underwater photography, basic setup needed...
Discussion
Been doing a bit of diving and have been hiring the dive shop's equipment which when in Egypt results in a very low spec point and shoot that doesnt deliver the pics I want.
When I look into the whole underwater scene I see that this company is mentioned the most:
http://www.ikelite.com
yet to get all the equipment for my 450D Im looking at an absolute minimum of circa £1100 for the basic case and then about £400-500 for the additional toys.
For the OH's G10 it is a little cheaper at circa £650-700 for the case and then again £400-500 for the toys (lights, lens covers, carry bag and batteries).
I have noticed that they do a Ultra Flip (toy camcorder) equipment for around £400 but not sure on the quality of the Ultra flip or its ability to take stills off the film shot, especially since if Im looking at a camcorder I was going to go Cannon HF series (unless someone knows anything better for the money).
So does anyone know of any other companies that make equipment that is not going to cost more than double the amount of the initial camera and can give advice on what I will need for the starter kit.
The reason Im asking is that one of the courses after the PADI OW is underwater photography which I wouldnt mind doing.
Before it is mentioned I have thought about the Dive place having a case and me being able to hire that, but not a lot of them have the cases to the mid range SLRs and expensive point and shoots as its quite a lot of money to shell out on the just in case a customer turns up scenario.
When I look into the whole underwater scene I see that this company is mentioned the most:
http://www.ikelite.com
yet to get all the equipment for my 450D Im looking at an absolute minimum of circa £1100 for the basic case and then about £400-500 for the additional toys.
For the OH's G10 it is a little cheaper at circa £650-700 for the case and then again £400-500 for the toys (lights, lens covers, carry bag and batteries).
I have noticed that they do a Ultra Flip (toy camcorder) equipment for around £400 but not sure on the quality of the Ultra flip or its ability to take stills off the film shot, especially since if Im looking at a camcorder I was going to go Cannon HF series (unless someone knows anything better for the money).
So does anyone know of any other companies that make equipment that is not going to cost more than double the amount of the initial camera and can give advice on what I will need for the starter kit.
The reason Im asking is that one of the courses after the PADI OW is underwater photography which I wouldnt mind doing.
Before it is mentioned I have thought about the Dive place having a case and me being able to hire that, but not a lot of them have the cases to the mid range SLRs and expensive point and shoots as its quite a lot of money to shell out on the just in case a customer turns up scenario.
Well Du1point8
Ikes
te are cheap n plastic and you pay as much, if not more for one of their housings as you would for a nice metal one from Sea & Sea or Nexus.
You've got to consider there's more to the kit than just the housing.
You'll need ports - depends on what lens(es) you have as to how many you will need. You can't use a wide angle lens in a flat port and you can't (usually) use a macro lens in a dome port.
Ports vary with Ikelite from about £150 - £250 EACH.
You'll need 2 strobes (flashes) or you're lighting will be rubbish. If you're using wide angle them you'll need quite expensive ones... Ikelite strobes are OK, but nothing briliant and you'd need to invest at least £700 in a couple of decent strobes plus sync cable
I'm not sure how Ikelite and Canon work aperture and shutter speed controls, but there is a possibility that you will need an aperture gear, and you'd need one for each lens, as they'd require different gears. You may want a focusing gear as well, or you may be happy to leave it autofocus (I NEVER use manual underwater). ETA you'll also need zoom gears for zoom lenses, one for each kind of lens!
The chances of ANY dive shop having a hsouing for an SLR are almost non existent, by the way.
The Ikeste housing for the G10 is £450 by the way, not £650-£700.
If you want to, you're more than welcome to contact me and I can try ans steer you in the right direction!
HTHs
Ikes
te are cheap n plastic and you pay as much, if not more for one of their housings as you would for a nice metal one from Sea & Sea or Nexus.You've got to consider there's more to the kit than just the housing.
You'll need ports - depends on what lens(es) you have as to how many you will need. You can't use a wide angle lens in a flat port and you can't (usually) use a macro lens in a dome port.
Ports vary with Ikelite from about £150 - £250 EACH.
You'll need 2 strobes (flashes) or you're lighting will be rubbish. If you're using wide angle them you'll need quite expensive ones... Ikelite strobes are OK, but nothing briliant and you'd need to invest at least £700 in a couple of decent strobes plus sync cable
I'm not sure how Ikelite and Canon work aperture and shutter speed controls, but there is a possibility that you will need an aperture gear, and you'd need one for each lens, as they'd require different gears. You may want a focusing gear as well, or you may be happy to leave it autofocus (I NEVER use manual underwater). ETA you'll also need zoom gears for zoom lenses, one for each kind of lens!
The chances of ANY dive shop having a hsouing for an SLR are almost non existent, by the way.
The Ikes
te housing for the G10 is £450 by the way, not £650-£700.If you want to, you're more than welcome to contact me and I can try ans steer you in the right direction!
HTHs
Edited by Fezant Pluckah on Monday 22 November 10:13
Ok from having a look around there is:
ikelite
the 2 you mentioned
Epoque
Nimar
Watershot
Probably some more too.
Are there any good comparison sites for all of the above including what kind of pictures they take?
