First DSLR Setup Recommendation

I am a relatively new underwater photographer hoping that some of the more seasoned photographers will help me out and impart some of their wisdom!

I am traveling to Roatan in a month and would like to purchase my first SLR camera for underwater use. My wife has some Canon lenses so I would like to stick to a Canon camera (unfortunately the main lens is a 17-55mm EF-S, which doesn’t look like it fits in the Ikelite ports). I already have a DS-125 strobe so I would like to get an Ikelite housing for maximum compatibility.

After doing some research I think I am going to get the Canon Rebel XSi (I like that you can use the LCD to compose shots) with the Ikelite housing (6871.45). I am also leaning towards the Canon EF-S 60mm lens. I plan on doing a lot of small/medium fish portraits, some macro, and some portraits so I think this would be a good choice. Questions:

1) Are my choices decent or are there better ones for a reasonably similar price range?

2) The closest focus distance for the 60mm is listed as 7.9 inches. Is this true underwater (I would think for macro you might want to get closer)?

3) Although I will probably spend most my time with the 60mm lens, I am thinking of buying (or at least renting) one more for this trip. My main goal for the second lens will be getting good pictures during the shark dive I will be going on. I get the feeling that true wide angle lenses would make the sharks too small in the frame most of the time, where the 60mm might not perform well at a medium 5 - 15ft range (does it have any focusing or other issues with shooting at larger distances given that it is designed to be a macro lens?). What focal length is best for shooting sharks that (hopefully) are in close proximity? Should I just use the 18-55mm kit lens with a dome port (does this require a diopter?) – I hear this kit lens is much better than previous kit versions?

4) I have been looking at ports from Ikelite. They have 2 kinds, standard and modular. I have had a very hard time finding reviews or comparisons on these and am not sure which way to go. Are the modular lenses good or are they just more of a hassle? Is there a quality difference?

I apologize for the length of this post, and very much appreciate the assistance!!

1) Are my choices decent or are there better ones for a reasonably similar price range?

2) The closest focus distance for the 60mm is listed as 7.9 inches. Is this true underwater (I would think for macro you might want to get closer)?

3) Although I will probably spend most my time with the 60mm lens, I am thinking of buying (or at least renting) one more for this trip. My main goal for the second lens will be getting good pictures during the shark dive I will be going on. I get the feeling that true wide angle lenses would make the sharks too small in the frame most of the time, where the 60mm might not perform well at a medium 5 - 15ft range (does it have any focusing or other issues with shooting at larger distances given that it is designed to be a macro lens?). What focal length is best for shooting sharks that (hopefully) are in close proximity? Should I just use the 18-55mm kit lens with a dome port (does this require a diopter?) – I hear this kit lens is much better than previous kit versions?

4) I have been looking at ports from Ikelite. They have 2 kinds, standard and modular. I have had a very hard time finding reviews or comparisons on these and am not sure which way to go. Are the modular lenses good or are they just more of a hassle? Is there a quality difference?

1) I think you'll want to get a really wide lens (such as the Tokina 10-17 - which is highly regarded for u/w wide angle). For macro, the Canon 60 or 100 will serve you well.

2) The minimum focus distance is the point at which you get 1:1 magnification - which is what you need for macro. To get larger than life sized (and also reduce the minimum focus distance), you'll need a close-up filter or extension tubes.

3) See #1. You'll also want/need a dome port, as the flat port needed for macro won't really work.

4) I don't have any experience between the two - hopefully someone else will pipe up.

I use the standard port. Its less expensive. I scratched it my first dive trip, though I don't think the scratches show up in the photos. The benefit of modular is that if you go with more lenses you eventually need less plastic ports. Personally, there were enough pieces using the standard ports, for me to be glad I was not having to figure out how to put modular ports together. That said, if I had more lenses I would be frustrated by having so many pieces!

For Roatan I would suggest the macro lens. You could spend a life time shooting only macro there. Not too much big stuff for the WA lens with the exception of general reef shots.

A 60mm macro lens is a great lens in itself, but it's also a very good lens to learn macrophotography.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Based on your suggestions and additional research on these forums I am going to go with the Canon Digital Rebel (although I am going to get the Xti instead of the Xsi because I got a good deal on it), the 60mm lens, and the standard Ikelite flat port. I will save up and get a true wide angle lens later this year. Thanks again!

Hermitcrab-

Do you have any report on how the setup worked for you? I am heading to Roatan in January and looking at the same kind of setup. I have shot a bunch underwater but mainly point and click. I already own and xti and so was hoping to kind a housing etc to take it to the next level. Curious how well it worked for you. Also would you ever consider renting your lense/housing for a week- not sure I can spring really for the set up. Does anyone rent this kind of equipment??? Thanks.

I agree with your decision.

Fundamentally, I routinely suggest to people that you start with a single lens and strobe and get used to the dSLR. On Roatan, and in most carribean destinations, you can always shoot macro and fish portrates with a 60mm lens. I also agree with your Ikelite decision because the Ikelite ttl is excellent.

If you have not shot RAW previously, I suggest that you do so right away. The files will be bigger so you will need a big card and you'll really need to carry a laptop with Photoshop CS to your dive destination BUT you'll get better faster if you download your shots every evening and adjust them, seeing what worked and what doesn't.

I recommend that you use a single, center-point autofocus and place the eye of the subject in the autofocus. Later, in Photoshop, you can crop to get a well composed image. I suggest that you focus on getting the subject at a pleasing angle that shows movement, three dimentionality or something other than just a fish ID shot.

Shoot in Manual. I would start at somewhere between F/18-f/22 for macro shots, backing off it their isn't enough light. I would set the shutter to 1/80-1/125 and not worry about it. Get used to adjusting the f/stop. For fish portrates I might drop down to F/8. For the shark dive I would open up completely to the maximum arpeture (lowest F/stop), turn off the strobe and shoot available light.

In the Photoshop RAW converter experiment with both exposure and white balance to get the best RAW rendition, then use the other settings to improve the shot. Once you do that you'll know what works and what doesn't. I tend to go no further than that at the site, planning on readjusting my best shots from the start at home.

Get low, get close, get lower, shoot up. Have a good time

If you haven't been to Roatan before, It is a great place for the macrophotography. I was there this past Mar and there wasn't much fish over 6-8 inch range, they do, however, have rather large sponges that look like you could sit in (I wouldn't do it of course), but I did get some cool photos of my girlfreind next to them.

I would probably only shoot wide eye there for the shark dive and maybe one other dive. The 60mm macrolense should be the workhorse for this trip. At least that is my opinion.

Kirk