Is the IkeLite worth it for the P200 or would I be better off buying an new camera and housing??
Appreciate any help
Erik
I have the P200 and the Ikelite housing. What's worth what? You ask a difficult question. It does very presentable macro with no help, and with good lighting it takes nice non-macro as well. I have the color correcting filter for taking video. I do not have a tray or any strobes. In this condition it is just barely buoyant in saltwater. Not enough to be obnoxious or difficult, but enough so that you can relax the death grip when over a wall. In this form the kit is small enough to clip off. It has the all important shootable white balance. In manual mode you only have 2 f-stops at a time, so depth of field can be a challenge, but slightly adjusting the zoom gets you what you need. Auto-focus if left in continuous mode makes for very little shutter lag, and in manual focus it's virtually zero.
I was like you, I already had the P200. I didn't get this because I'm a "beginner". I got it because I don't want to dive with an Oil Derrick. I dive for zen, and the last thing I want is a giant thing scaring all the fish away and dictating my dives. I travel dive a lot and the last thing I want is a pair of sherpas every time I go diving to haul around my stupid Pelican(s) that weighs 26 lbs before anything is packed in it. I also don't want to pay overweight baggage penalties everywhere I go, nor do I want to spend all my free time fussing at the camera table and charging batteries.
I *do* want to be able to photograph that one thing that shows up every twenty dives or so, and I especially want the video capability to record convincing footage of reef crashers and trashers. In the end, it's not gear that makes a picture, its content and composition, and context is what gives it value. If you can't take a good picture with this camera, you can't take one at all.
For me, it's definitely worth it, even more so since the housing was a gift.