Wetpixel had a good review of the watershot, but again if Im just getting into this I need to have more info.
What would you recommend? I purpose built camera like this from sea & sea for a starter?
http://www.seaandsea.jp/products/compact/dx2g/
Yes I know there are no fancy strobes and lighting but this is just a beginner camera that I want to get first before investing in £2-3k in better casing.
ikelite
the 2 you mentioned
Epoque
Nimar
Watershot
Probably some more too.
Are there any good comparison sites for all of the above including what kind of pictures they take?
Wetpixel had a good review of the watershot, but again if Im just getting into this I need to have more info.
What would you recommend? I purpose built camera like this from sea & sea for a starter?
http://www.seaandsea.jp/products/compact/dx2g/
Yes I know there are no fancy strobes and lighting but this is just a beginner camera that I want to get first before investing in £2-3k in better casing.
You don't need to spoend £2-3k on a "better" housing. There's no point spending £1k on one to then flog it in a year or two and get 50p for it.
I have always used Sea & Sea housings. They are in my opinion the best to have. However, you do NOT want to buy them in the UK as they're far more expensive than buying them from where they come from - Japan.
I bought a new housing for my D300 in January, plus a VERY nice and expensive dome port, and it only cost me £78 in import tax because it was sent over as "refurbished goods"
As an indication, the place I bought mine from do a Sea & Sea housing for a Canon 40D @ approx £1600 euros with a free TTL convertor thrown in. The same beast from Cameras Underwater in the UK would be £2600...
I think that Sea & Sea do a convertor so you can shove a 450D into a 550D housing.
Talk to a guy called Yuzo on this email address: info at naturephoto do co dot jp
He will be able to advise, and give you a great deal.
I have always used Sea & Sea housings. They are in my opinion the best to have. However, you do NOT want to buy them in the UK as they're far more expensive than buying them from where they come from - Japan.
I bought a new housing for my D300 in January, plus a VERY nice and expensive dome port, and it only cost me £78 in import tax because it was sent over as "refurbished goods"
As an indication, the place I bought mine from do a Sea & Sea housing for a Canon 40D @ approx £1600 euros with a free TTL convertor thrown in. The same beast from Cameras Underwater in the UK would be £2600...
I think that Sea & Sea do a convertor so you can shove a 450D into a 550D housing.
Talk to a guy called Yuzo on this email address: info at naturephoto do co dot jp
He will be able to advise, and give you a great deal.
I have a 5D MkII and a 5D. For the amount of diving I do and for my underwater skills, a housing and acccessories for an SLR make no sense. In addition, an SLR houssing with strobe(s) is sufficiently unwieldy as to become the point of the dive, rather than something you take with you on a dive.
I went to Cameras Underwater for advice and came away with a fantastic Canon compact, the Powershot S90, the Canon housing (they advised me against the Ikelite one - fewer adjustments and they all have the same shell with different drilling), a tray, Sea & Sea strobe and Inon wide angle lens with attachment for the housing. It's compact enough to take on every dive and the camera has full manual adjustment, like my SLRs, so you can set the white balance underwater if you have a white slate with you. Total cost was over £1000, but it would have been much mroe expensive and cumbersome to take on of my 5Ds underwater.
You can start with just the camera and housing and then add strobe and wide angle lens as you begin to feel the need for them. You quickly work out why you'd need a strobe and the wide angle lens makes it much easier to get good images from close up.
I went to Cameras Underwater for advice and came away with a fantastic Canon compact, the Powershot S90, the Canon housing (they advised me against the Ikelite one - fewer adjustments and they all have the same shell with different drilling), a tray, Sea & Sea strobe and Inon wide angle lens with attachment for the housing. It's compact enough to take on every dive and the camera has full manual adjustment, like my SLRs, so you can set the white balance underwater if you have a white slate with you. Total cost was over £1000, but it would have been much mroe expensive and cumbersome to take on of my 5Ds underwater.
You can start with just the camera and housing and then add strobe and wide angle lens as you begin to feel the need for them. You quickly work out why you'd need a strobe and the wide angle lens makes it much easier to get good images from close up.
S47 said:
You're asking/looking for a basic setup - Then I'd buy a canon 'G' series compact camera, and the waterproof housing to suit
My canon G7 and WPH takes fanatstic shots down to 40meters depth and cost £350 inc the housing
Hmm I have the G10/G11, where is the links to cheaper waterproof housing? (cant remember which one I bought the OH)My canon G7 and WPH takes fanatstic shots down to 40meters depth and cost £350 inc the housing
I would prefer the compact to be the one that gets the housing to be honest as its smaller and should be cheaper.
FP
Canon make the housing for 'G' series compacts, I bought mine off ebay for £55. It's canon designation is a WP-DC11, I also have a G9 which fits in the G7 housing though some of the buttons don't line up with the camera. though the major controls [on/off] zoom etc. still work OK.
Good luck finding one on Ebay for the G10/11
Canon make the housing for 'G' series compacts, I bought mine off ebay for £55. It's canon designation is a WP-DC11, I also have a G9 which fits in the G7 housing though some of the buttons don't line up with the camera. though the major controls [on/off] zoom etc. still work OK.
Good luck finding one on Ebay for the G10/11
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