Sea & Sea Digital Camera Housings

I am new to underwater photography and am looking into purchasing one of the Sea and Sea cameras.

What can you all tell me about the following packages and the cameras themselves.

Sea & Sea DX-860G, 6.2 Mega-pixel, 3X Optical Zoom Plus 5x Digital Zoom, Underwater Digital Camera Sport Plus Kit with YS-27 External Strobe with Single Sea Arm, Fiber Optic Cable, Wide Angle Lens and Camera Bag - Rated up to 150'

- $1200.00

or

Sea & Sea DX-750G, 5.19 Mega-pixel, 3X Optical Zoom Plus 5x Digital Zoom, Underwater Digital Camera Sport Plus Kit with YS-27 Underwater External Flash with Single Sea Arm, Fiber Optic Cable, Wide Angle Lens and Soft Case - Rated up to 150'

- $970.00

Thanks for the help.

Please do not post duplicate posts in multiple forums. I've delete the other thread.

Hopefully someone here will have some advice. I haven't used the Sea & Sea compacts, myself However, if the only difference is resolution, it probably isn't worth a $230 increase in price...

Please do not post duplicate posts in multiple forums. I've delete the other thread.

 

Hopefully someone here will have some advice. I haven't used the Sea & Sea compacts, myself However, if the only difference is resolution, it probably isn't worth a $230 increase in price...

Another reason to question the price increase: S&S used to use Ricoh cameras and rebrand them. The new one is not, apparently, a Ricoh as I couldn't find any Ricoh's matching the specs. Since 6.2MP is a bit rare, I was able to Google the camera they actually use. Anyone ever heard of Lesca?

http://www.lesca.com.cn/en/product-dx8.html

The Ricohs were actually decent cameras (the 750G uses the Ricoh Caplio GX). Not sure about the new one . . .

Mike

If I were to not go with one of those Sea & Sea cameras..

I am new to both diving and underwater photography, but want an entry level system under $1000 that will allow me to present clear and good images of mostly fish and invertebrates, as I am planning to create a photojournal of the species I encounter on my dive trips this coming Fall.

What camera's should I look into? I have read Olympus SP350, but I don't know the why behind what makes that better than others.

You might want to buy a mainstream point-and-shoot digital camera and a housing specially made for it. For example, Canon makes housings for many of its own cameras, and you could probably get a nice package--like a 6-8 MP Powershot with the Canon housing--for $600 or less. Plenty of people get great images using these compact, inexpensive set-ups. One of the people on this forum has a point-and-shoot pic on the cover of Scuba Diving, as a matter of fact. It's a nice, easy way to get into u/w photography, especially if you are also just getting into diving.

If I were to not go with one of those Sea & Sea cameras..

 

I am new to both diving and underwater photography, but want an entry level system under $1000 that will allow me to present clear and good images of mostly fish and invertebrates, as I am planning to create a photojournal of the species I encounter on my dive trips this coming Fall.

 

What camera's should I look into? I have read Olympus SP350, but I don't know the why behind what makes that better than others.

A couple things that make the SP-350 more interesting:

1. Manual control of the camera -- this means that the user can set the aperture and shutter speed both independently and both at the same time. If you ever plan to use a strobe, you will eventually want to adjust the camera settings rather than let the camera do it for you.

2. Availability of accessories -- whether you get the Olympus housing or the Ikelite one, you can add aftermarket wide angle and macro lenses.

3. Availability of a TTL housing -- the Ikelite housing has TTL through a synch cord with Ikelite strobes like the DS-51.

There are some things that are not so great as well:

1. It has been discontinued so it might be hard to find (though refurbished ones are out there cheap)

2. It only uses xD cards.

As mentioned earlier, the Canon A- series is also attractive. You could pair the Canon camera (like the A-640 -- ~$300) with the Canon housing (WP-DC8 $170) and an INON D2000 strobe ($539 or D2000s ($459) and have quite a nice package. However because of the port design of the little housing, there aren't any add-ons for it (at least not yet). You could go the same route with the Olympus (camera, oly housing and D2000 strobe) and have the lenses available. Or, if you didn't mind having a little older camera with less pixels, the Canon A540 is a good 6.0MP camera with manual controls and accessory support. You could get the camera for around $190, the Canon housing (WP-DC2) for about $165, and the INON D2000 strobe. With arms and tray you're still in the ballpark for your price range and you can add INON lenses to the package if you want them. The WP-DC2 design is supported by INON accessories.

Just a few thoughts for you. Your best bet might be to give a ring to one of the site sponsors retailers and let them recommend a few things to you . . .

Mike

I have the S&S Dx*8000g and I recently bought a YS-110 strobe. I'm very happy with the camera, I feel it allows me to take good pictures. The settings and controls are easy to manipulate.

I plan on eventually moving up to a DSLR but that won't be for a couple of years. That is why I bought the YS-110 strobe, it has lots of power and excellent features that were easy for me to figure out albeit through trial and error.

I might be jaded as I own a S&S, however I think you will enjoy which ever model you get. I would agree with Mike's comment on the price, go for the $970 version.

Good luck

Ed