ok...it finally happened. my sea and sea flooded on our last trip. i found a used replacement camera but decided that it's time to look into digital. does anyone have recommendations on a decent digital camera and u/w housing. i have a canon A75 but the housings for it apparently don't accept a remote strobe. i am looking for a good camera that doesn't cost a fortune, is easy to use, and can be put into a housing for underwater use with a strobe arm. any ideas??? thanks

Pat, what do you consider a fortune? After this last trip, using the POC I have, I'm asking for a new one for Christmas.

Currently, my only major requirements are that it has a 2.5 inch LCD screen, and multiple function buttons accessable on the back. I'm currently looking at the Olympus SP-310 or the SP-350 with the PT-030 housing.

http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1187

Leisure Pro lists the housing for it, although not currently in stock for $189.00.
http://www.leisurepro.com/prod/OLMPT030.html

Per Ellen:

Pixels, slightly lower ISO and hot shoe with the 350, and the color of the camera are the only differences listed here...
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=oly_sp310%2Coly_sp350&show=all

There is a review of the SP-350 here....
http://www.megapixel.net/reviews/oly-sp350/sp350-gen.php

Cynde, since the 7070 has been discontinued, I too have been looking at the P-350. 17th Street Photo has the 350 for $329.89 and sells the housing for $179.00 (currently backordered). See: http://www.17photo.com/product.asp?id=225715&l=Shopping

ok...let's say $350 for the camera and $200 for the housing. that's only $550 and i don't consider that a fortune (but i wouldn't give it away to a stranger and would be happier than hell if someone gave me that much). i think i had paid about $700-800 for the sea & sea EXII with the YS-60 strobe about 7 years ago. so i guess about that much for a digital camera and housing would be ok too. i already have our plane tickets for bonaire this winter so i don't have any more expenses for this trip, except to pay for the diving right before we come home.

Tom, do you have any idea what Ellen means by "slightly lower ISO and hot shoe with the 350?" I'm not "camera savvy" and it's all beginning to make sense, plus I'm a bit more motivated after seeing my pics, your pics, Smack's pics, Bas' pics, and not being able to even see what I am taking a picture on with my small LCD screen!

Cyn, I think Ellen means a slightly lower film speed (ISO) and a hot shoe is a metal connection on top of the camera to directly accept an additional exterior flash when using the camera on land. The flash unit slides into two grooves in the hot shoe, locks, and makes the electrical connection to the camera to sync the flash.

Seb, so is a slightly slower ISO a good thing? I get the "hot shoe" thing now...thanks

Cynde, Seb is correct.

One may learn a little about common camera terminology by visiting:
http://www.digicamguides.com/learn/digital-camera-terms.html

You will also find other helpful links on that web page.

OK, read about the ISO...so does a slow ISO mean a low ISO and I'd have to change it depending on light, as if it had a fast ISO, I wouldn't...?

Signed,

Grasshopper

Cyn,

ISO refers to sensitivity of the capture medium, whether film or sensor. The lower the number, the more light required to expose the medium. ISO 50 requires twice as much light as ISO 100 to achieve a similar exposure (all else being equal such as aperture and shutter speed). The difference between ISO 50 and ISO 60 are negligible (sp 350 vs sp 310). Generally speaking, the lower the better.

Typically underwater you will set the ISO once and leave it there. Never set it on auto. Choose either the lowest setting available or max up to ISO 100. Any higher and there's a chance of increasing the "graininess" or quality of the image.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pat,

I know of several strobes that should work with the Canon WP-DC30 housing. Also, Inon supports the housing with conversion lenses and other accessories.

If you'd like to try and continue using your YS 60, email Matthias Heinrichs and ask him if he has a Digital Adapter to connect to the sync cord of you YS 60 that will "talk" to a Canon A75. Matthias' email address is:

info@heinrichsweikamp.com

Although Matthias does not currently list the A75 as compatible with the DA, it may only be because he has yet to test that camera. otoh, Matthias is a big fan of the YS 60.

no affiliation.......

hth,
kadushi bob

Pat,

You may want to use your A75, the best thing that happened to me was flooding my sealife reefmaster, I now use the Canon S50. You will find that external strobes are one of the biggest issues with the compact UW cameras. I use my external strobes as slave strobes, triggered by the internal strobe. Do a little research and you will see that this is a common setup. You should still be able to use your YS-60 with the addition of a fiber optic connection - in manual only. Automatic mode would require another strobe.

For more information on the Digital Adapter that I mentioned in the previous post, follow this link:

http://www.heinrichsweikamp.net/blitz/indexe.htm

Matthias Heinrichs is fluent in English, German, and I'm sure others

Robert (Master?),

Thank you for the most helpful ISO explanation.

Grateful Grasshopper ;-)

i want to thank everybody for their responses and advice. i'm going to start doing research on digital cameras and uw housings now. my son just told me to buy a housing for my A75 but i said i'd rather not use the same camera for land and uw work. i don't want to be on bonaire and have a housing flood and then not have any camera. i'm not sure i'll be done researching by our next trip but definitely by our regatta trip next year. thanks again everybody.

Pat,
Consider buying the housing for the A75 and buy a second A75; then you still only have have one type of camera to learn to fully use. We did that with our Sony PC120 video camera/Light & Motion housing; so now we travel with 2 cameras. But, we usually end up with one connected to the TV in the room at Sand$ (Zale's unit) for playback after our dives.
Chet
PS: Will probably start thinking about the 2006 button design this weekend.