Well, I'm taking a cruise after Thanksgiving and I am wanting to find a digital camera to take with me on the scuba trip at St. Michael...
I really like the setup of the SL155 package of the Sealife DC500, camera, housing, strobe for $679 but I absolutely can't find a "deal" on one and I HATE paying retail for things like this...
So, can anyone refer me to a camera/housing/strobe combo that I could pick up for $650 or less? I'd love it if it were at least 6mp and some zoom... maybe combined 9x or 10x zoom.
Thanks in advance.
Rock
Fuji F810 and Ikelite housing should come in under 650 and it's much better than the other package, in my opinion. Check Wetpixel sponsor Reef Photo as they used to sell these. I don't think you'll be able to get ANY package w/ a strobe for less than $650 though.
Cheers
James
I've read bad things about battery life with the Fuji... not liking it only having 3x optical zoom, no digital...
Any opinion son the Olympus Stylus 500? I know I can get the camera / housing for around $430 to $450... figure I can get a strobe to go with it for under $200...
Thanks
rock
A zoom over 3x is useless for underwater use. Digital zoom should NEVER be used EVER.
Cheers
James
I dont think theres any low cost compact that will go in an underwater casing and have high zoom unless you buy an additional lens, and Im not sure how they go in practise. Theres the more expensive F828 with a 7X zoom but that will be more than 650 easily, and the Panasonic FZ30 might get one but none announced yet I think, and thats not really cheap either.
I tried to do the same thing so I was covered for land and underwater and couldnt find one. I ended up getting an underwater camera with lower zoom and overwater camera with zoom, the only way to currently really get one camera for both is to go SLR which costs a lot.
If you want to research whether housings exist for a particular camera, www.digideep.com has them listed.
Otara.
Check out my reviews of two relatively inexpensive options: the Canon SD500 or Pentax Optio S5i.
Well, I'm taking a cruise after Thanksgiving and I am wanting to find a digital camera to take with me on the scuba trip at St. Michael...
I really like the setup of the SL155 package of the Sealife DC500, camera, housing, strobe for $679 but I absolutely can't find a "deal" on one and I HATE paying retail for things like this...
So, can anyone refer me to a camera/housing/strobe combo that I could pick up for $650 or less? I'd love it if it were at least 6mp and some zoom... maybe combined 9x or 10x zoom.
Remember you can always get a lot more for your money if you look at used systems. With digital systems changing so fast and UW housings only good for one camera there are always good used UW digital systems available.
Dave's right. There's about 100 underwater housings currently for sale on eBay, and there are quite a number regularly put on sale in the "Classifieds" section right here on wetpixel...
They're both right, I've never bought used, but I am constantly selling my setups when I buy into new ones. Generally, people take pretty good care of their uw photography equipment, if I were you I might consider just getting a new main o-ring seal if buying used. the last few I've sold I sold with a couple of extra seals.
