DSLR vs Consumer Digital

I began with a Nikonos V then went to a housed N90, then to a housed S2Pro. I'm now on the verge of going to an Oly 5060 and using Inon lenses. I realize this is not the direction most photographers tend to go, but I seem to have reached a point where I'm beginning to rethink the extra effort of a big heavy housing as well as the extra luggage. I'm not sure how much quality I may be sacrificing though.

My favorite pics tend to be of macro things... I love shots of the female blackhead blenny, the triplefin, but also like the idea of wide angle occasionally. My favorite lens underwater is the 105mm. I tend to always shoot RAW.

I was all set to go with the Oly until this reminder "Although there exist many great underwater images taken by point 'n shoot cameras, it is often difficult for them to compete with SLRs when it comes to image quality" which I read in the write up about the Wetpixel & Divephotoguide.com competition.

The Oly will be easier, I can switch the lens uw, it's much lighter (although I'll still be using my big strobes), less luggage to carry, and I've heard it has really great quality. The largest prints I generally will want to make will be 11x17, and I understand it can shoot in RAW mode. I imagine I'll have some issues with the shutter lag time... maybe I'll be able to overcome it with some guidance.

BUT, I'm wondering what the chances are I'll end up regretting going the Oly direction instead of getting a housing for my D70.

So far, I've been really pleased with the past cameras I've used and the images I get. My question is do folks think going this direction is a HUGE step backwards and that I'm really messing with a big potential for disappointment? OR, for my purposes, not professional, it's likely I'll still be happy with the image quality.

Thanks, I appreciate any feedback which may help me make a decision.

Margaret

Well, as an S2 Pro shooter, I will guide you in another direction!

You are probably a bit spoiled, as you are shooting a camera with one of the "best looking" sensors out there. I think you will be disappointed in the look of your shots from most of the point and shoot alternatives.

However, Fuji makes a pretty impressive P&S with a sensor that is actually better than the one you are used to. The Fuji 810. I know, end of life and all that, but these can be found, and Ike makes a kick ass housing for it. Very small, but with full camera control and add on external lenses.

Fuji has a couple other more recent options, like the E900, which Ike will also be housing. I would look into these as the most logical way for you to "downgrade".

BTW, all of the previous is my "humble opinion". Don't want to start a war with a "mine is better than yours" interpretation of my above statement...

Margaret;

You'll be missing the boat on the optics, shutter lag and a number of other aspects that a DSLR gives you. Most importantly being able to "stand-off" from a subject that is skittish.

You don't mention your housing. You might want to look at a smaller DSLR and more compact housing first.

That all being said having a smaller digicam to travel with is nice and I like my F810/Ike system very well for macro. The E900 addresses several shortcomings like batteries and having a pre-flash, larger pixel depth. A E900/Ike system is going to set you back maybe $700, why not have it and a DSLR?

If you go to the digital section of my gallery website below you'll find lots of F810 photos.

Jack

If you already have an S2 Pro, why would you want to switch to a D70. This is more of a lateral move than an upgrade. As for the Oly, you will be sacrificing some image quality for more convenience but I've seen many great shots from P&S cameas. Lot's of times, when packing for a trip, I think to myself....wouldn't it be nice to have just one carry-on with all my camera stuff...then I come to my senses.

BTW, I have owned both an OLY 5050 and an S2 Pro but I migrated the opposite way.

Hi Margaret,

After using a DSLR, you will find the shutter lag of the Olympus to be maddening (sp??).

If you just want something SMALL, then look at the Subal housing for your D70 That thing is tiny.

Cheers

James

Yes, it is a huge step backwards. You gain packing space and underwater maneuverability. You lose a lot more.

Some people do tire of the big SLR and go to a P&S, but usually without the complexity of even carrying strobes.

My good friend and I have shot side by side, he with his 5060 and me with my housed rig. He had some serious problems getting good shots in the Galapagos. The camera just didn't have the dynamic range needed in some situations. He shot RAW, but it took so long to clear the tiny buffer or write to the card that I think he could have changed lenses in between shots. He did not come home with a lot of underwater keepers.

It still comes down to your interest in getting the most out of your photography. Some people just aren't as interested and that's OK. Others give a right arm to increase their keepers from 5% to 10%. That's OK, too.

I know one guy on another board who dumped his Nik V for a 3040 or 4040 with no strobe. Said it wasn't necessary. He was getting 50%-75% keepers. It was a great. No need for DSLR or strobes. When he linked to his photos, I looked. I would have kept none of them. All the fish and coral were blue or if it had color, it had backscatter, too. But he was sooo pleased. To each his own.

First, not all pixels are the same.

Second not all lenses are the same.

Third, whilst digital compacts can yield some extraordinarily good images, they are not precision photographic instruments.

If you can live with with the downsides then you are going to save yourself a lot of agro and weight to carry. I couldn't!

I will quote Albert Einstein on this one:

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

As Paul said, if a simple P&S fulfills your needs, by all means, go for it! One thing I would recommend is not sell your current system before you have time to evaluate the P&S if you decide to buy one. Also, as James said, the Subal D70 housing is about the same size and weight as some P&S housings around.

