Another "what camera" question

I'm sorry to ask a question that's been asked so many times... I've tried to figure out on my own what to do but I have too little experience (none UW) and too many different options/considerations so I turn to you experts:

Background:

I've been diving for 6-8 years and have almost 50 dives (all tropical). I am comfortable with my buoyancy. I have never photographed UW. I am from Eastern Canada and diving cold water is a possibility in my future. I see myself prefering macro to w/a. I routinely go to 45m. I don't need pro quality output but would like to print to 8x10. I suspect 6mp is all I need. I mostly want to take pics of the fish so that I can remember what I saw and ID them later.

I know a fair bit about photography above water. I have a Pentax K10D dSLR and I don't want to change this as my primary above water system. There doesn't seem to exist a housing for this.

I know very little about flash photography.

Budget:

Well, I was thinking that since I probably only get about 10 dives a year I would try to limit my underwater specific expenses to approx $500us (ie not counting camera). I was leaning towards a compact digital that could double as a pocket camera above water and spend the $500 on housing and a strobe. I could spend more if it would make a big difference, just trying to budget the expense against my historical frequency of use to come up with a ratio that makes sense.

What I am considering (no idea about specific models):

I have a Nikon D70s with 28-105mm zoom (does 2:1 macro) that I am planning to sell (I sold all my other Nikon stuff). Housings for this are still over $1k right? And then I'd need a strobe? I'll probably stick to my plan to sell this. (although if I sell my K10d I could go back to Nikon and have lots of $$... but I really want to keep my k10d)

So I guess I want a compact digital. I'd like to get one that is smallish so that it can double as a pocket camera to throw in my work bag or bring when I goto a party. If it's a similar size as my K10d then it does me no good as a 2nd camera. I'd like one that shoots raw. Has good macro. Uses SD cards. What specific models should I consider?

Should I consider Sealife or similar?

Also, would any strobe I buy for U/W be of use with my dSLR for say, macro photography above water?

Should I post this in a different forum for better/more answers?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Greetings,

I too am in a very similar situation. I have a Sony R1 which I love for my above water photography, although I initially purchased it to replace an Olympus 8080 I used for both above and below water photography, but which I flooded about 1 year ago. Since no cases are available for the R1, I intend to keep it, but purchase almost exactly what you described for my underwater camera. So far my research has led to the Canon A640. Have you looked into it? What I don't know as yet is what to do about the strobe, which case to buy, which after market lense,... and so on. Any way, let me know if you've found something that better fits your needs than the 640. I still haven't purchased mine.

Mr. L.

Poor Nikon!

I've just bought a housed D200, having used my D70 in a $3.5K housing for three years. I see a lot of divers with compacts, but only good macro in clear, clear water as strobe/flash separation is critical in avoiding backscatter.

I have some good shots from a 5 MPx Nikon Coolpix using external srobes, but nothing to compare with my DSLR results. Having said that, I do a fair amount of diving. I'm not sure that lots of dives aren't more important than your camera.

My advice? Keep your D70, find a Niko-phile who is upgrading and try to pick up a used housing, or stretch your budget to an Ikelite.

Despite the experts' comments, most divers seem to end up paying money for equipment to get results!

Coolpix 5000

D70

Tim

B)

Take a look at the Canon PowerShot line. You won't get raw, but depending on model, you can get manual controls. Fair warning that adding strobes and lenses to a kit will add up the $$$$ quickly. For your stated purpose a set-up similar to mine would work real well. It is also a true pocket camera. When looking at the Canon PowerShot line keep in mind some UW cases don't except wet lenses. Similar pocket cameras are a real joy to travel with. Our Zenfolio site has a Cayman Aggressor 06 album with photos taken with a Canon S410 without external strobe. It will give you an idea of what you could expect, or better, with a more recent models.

YMMV

Jeff

"Despite the experts' comments, most divers seem to end up paying money for equipment to get results!"

I still have one of the most versatile P&S's on the planet but I can never escape the comment above. There are times when recycle time, or focus lag has cost me some good photos. With that said I have enjoyed mine (SP350) but also understand now what its limitations are. It is a very good camera to learn with. I graduate one-day to a DSLR but it won't be soon.

Gary

Do you have your photos hosted online somewhere? I am interested in seeing the SP350 in action.

Thanks

Here's some.....

http://www.cupsonline.net/MembersShowOff/M...34/Default.aspx

SP350 definitely a good choice. My friend has been using the canon G7 which had really good results (you should be able to find a lot of sample photos of G7). Another small camera which I have tried and really liked is the Panasonic Lumix FX30 that just came out. It's point and shoot, very compact and I have seen some very good underwater pictures taken with that with an inon strobe. Really easy to use as hardly any adjustment possible.

Jing