $1000. The strobe allows the flash to get off camera and cut down on the backscatter from all the plankton in our green water. We head to Bonaire in 6 days, 5 hours and 22 minutes for our first trip there (not that I'm counting) and I can't wait to try it out in blue water instead of green! I decided on the YS90 because I got a killer deal on it from my LDS. All things being equal though I think I would have looked at the Inon D180 or new D2000 with the "clear photo system" instead of Sea and Sea velcro system for stobe syncing though.
http://inonamerica.com/products.html?product_id=233&prodcat=1&subcat=1
I really agree with Robert's recommendations above as well. The camera's ability to operate in full manual mode is a must. Especially since you have a photography background and understand the concepts. Being able to make adjustments to all settings as well as strobe power on the fly and review them in the LCD makes it up to your eye and creativity to try and get the image you want. I know there are limitations to this setup re add on lenses, etc but for the amount I was able to pay this is working out good for me.

Good luck to you.
John

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Robert Fishman (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #144) on Thursday, November 4, 2004 - 1:16 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

The Canon A95 which John makes mention of has all the qualities that a good point and shoot digicam requires for underwater photography. To review all the specs of a Canon A95, follow this link, compliments of imaging-resource.com:

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/A95/A95A.HTM

To find out more information on the availability of an underwater housing, digideep.com is the ultimate resource for that information:

http://www.digideep.com/product.php?pType=camera&mID=7&pID=1020

As you can see, the corresponding Canon housing is the WP-DC50.

If I were to choose a strobe for this or any system, I'd shy away from any exclusively "auto" strobe. This is due to the fact that in order for them to work as intended, you are required to aim them directly at the target you are capturing.

The downfall of this strategy is that in order for auto strobes to work properly, the light emitted from them must be reflected directly back to the sensor that is situated in their head. This is how they judge the amount of light that is bounced off the target in order to quench at the appropriate time to avoid overexposure. But by aiming an external strobe directly at the target in this manner, you increase the risk of illuminating the particles in the water column that exist between the lens and your subject, thus potentially creating backscatter.

It may sound strange to those who do not have experience at underwater photography, but in reality it is better to paint with only the edges of the light that is emitted from the external strobe in order to cut down on that unwanted effect ( backscatter).

To see a diagram of what I speak of, follow this link:

http://www.kelpfish.net/tip_edge_light.htm

to further the concept of proper strobe aiming techniques, follow this link:

http://www.kelpfish.net/strobe.swf

Bottom line, unless you are shooting in macro mode, never aim your strobe directly at your target

hth,
kadushi bob

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Matheson (BonaireTalker - Post #29) on Thursday, November 4, 2004 - 4:13 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Robert,
Excellent points. Like I mentioned, I got a really good deal on the YS90 Auto and have been experimenting with manually adjusting the light output using the strobe's settings and the manual settings on the camera. Most of what I've done so far is macro. I think the Inon's or even the YS90 Dual might be better fits but "fit in the budget" versus no strobe wins out every time!
Thanks for the great links by the way!
John

 


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