upgrade from powershot to dslr

hi to everyone out there. i need some advised and help as to what type of dslr i should go for and what brand and model.

right now i am using a canon A640 powershot with sea and sea YS 90DX strobe.

i am quite happy with this and i thought as technology improved i like to up grade my camera but don't know how.

initially i was thinking of Canon G9 which i think its pretty good. the only problem is the casing could not be fitted with a wide or zoom lens. if anyone out there has these gadgets please let me i might consider.

if i decide to go for the dslr can i used my present storbe.

i hope somebody can advise on what i should go for.

thanks.

It has to do with your budget buddy....... New G9, housing, additional strobe, wet WA lens, etc can add up......

if you want to go DSLR, it can be a heck of a lot more....Macro will require dedicated ports, WA- dome ports, etc etc etc.....

You need to do a lot of research here....good luck....however, if you have a budget, many can help within this thread.

Btw, what you have is pretty good. You must either have outlived it's abilities or have more money to spend..... IMHO

It has to do with your budget buddy....... New G9, housing, additional strobe, wet WA lens, etc can add up......

 

if you want to go DSLR, it can be a heck of a lot more....Macro will require dedicated ports, WA- dome ports, etc etc etc.....

 

You need to do a lot of research here....good luck....however, if you have a budget, many can help within this thread.

 

Btw, what you have is pretty good. You must either have outlived it's abilities or have more money to spend..... IMHO

thanks for the advised.

i was thinking of a used dslr on the market.

but a new G9 with my exisiting strobe that i have

i have a budget for about $1500/- to spend.

i am not sure what i can get for

please advised

that's a very big question. depends on budget and how much control you want over your photos. if you're willing to put the extra effort/time/care into your shooting, can manage the weight and foot the bill, a dslr will prove the best tool for creating uw pics.

if you just want a little more control but want to keep your weight & maintenance down, and you're happy with images captured by the smaller sensor, go for the G9, its a great camera.

if you decide to go dslr, look first at the entry/mid level cameras, they are just as good as the pro cams 90% of the time. nikon and canon are the most widely supported in the uw realm. canon - look at the rebel or 30d. nikon - look at the d80 or d200, do not get a d40 or d60, they severely restrict your lens choices (will not AF with popular fisheyes like 10.5, 15, 16, 10-17mm or any older non-afs lenses).

personally i'm a nikon fan - and i shoot with both systems. though they're essentially equal. olympus makes good stuff and their own housings i think. less widely supported but excellent cameras. hope this helps. cheers

chris

EDIT: yikes, didn't see before but $1500 is tight for this hobby, go for the G9, though you still may find yourself itching for better. perhaps a used nikon d70 package. whatever you do you'll be surprised how quickly $1500 will balloon into twice that.

You might get into an entry level Canon xt/xti with a fantasea housing for that. It'll be close. You could also get the Olympus E-410 with kit lens and housing for around that (tropical1 has a used setup as he's looking to upgrade). Of course this would mean housing the kit lenses and being satisfied with that until you were ready to drop another grand on another port and another lens. Here's what happened in my transition a year ago.

1. I loved the speed, no shutter lag etc of the DSLR.

2. The kits lens (Olympus in my case) 14-42mm was good for fish pics, some reef shots, some macro etc. However it left you wanting more WA on the 14mm side and more macro on the 42mm side. Certainly not as versatile as a P&S with addon lenses. If you send me a PM I'll send you a link to where I have a Hawaii trip stashed. Nothing special about the photos but it does show the capability of the kit lens for Olympus.

3. Brian aka the chickenator at www.digidiver.net has modified his G7 housing (similar to the G9) to accept wet lenses. You might run over and ask him some questions.

You might get into an entry level Canon xt/xti with a fantasea housing for that. It'll be close. You could also get the Olympus E-410 with kit lens and housing for around that (tropical1 has a used setup as he's looking to upgrade). Of course this would mean housing the kit lenses and being satisfied with that until you were ready to drop another grand on another port and another lens. Here's what happened in my transition a year ago.

 

1. I loved the speed, no shutter lag etc of the DSLR.

2. The kits lens (Olympus in my case) 14-42mm was good for fish pics, some reef shots, some macro etc. However it left you wanting more WA on the 14mm side and more macro on the 42mm side. Certainly not as versatile as a P&S with addon lenses. If you send me a PM I'll send you a link to where I have a Hawaii trip stashed. Nothing special about the photos but it does show the capability of the kit lens for Olympus.

3. Brian aka the chickenator at www.digidiver.net has modified his G7 housing (similar to the G9) to accept wet lenses. You might run over and ask him some questions.

thank you for all the advised.

i will do more homework before i decide which to go for.

thank you for all the advised.

i will do more homework before i decide which to go for.

You might consider what type of photo/diver you are or want to be. I love photography and use a DSLR for land photos. I shoot a P/S underwater.

Prior to the digital world, I bought the Tussey housing for my Nikon 8008S and a pro level strobe. After shooting Motormarine cameras, the options were much more open. BUT after one trip taking large gear, dealing with the large equipment and working with it to get the shots I wanted... I realized just how much more I needed in the form of dome for wide angle and port for macro work and really needed the second strobe.

I also realized the amount of practice I needed in the water with that gear. My 10 days/yr in the ocean and 5 days/yr in the pool limitations could not do well with that situation.

I came back from the trip and sold it all and went back to the MM cameras.

I now shoot the P/S camera's and spend the cash to get good ones. I would love to be shooting my DSLR underwater but unwilling to deal with the cash spent and the size and quantity of the equipment required. And still do not have the time in the water available to make it work well.

Just back from Bonaire, met a guy with the housing for my DSLR there. Took one look at what he had to deal with in the form of size and equipment, came back and checked pricing for the housing and the ports/dome I would want and confirmed... the G9 will be in my future.

I will likely never take as good a photo as could be taken with better gear but everyone that sees my work in my circle of friends/family loves them as do I. The pros that visit this website are about as concerned with my work as Tiger Woods is with my golf game but I enjoy it. And I am as impressed and amazed with their work as I am with Tiger's.

Who is your expected audience and what will satisfy the type of photo/diver you want to be?

What type of time can you spend getting good enough to make that equipment work for you?

Hope this is of some help in consideration of your decision.