I think the Oly 5060 is too slow (high shutter lag). The Fuji F810 is very slow at writing RAW files (even if you aren't a fast shooter, this will affect you since the camera is unresponsive while writing -- 8 seconds after every shot), and has poor battery life so you can't take lots of shots. Also the 810 doesn't have the same lens quality you will get with a good macro lens. It suffers from tons of CA, even without a macro adapter lens, and it can only get worse.

For macro subjects, the biggest shortcomings of a P&S are AF speed and shutter lag. The picture will not be as crisp or sharp as a DSLR (but pretty darn good nonetheless,esp if you are not the type who zooms 200% to look for problems), with a good lens.

The great thing is reduced bulk for travel and in current, cheaper and interchangeable wet lenses. I strap a canon S70 ontop of my video housing on some dives. If there's no action for video, I use the P&S to shoot.

Printing out to 11x17 will stretch even the D70. It really depends on how much quality you want and how much you are willing to pay, carry etc to get it. There are now some very nice P&S that are about the same price as the 5060 and are 7-8 megapixels with very decent lens. You may want to research into other cameras besides the Olympus since 5.1 5060 megapixels will yield probably up to A4 prints, going to 11x17 will get you average results but depends on what you want. For web or computer only shots, the 5060 is fine.

DSLR IT IS!!

Thanks so much to everyone who responded and helped me realize I really "can't live with the downsides" of going from my DLSR to a P&S.

Those things that would challenge me (or really tick me off) - shutter lag, not using a true macro lens, a long wait for the buffer to write RAW files, and "not being able to have the "stand off" for a skittish subject", are definantly not worth the ease of a lighter load.

It's my first trip to the South Pacific and I feel great relief at having made this decision.

Again, thanks to all.

Margaret

... now I need to deal with my IKE dome port problem... ahhh, a different post.

Hi Margaret

This may come a little late, but I moved from a housed S2 with the intention of a laternal move to D70. Reason? Sunburts. But before i did that, i bought myself a F810 with ike housing to see if i could save on the ike housing for my D70.

Awesome camera. much better than my C-5050. But despite the pros, i went back to house my D70.

All i can say is that once you have tried DSLR, it is difficult to go back. Besides, with dual DS-125s, the difference in size for packing is pretty small, i must say.

glad you stick with yr good old DSLR. I am still keeping my F810 for backup though.

Eric

My response is late as well but I gotta say something....

I used a P&S for the last couple of years and loved the convenience of stuffing it in my BC pocket when I was wasn't using it. But, I HATED the shutter lag, short battery life, slow autofocus, slow flash recycle and did I mention shutter lag?

I just bought an Ikelite housing for my 20D a couple weeks ago and used it for the first time in Cozumel two weeks ago. Although Wilma limited my diving to just three days and it basically took three days to figure out how to use all the new gear there is NO COMPARISON. I had a huge smile on my face in the first minute of using my 20D underwater. The DS125 strobe recycles extremely fast. It's rated at 1 second but I swear I was snapping photos faster than that at times and the DS125 never stopped firing. Plus, I was shooting more than 300 shots on that one charge and the stobe never ran low on juice. Of course the 20D had plenty of battery life left as well.

Plus, even though I had no idea what I was doing for those first few dives I managed to get several shots that I never would have captured with my P&S. I would never, ever go back to a P&S no matter how much gear I have to lug around. But for me, picture quality and fast response (autofocus, shutter and strobe) are the most important things. Convenience doesn't matter. It's all about the photo.

My 2 pixels worth....

I just posted this question in another thread, but this one looks more appropriate for my question.

I've been shooting using a Canon S30 (point and shoot) for years have gotten some really great shots. I'm about to step up to a Canon digital Rebel XT SLR, and am thinking of getting an Ikelite housing to supplant my S30.

My question is, since there is no LCD preview with an SLR camera, how difficult is it to frame shots underwater? Can you actually use the optical viewfinder (seems unlikely - camera inside case, eyeballs behind mask), or do you more or less have to "use the force", take your best aim, and see what you get?

Thanks in advance.

My question is, since there is no LCD preview with an SLR camera, how difficult is it to frame shots underwater? Can you actually use the optical viewfinder (seems unlikely - camera inside case, eyeballs behind mask), or do you more or less have to "use the force", take your best aim, and see what you get?

 

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It does take a little getting use to, but not too bad once you get used to it. I still miss framing with the LCD after 2 years of shooting the Rebel. A low volume mask really helps.

I was worried about framing shots myself but I found it much easier than I expected. Besides, if you don't get it right you can shoot so many follow up shots so fast it doesn't really matter

I was also worried about the bulk of the 20D Ike housing but that also was no problem. Basically all my fears of moving up to the DSLR housing were gone in the first 5 minutes and replaced with a HUGE smile.

My question is, since there is no LCD preview with an SLR camera, how difficult is it to frame shots underwater? Can you actually use the optical viewfinder (seems unlikely - camera inside case, eyeballs behind mask), or do you more or less have to "use the force", take your best aim, and see what you get?

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No, It's so much better to frame with the viewfinder instead of the lazy LCD, its maybe a little hard at the beginning but from the first dive with DSLR I felt so much better with that.

(And I'm talking as one with really bad eyes with the tiny viewfinder of the D70 B) )