11 replies to this topic

[ThatJoeGuy]

So I have reached the point where I would like to start taking pictures. Unfortunately I know next to nothing about cameras. What would you recommend for a first timer?

I remember that Todd the DM on the Mayaguana trip had a small video camera that seemed like a nice setup, but I don't recall anything more.

[Diver Ed]

Are you looking at taking pictures, shooting video, or both? Do you have a thought process on a price range? What are you looking for as far as the end results?

So I have reached the point where I would like to start taking pictures. Unfortunately I know next to nothing about cameras. What would you recommend for a first timer?

I remember that Todd the DM on the Mayaguana trip had a small video camera that seemed like a nice setup, but I don't recall anything more.

[scubaski]

Point & Shoot land camera with 3" display in waterproof housing. You'll be able to shoot both stills and video. I made the mistake of buying a too high end dive manufacture camera ( the cam's you see in dive mags) . You can get in the game for $350--$850. I've seen great pics from Canon Powershot G10 in it's waterproof housing.

[Landlocked Dive Nut]

I have a Canon Powershot G10 (they're selling the G11 or 12 now, I think), and it takes very nice pics and video, both above & below water. If you've seen any of my pics the past 2 years, you get an idea of what a complete amateur can do with the camera!

The housing allows you to make most changes underwater, too. Reasonably priced! It's great as a point-and-shoot, but it also has advanced capabilities that you can learn & use as you go. Don't have to get a strobe or external light to get started either, as the internal flash has done a reasonable job for me so far, but you can add later!

[Diver Ed]

I recommend something that you can add an external strobe to, be it now or at some point in the future. That would be a big consideration for me.

[ThatJoeGuy]

Seems to me like video and stills both would be good to have. With stills I know that my technique would be to hope quantity manages to produce something of quality. I expect this means that I would need a faster write speed so I have more opportunities to get a good pic.

Anyone know anything about this one?

http://www.scubatoys...aterVideoCamera

I am looking at scubatoys because I happen to have some gift certificates for there, but if it is not a decent camera I don't mind going elsewhere.

[Landlocked Dive Nut]

I've never seen that camera on a boat, but it's cheap enough you can call it a starter & replace it later if it doesn't suit you. I like the red lens (is it removable?) but light may be an issue if you don't add their external light option. That unit may take nice video on shallow, sunny reefs but probably not so good on a wall like we did on T&C (things tend to end up dark & endless shades of blue down there). Alternative is to hold your dive light in your other hand, assuming you're stable with one hand on the camera.

One tip: make sure there is a way to secure the camera to your BC, so you can let it go to deal with something else if necessary (and not have it dangling on your wrist, getting in the way of using your hands). Neutral buoyancy for the camera is nice, too. I was able to buy a kit & attach several metal plates to the bottom of my housing to make my camera neutral underwater.

[shadragon]

Here is a great place to start.

Rugged cameras that can handle video as well. All the bells and whistles you want, or not.

I believe ScubaToys are dealers as well.

Shad

Edit: Just went on ScubaToys. Sealife is no longer listed in the dealer area and this is on sale for $414.

Edit #2: Here you go. $99 Waterproof camera good to 65'. You can attach it like a headlamp, or on arm, leg, etc. 5 hours of video.

[Diver Ed]

I have next to zero experience with the point and shoots, so my thoughts there are based on seeing the results of other divers and their shots. A lot of them do produce good shots, as well as offer the option for the video. As for the camera you were looking at there, my experience from shooting video about 20 years ago is that the correcting filter added a lot in the upper 15 feet of the water column. Below that, it had very little effect. To get much color in the lower depths, requires a good set of lights. That involves money. Something to consider if you are looking at a straight video. Of course, they did have a lighting system for $1450 that you can also get. I believe there are numerous options for a housed pns for a similar price, and you have the add on strobe option for down the road. In the mean time, you have the built in strobe for pictures, as well as the video capabilities now. There are probably clip on filters for the video as well with some of the cameras.

Seems to me like video and stills both would be good to have. With stills I know that my technique would be to hope quantity manages to produce something of quality. I expect this means that I would need a faster write speed so I have more opportunities to get a good pic.

