I normally shoot housed D-SLR (Fuji S2 in Aquatica) but I'm looking for a compact point& shoot system for ease of transport when I don't want to haul the Pelican cases. I was considering the Fuji F30 until I noticed that it does not support RAW file format. Does anyone know of a point&shoot that would meet the following criteria?
Must support RAW format (NEF, CRW, RAF etc)
Must have its own manufacturer's housing available (more compact than Ikelite)
Must have zero (or close to) shutter lag
Housing must be able to accept Inon 28AD bayonet lenses (with Inon adapter if required)
Thanks for any advice the group can provide
Bruce Dickson
Raleigh NC USA
Olympus sp350, sp320 both support RAW and would fit your description. ... or if you're okay with slightly larger stuff and want to pursue an interesting new camera
I second Gary's suggestions. These camera give support RAW, have little lag, and give nice results. The only thing is they take a fairly long time to write RAW files (compared to a DSLR anyway).
just to let you know Inon are not going to be making an AD mount for the Olympus SP 550 UZ .
which is such a shame
apparently the housing that olympus are making is too long in front of the lens
i don't know about other housing manufacturers thou
Someone said it has a 67mm front thread on the housing. However looking at the picture I'm not sure exactly how. It looks as though you'd be stuck with the 28mm lens in WA mode. It also doesn't have a hotshoe like the SP350 meaning no underwater TTL. However the read up on the Olympus site makes it sound like this camera would make a superb macro/fish portrait camera.
I believe its the only new digicam, other than the olympus, to offer RAW support and full manual control along with a hotshoe for flash TTL support.
The problem for me, is the oly's all have terrible final half press shutter lag.
Drives me crazy.
You mean a lag after the camera has autofocused? I do not find that to be a problem at all on my new SP350. I find the autofocus to be a little pokey, though. Once it's autofocused, I sense no consequential lag in tripping the shutter.
I just got the Ikelite housing, sync cord, and DS125 stobe. I've been fooling around with the housed camera on land for the last couple of days. Overall, I'm fairly pleased. It does take a somewhat delicate touch to depress the shutter release only 1/2 way and get the camera to autofocus. Here's a picture of a "catfish" taken with the housed camera & strobe:
The diving starts in 4 1/2 weeks on the North Sulawesi Aggressor.......can't wait!!