Choose my rig

Hi all,

Im looking to get my first u/w camera rig. Basically it will be taken with me on my spearfishing trips to capture a few pics here and there.. however i foresee it getting a lot of use in the end.

I dive primarily in the UK so slightly green low vis water is the norm, Im also a freediver so require something small and compact and quick to use (focus, set, shoot etc) obviously i dont have the bottom time for fiddling with settings etc that the scuba divers do. Most photos will be in 10-15m of water but some will be deeper 30m or so. Also not looking to spend a fortune but need a rig that will give nice results that can be blown up to wall size prints when i take something im proud of. Cost as ever is an issue so would like to keep it down, im not adverse to using second hand gear... ebay is my friend!

My original thouhts were an olympus SP350 and Olympus housing, due to the water conditions i'd want a strobe as well but have no clue on these, however with the 350 being discontinued think i should look elsewhere.

The Nikon coolpix P5000 is looking tempting, so now over to you guys make me some suggestions on camera, housing and strobe please.

As a side note think i'll have to avoid Ikelight housings just cant afford them and they look a lot bulkier than others, although their reputation is second to none.

Thanks in advance

Joe

Crikey Jo you don't want much then!

Compact

Ease of use

Hi Quality For Wall size prints

Cheaper than Ike

External strobe

You might want to consider the Fuji F40. Alex was using one in June when we were with him in the Red Sea, he was taking some nice pics. Though I suspect Alex could take decent pics with a box brownie in a polly bag. He did also have the WA lens for it which no doubt puts the price up.

Am also not sure what the housing allowed for in strobe bulkhead dept. Probably none, so you are looking at slaving the flash.

Some of his shots are in this topic -

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showt...&hl=compact

Good luck,

Paul C

I am a fan of Canon compacts.... they are what i use for my compact rental section and i use them myself too.

The A series has a lot of the things you are looking for and the Canon housing is compact.

Also, a nice long battery life..

Cheers for the replys.. your right i dont make things easy!

Anyother thoughts other than those already expressed. The canon and fuji are both looking like a good options though.

Joe

I own the SP350 and its a decent camera. You can still find them on Ebay, either used or new.

With that said, I played with the Canon G7 in the store the other day and really like it. If I were in the market I'd have to consider it.

Don't overlook discontinued cameras or you will miss some of the best deals out there. Olympus has been directly selling their discontinued underwater housings through ebay. I picked up several of these for about $10 each and have filled them with used cameras found on ebay.

Right now housings for the Olympus C-5000 are regularly available. It is a decent camera with enough manual controls that it should produce good results for the casual underwater photographer (manual white balance, ability to increase brightness of flash)

I recently bought two of these cameras and three of these housings. Only problem right now is that the availability of these cheap housings has driven up the price of the used cameras a bit.

Even still, you should be able to put together this same kit for not much more than $100.

Side note: Yes, the Canon G-7 is an incredible little camera. I bought one for my wife and have been very impressed. Build quality is fantastic, metal case feels like cameras used to feel like. but it is too expensive for me to consider dunking in the ocean.

If I were going to buy one tomorrow would pick the Olympus SP-550 with the Olympus housing. As was mentioned before, EBay is another option. I currently have an Oly 5060 w/ Ikelite housing and strobe. I love it. I would only look at a camera that can shoot RAW. RAW will allow you to adjust the white balance post-dive. This will bring back a lot of the color that was lost. It is a “quick and dirty†fix. I won’t go into all of the issues with RAW here as it is an equipment question. You could add an Inon strobe and wide lens to the Oly housing. I also own a Canon A-570IS that I am happy with. But that one takes more time to get a “good†image. Please let me know if you want more info. Good shopping.