About to buy a new rig, any advice?

Hi people,

I've been watching this forum for a few years now, constantly learning (thanks for all the information btw!), but this is my first post. Im about to update my camera set up, and while I don't have the funds to go as far as a dSLR with everything, I do want something of high quality.

I've managed to find a local store which is still stocking the now deleted Canon G6. I quite fancy this camera, mainly due to the high MP's, ability to shoot in raw, and being able to use eTTL with it in an Ike housing. Also, they're giving me a reasonable price on it. On top of this, I'll be getting the Ikelite housing, Ike ds-150 strobe, and possibly an inon wide angle lense and dome. Does anyone have any opinions, suggeestions or reccomendations to do with this purchase? Any help would be much appreciated, as I don't want to go blowing my hard earned cash on something I won't like.

Cheers,

Ryan.

G'day mate,

Welcome to WP - great to have a few more aussies kicking around the place.

I'm curious as to how much you'd be spending on the G6 setup. It was certainly a nice camera for its time, but it's getting pretty long in the tooth now. It does have pretty good image quality though and great battery life. You're probably already aware of the limitations in RAW write times, AF speed and shutter lag. Only other thing I'd identify is the lack of live histogram, but you can still access it after the shot - just as you do with a DSLR.

I guess my decision would ultimately depend on what price I could get it for (and whether it includes a new warranty). I'd be wanting the price to be very competitve with similar options around today. If you are getting a ripper price, and are aware of the limitations, then maybe it could be a great deal for you.

You've done some excellent research in terms of what is important in an UW setup and you have identified the key components and accessories. I would definitely set aside some cash for the INON wide converter, but the flash is prob the first thing to get (I assume you meant DS50 btw - I'm not sure the 150 does eTTL...)

Another thought...the housing still seems to run for around US$600, then you've got the strobe, lenses and other accesseries to add... I'd be very tempted to consider some of the 2nd hand deals around on 10D/D100/D70/350D setups. Plenty of people are upgrading at the moment to 30Ds and D200s etc. There is nothing wrong with these older dSLR kits and they will be worlds apart from a G6 kit.

I don't know whether you've got SLR gear at the moment, but once you start adding housings, strobes, arms, lenses etc., the cost difference between the cameras themselves starts to become a pretty small component of overall system costs. Given that you are already dreaming of the dSLR route, you might want to ask yourself how much extra it really is to go that way. Maybe a couple more months saving and you might be there and then you won't have sunk AUD$2k into something you will want to dump pretty fast. Shutter lag sucks...But if you are really looking for a compact setup, then maybe there are other things to factor in.

All in all - a tentative thumbs up, but with several qualifications...

Finally, where in Aus are you? Maybe we could catch up for a dive?

Cheers mate.

Hey Anthony,

I'm up in Brissy. Don't worry, I'm not a Qlder though. I'd love to get myself a 350d, but with the housing costing twice as much, plus extra lenses and ports, it just seems to be a lot. If I could find a second hand one, I'd be interested. Any ideas?

Also, I meant the ds-125 strobe. Is this going to be a better option than the 50, or will it be over kill?

Yeah, its a tough choice.

Had I been looking at housing UW cameras now, rather than 18 mo ago (pre 30D/D200), I would certainly have looked for a 2nd hand dSLR. I already had a fair investment in Nikon gear and everyone was hangning on to their D100/D70s/S2s waiting for the D200 to come out (rumour mills were going crazy). If I'd been able to wait for the market as it is now, I would almost certainly own a housed D100/D70s/S2s instead. Don't get me wrong - D200 is awesome UW, but I'd prob be almost as happy with any of the other cams too. The importance of stuff like technique, lenses and strobes should not be underestimated in final pic quality.

DS125 is a way better choice in the long run. 50 isn't really wide enough for wide angle - although they make a good macro strobe.

In terms of gear, there is plenty of stuff turning up in the classifieds here or on digitaldiver.net or underwaterphotography.com. Even the diveoz.com.au classifieds sometimes have good stuff... How much of a hurry are you in?

Do you have an investment in any slr system currently?

OK Ryan - here's an option...

The housing is around $200 more than the one you were looking at for the G6 (if you buy the port listed).

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showt...t=0entry89430

I've seen D100's kicking around Melb for a little over a grand AUD, then you could get the DS125 you were planning on getting anyway and a 2nd hand 60 mm (AUD4/500ish). Top it off with a 10.5 and you'd have a rockin' system that would s@$t all over the G6 and keep you going for years...

Just trying to get you thinking

If you do decide to buy anything new - definitely go with your namesake (one of the site sponsors) on the RHS of this page (ReefPhoto)...If only we had someone like Ryan in Aus.

Nope, this is going to be an upgrade from an older point and shoot. Have checked out DO, will look at the other forums. Thanks for the advice!

Well, given that you don't have any investment in a particular system - the Nikon option above would be a goodie. Plenty of 2nd hand lenses available to help keep costs down.