To @Barmaglot very good point, no, a system neither needs to be the most expensive or the newest.  Not at all, in fact.

 

Bottom line, it’s just a tool to make a photo or video.  We can go to a hardware store and see a wall of different types and brands of hammers.  Does one work better than the other?  Perhaps, depending on the specific task, but they are all hammers.

 

With that said, some of my favorite images were made with a Canon G11 compact flash camera and $200 Canon plastic housing.  I then used my Canon T2i APS-C DSLR for 11 years and made some very nice images.  Ironically, cameras today like the TG6/7 and even GoPros can get certain images better than my current much larger rig due to their size.  We are incredibly fortunate to have so many choices in so many price ranges at our disposal.  At the end of the day, it’s all about making a memory and the challenge of creating art under the waves.  
 

I absolutely agree that new tech does provide some tremendous benefits like much faster focus, less noise, and larger file sizes with which to work.  Back to the hammer analogy, it all depends on the type of task and personal budget to find the right tool. 

Edited January 18, 20241 yr by ChipBPhoto

1 minute ago, ChipBPhoto said:

Back to the hammer analogy,

 

There are days when I'd like to take a hammer to my gear.....  but happily not too often.

 

I do agree though on not needing the biggest or best. I decided lugging FF gear around was beyond my nuisance threshold and moved back to an APS-C system. Not regretted it for a second. 

 

1 minute ago, TimG said:

 

There are days when I'd like to take a hammer to my gear.....  but happily not too often.

 

You too??? 😂😂😂  

 

I just bought a wide lens and basic tray for my GoPro 9.  There are days that’s all I want to carry. 😎 

 

6 hours ago, TimG said:

 

There are days when I'd like to take a hammer to my gear.....  but happily not too often.

 

I do agree though on not needing the biggest or best. I decided lugging FF gear around was beyond my nuisance threshold and moved back to an APS-C system. Not regretted it for a second. 

 

Ohh yes I think we all have days like that when something that works perfectly one minute does not the next! When strobes suddenly decide not to synch, or you spend a whole dive not realising you forgot to set the magnet on your z330, the focus pin n your 17-70mm quits mid dive but works fine the next day. And my favourite - my wife's RX100ii that decides it wants to read memory cards when it feels like it - set it up, vacuum set then will not read - 10 goes later it works!   The question is which hammer will we hit it with? The joy of UWP!

 

Edited January 18, 20241 yr by johnvila

On 1/19/2024 at 10:49 AM, johnvila said:

Ohh yes I think we all have days like that when something that works perfectly one minute does not the next! When strobes suddenly decide not to synch, or you spend a whole dive not realising you forgot to set the magnet on your z330, the focus pin n your 17-70mm quits mid dive but works fine the next day. And my favourite - my wife's RX100ii that decides it wants to read memory cards when it feels like it - set it up, vacuum set then will not read - 10 goes later it works!   The question is which hammer will we hit it with? The joy of UWP!

 

Ok so I must learn to touch wood!  Dived Saturday - both Inon Z330's perfect. Prepped for a dive this morning - my older Z330 not firing at all - tried everything I know - changed cable, batteries etc etc - the other strobe working fine on the same cable and flash trigger --- the red light is on, focus light works, clearly receiving a signal as the green flash comes on but no flash.

 

Must be an electronics issue in the strobe - cannot see any sign of burnout in the flash tubes. Any ideas? Maybe time to get another mortgage and get the retras! Cheers

9 hours ago, johnvila said:

Ok so I must learn to touch wood!  Dived Saturday - both Inon Z330's perfect. Prepped for a dive this morning - my older Z330 not firing at all

Time to select the right hammer? 🤔

Seriously, sorry to hear.  Very frustrating! 

The A7 IV for me is the most compelling camera to take underwater (and not) if you take photos.

 

It has a very nice balance of capabilities not too many pixels and it can be found at very low prices in certain moments (black friday and similar)

 

I especially like the fact that dual gain kicks in at ISO 400 which is a rounded number unlike the 320 and 500 of the R series and A1

 

I may buy one myself as it almost works in the A1 housing.

 

I do have most of times problems not opportunities from too many pixels and the resolution of the A7 IV is very good, I have the A7C II with the same sensor and it produces excellent images at night when you need a bit less noise

Note am not saying that normalised images with more pixels are more noisy than less pixels am talking about pixel level noise as I generally do not crop and do not print excessiely large images