Wanna buy digital camera with underwater housing below S$1000, purpose?

[SwITcH]

Just back from Pulau Rendang yesterday!
The world undersea is fantastic. Really regret not buying an underwater camera b4 the trip!
Any recommendation for the digital camera with underwater housing below S$1000 or ard this price. Of cos, not those point and shot camera ok?

Heard one of my friend s spoilt his camera because he accidentally hit the housing againt rocks. Scary!!!

[eudon]

If by "not those point and shoot" you mean a SLR camera ... then it would be very difficult (if not impossible) to find a camera with housing for under $1000. A newish dSLR with housing would be about $3k to $4k, if not more. Add in lenses, ports and strobes and we are talking lots of $$$$.

Alternatives are Canon and Olympus "prosumer" cameras. Not sure if you consider them point and shoot, but i think most people do. Those already cost almost $1k by themselves, but their housings are normally around $300 to $400.

Alternative is film and a Nikonos camera. Not much experience with a Nikonos, so i will leave that to other posters.

[SwITcH]

Point and shoot means cannot use manual function, cannot adjust white balance, etc.

To me, DSLR is too expensive to risk going underwater.

I need some semi-pro camera like Canon Pro S50 or G6 or Olympus C5050, etc? Do not wanna to state any brands at the moment!

Might plan to buy 2 strobes in long run if I'm comfotable with underwater photography.

[sunfish]

Originally Posted by SwITcH Point and shoot means cannot use manual function, cannot adjust white balance, etc. To me, DSLR is too expensive to risk going underwater. I need some semi-pro camera like Canon Pro S50 or G6 or Olympus C5050, etc? Do not wanna to state any brands at the moment! Might plan to buy 2 strobes in long run if I'm comfotable with underwater photography.

kind of difficult to get a prosumer cam with housing at 1K, why not consider second hand one? I remember uginz was trying to sell his Oly C8080 with Ikelite housing and DS50 strobe at a good price, can check with him whether still available...

[lanxx]

1K? possible.
maybe spill over less then another $100 extra.

Buy a 2nd hand or brand new Fuji F810 and get an ikelite housing without any AD or 67mm attachments, $1K very possible. I know my is at $1K for eveything brand new, but
$1K not including extra batts and 1GB XD card lah.
cos the F810 I got is cheaper overseas then in SG.

or get a 2nd hand 5050/5060, with housing, or any older models, defiantely <$1k

[kthan]

Originally Posted by lanxx cos the F810 I got is cheaper overseas then in SG.

if u cannot find one in Singapore, any price overseas is cheap

Rem we had quite a difficult time finding one here, new or second hand?

[SwITcH]

Any idea where can I get them overseas?

2nd hand is fine with me if the condition is not very bad.

Actually, I own Canon G1 for 5 yrs. Should I buy just an Ikelite housing for it instead?

[lanxx]

Originally Posted by SwITcH Any idea where can I get them overseas? 2nd hand is fine with me if the condition is not very bad. Actually, I own Canon G1 for 5 yrs. Should I buy just an Ikelite housing for it instead?

No sure if Ike housing for the G1, I know 10bar has.
If you are comfortable with the G1, you should be able to find a
2nd hand housing cheap for it, but it's gonna to be tough

[lanxx]

Originally Posted by kthan if u cannot find one in Singapore, any price overseas is cheap Rem we had quite a difficult time finding one here, new or second hand?

yeah, almost impossible to find, unless maybe from those shops at
Lucky Palaza, they might have.

Any price, must also be reasonable mah.
Anyway, locally found a batt for the F810, at $22.
1100mAH.

[SwITcH]

Read in another thread that F810 not so good.

How about Olympus C770 with PT-22?

[lanxx]

Originally Posted by SwITcH Read in another thread that F810 not so good. How about Olympus C770 with PT-22?

Well, no camera's perfect
Anyway, no more Oly cameras for me. The colors are not too my liking.
Have always liked the Fuji's colors.

[SwITcH]

Hmm... If I go for Fuji then I have to buy a xD card. Expensive

[kthan]

Originally Posted by SwITcH Hmm... If I go for Fuji then I have to buy a xD card. Expensive

if u look at the whole scheme of things, price of 2 X 1 gig xD card is prob $300+, only about maybe 10% of the total setup cost (camera, housing, tray, arms and dual strobes)

Shouldn't u concentrate on the 90% of the setup cost?

[seewhy]

Originally Posted by SwITcH Read in another thread that F810 not so good. How about Olympus C770 with PT-22?

Friend's with C770 says that battery life too short. I think similar problem as F810. So have to get extra battery.

Like lanxx mentioned, no camera is perfect. Have to give and take and know what is the more important features you want/need.

Maybe when Fuji F900 arrived with appropriate housing, then that will be closer to perfection.

Although I am using C5060, sometime the shuttle lag and focusing lag are getting on my nerve. Some fast moving objects/shots are just impossible to capture. Well, just have to live with it until I strike it rich.

[lanxx]

for me, few things to take note in a DC for u/w photography.

1)Color
2)Shutter lag
3)Able to focus well and fast under dim conditions

The rest like batt life and write speeds, just have to be resonable.
But I know the F810 is quite bad in batt life, oh well....

Will have to live with like, just like my old S30. same old problem.
change batts every 1-2 dives. Esp horrible when you are out at sea and moving, alot of sea spray when you open the housing, have to be careful, not to mention, wet/salty handes when changing batts.

But then, how often do you shoot? more impt is how you like it topside too.
You only shoot it u/w like <10 times a year or even lesser and you shoot topside
like maybe >30 times? so I think I justify my top 3 points.

So buy what is within your budget and what you like.
Even if the cam specs are not up to par, you still like the cam cos you liked the overall of it.
if you buy just for the purpose of u/w solely, you might end up hating it topside where most
of the time you are using it.

[SwITcH]

You're right, Lanxx.

That's my priority too. Battery flat after two dives is still not so bad. Possible to get a strobes.

[SwITcH]

Why most of U/W photography appear to be bluish instead of the color we saw? Is it becos there is not enough light? Without using a strobe, can we adjust to achieve the color we saw?

[uginz]

Originally Posted by sunfish kind of difficult to get a prosumer cam with housing at 1K, why not consider second hand one? I remember uginz was trying to sell his Oly C8080 with Ikelite housing and DS50 strobe at a good price, can check with him whether still available...

i hear my name being called...
yes it's still ard, if you're interested. but it's twice your budget.

[seewhy]

Originally Posted by SwITcH Why most of U/W photography appear to be bluish instead of the color we saw? Is it becos there is not enough light? Without using a strobe, can we adjust to achieve the color we saw?

It could be due to low light or depth. More water sun light pass through, more red lost thus more blue the photo appears. Our brain can compansate a little on the colour so we see better colour. Can do something silimar with digital camera by adjusting the WB (white balance) to cloudy or better still use manual WB against a white slate.

Another way is putting red filter. kthan was ordering some from Alex Mustard, maybe he can share his experience after he tried it. Anxiously waiting for his post in 2.5 weeks.

These ways still only work at light zone where there is sufficient ambience light. Strobe/torch/video light is still required at depth.

[cciRRus]

I went to Redang in August and how I wish I had an underwater casing for my Sony W5! Non underwater pictures here.

The one from Sony was expensive so I searched the web for some alternatives:

1. DIY: http://web.media.mit.edu/~tim/pix/waterproofcamera.html

2. 3rd Party: http://www.aquapac.net/product/cam/index.htm

Well, I don't think DIY is a good idea, so the cases by AquaPac seem to be cheap alternatives.

Anyone knows if they are available in SG?