I would like to know what options there are for relatively inexpensive digital cameras that will give me a nice sized display of what I am aiming at and some info from folks on whether auto focus will work properly in a housing and underwater and what issues there might be. Does there need to be any ambient light for it to work?
I have used a Nikonos V w/SB103 strobe off and on for years with decent success but now dive in caves and am looking for the automation assist.
As for the SB103 - are there any UW gizmos that will slave it without a sync cord off the flash coming from the camera itself? Any way to use that strobe - hate to give it up since it still works great.
Thanks!
Since you're cave diving and want underwater autofocus assistance, an aiming light is a requirement for any rig you throw together. You can probably still get good money for the 103 or, if it has a slave mode, you might be able to slave it off of your primary strobe. You'll want strobes powerful enough to over-power your aiming light.
"inexpensive Digital Camera" - If you're willing to part with your Nikonos I've seen them go upwards of $300 on Ebay. With the strobe you might eek out around $400. That would make a good down payment on any underwater system you choose. Olympus and Canon make inexpensive housings for their camera lines that are good to recreational limits around 140ft. Fuji has some nice cameras that you can house for a little more money inside of an Ikelite housing. I think if you do a search on this site, you'll find some good posts on camera suggestions.