Anyone know anything about this one?

http://www.scubatoys...aterVideoCamera

I am looking at scubatoys because I happen to have some gift certificates for there, but if it is not a decent camera I don't mind going elsewhere.

[libra89]

Joe, I have been exceptionally pleased with my Canon S90.

Now you would be looking at the S95, but it's a very similar camera, just the next generation. It's a great price, great blend of automatic, semi-automatic, and manual controls, and it's a good small pocket-able camera that you can un-house and slide in the pocket of a pair of jeans when you go on land excursions. The G11 is good too, just a little bigger than I preferred to have in my kit (but don't get me wrong, it's a great camera). The feature sets of the two are similar.

Canon makes an OEM housing for a decent price, and it's good to 140ft. I opted to go for the Fix housing though, because it seems fairly bulletproof and gives you access to 100% of the cameras controls without having to set up any shortcuts or sacrifice functions. Your budget is going to be pretty important to consider, because it adds up fast. Put it this way. My housing was 3 times as expensive as the camera, and the strobe/arm/tray I purchased was 2 times the price of the camera. Then I added a $600 focus/video light for use on night dives.....let's just say I spent a lot more on my camera rig than I did on my dive gear!!! YIKES!

I also have a Flip Video that I bought an Ikelite housing for, but I have yet to ocean test that. I do have to say that video on the Canon S90 was not up to my standards, but I was not in the market for a still camera that would do good video. The still photo feature set was the most important thing to me. The Flip does better video than the Canon S90, but I would not use the Flip to cut stills out of it. There's a tradeoff usually. You can find cameras that do both though, so you have to really decide if you need to have HD video capability, and what other options you are maybe going to give up if you opt for one that does a decent job with video.

When you start getting into strobes and lighting, the recharge rate of your strobe is going to be the limiting factor on your setup, as opposed to the write speed of the camera. It's also not just write speed you are concerned with, it's how fast the flash recycles, the chip inside...lots of factors. You want to measure that by the number of frames per second you can get in video mode, or how many fps in continuous photo mode (they are different measurements). You need to consider very heavily how the camera performs in low light conditions, since ocean photography at any serious depth is severely light restricted (as others have noted). You'll also need to remember that all reviews on the regular sites are likely to be done under "normal" conditions, aka not underwater. Quick focus, good low light focus capability, and a good range of shutter aperture/speed are all critical for getting good underwater shots. You need a camera that is good at letting a lot of light in for those situations where you might not want or don't have a strobe. The built in strobes on most cameras are not going to be effective underwater. You'll need external strobes for that kind of work. I had very pleasing results in T&C with natural light and the use of the Magic Filter for color correction using just the S90 in it's Fix Housing. I posted my pictures in the gallery for that trip, or you can see them here:

https://picasaweb.go...feat=directlink

As you look at the individual pictures you will probably be able to see the EXIF data from the photo, which will tell you, among other things, what aperture and shutter speed were used, and if the flash was fired. This will help you get an idea for what you can do with that kind of setup.

A great site to look at for camera reviews is www.dpreview.com, or do some looking around the other scuba forums. I found lots of people on forums shooting with the Canon G10/11 or the Canon S90/95. Both of these cameras met my list of criteria.

I would also add that you probably want to get into it cheap and see how you like doing digital photography underwater. Spending more doesn't make a better photographer - good bouyancy, a good eye, and a full understanding of how your camera works will go a long way. I started with a very simplistic fully automatic point and shoot Canon SD600 in the OEM housing, and by adding just a single strobe was able to get some amazingly nice photos. But I had lots of topside photography experience and I knew I was outgrown from that setup even before I started. But it was a good jumping off point. I'd suggest considering starting small and learning it very well before you go too far. Maybe one of the Canon cams (you can't go wrong with either) and the OEM housing. You should be able to get started for under $500 if you go that route.

Good luck!
Tina

[libra89]

And interestingly, I just called my favorite Underwater photography shop to talk about something else, and he mentioned that the S95 does HD video pretty well, so it might be a good option for you if you really want to have good video and good still results in the same camera. He even gave me some tips for maybe getting better video results out of my current S90! Gotta love a good shop with lots of knowledge

Tina