Canon G9 Casing

There is a thread in the forum already comparing the Ikelite casing to the one offered by Canon for the G9 but it seems it went off on a tangent.

Facts:

- I'm a Beginner

- I'm getting my advanced PADI Certification so will be going to 100 feet of depth

- I want to take pictures mainly for memory and to show to friends.

- I don't have a lot of money.

- I will probably be diving in January in Phuket but do not think I will get an opportunity to dive for another year or 2.

Is getting JUST the Canon underwater casing be good enough for taking pictures? As i know zilch about underwater photography (where to take pictures, how close can i be, how far i can be), I'm looking for some help here. Or do I absolutely absolutely, as a beginner and probably not doing this much still need to get stuff like Strobes and what not because not investing in them at those depths is completely useless.

The entire combo is costing me 700 bucks ... any suggestions?

The G9 is an awesome camera for a point and shoot. I've used it with the Canon Housing and have been satisfied. I'm thinking of moving up to the Ikelite housing to allow for lenses etc in the future.

If I were you, G9 with the Canon Housing and a Magic Filter on the lense (adds red back in making the colours better).

Hey thanks for the info.

As i said, I do not know anything about underwater photography. Where can i get a magic filter and how much do these things cost?

I think Divebutt's suggestion is spot on. Keep it simple, achieve some very acceptable results and let the system grow with your diving skills and photography expectations. Be aware that the Canon G9 housing has been discontinued. Old stock will probably be available for a while but when its gone, its gone...

Google 'magic filter' and you get loads of information from their www site. With the manual white balance available on the G9, and easily allocated to the short cut button, go for the manual magic filter either the blue (tropical) water or green (temperate) water version according to where you dive.

Enjoy and keep hanging around here. There's loads of folk who'll do their upmost to help you.

HTH, Tim

I think Divebutt's suggestion is spot on. Keep it simple, achieve some very acceptable results and let the system grow with your diving skills and photography expectations. Be aware that the Canon G9 housing has been discontinued. Old stock will probably be available for a while but when its gone, its gone...

 

Google 'magic filter' and you get loads of information from their www site. With the manual white balance available on the G9, and easily allocated to the short cut button, go for the manual magic filter either the blue (tropical) water or green (temperate) water version according to where you dive.

 

Enjoy and keep hanging around here. There's loads of folk who'll do their upmost to help you.

 

HTH, Tim

Thanks

I found a couple of 3rd party websites selling that housing. Looks like I'll have to get my hands on that housing quick.

And thanks for the help on the magic filter. I will be diving in Thailand. Can I assume thats the 'blue water'? And do i need to buy extras?

Also someone suggested investing in silicone and additional O Rings. Can i get that from a place like B and H (I live in canada but can ask someone to buy it for me).

Thanks again for the helpful advice.

Thanks

 

I found a couple of 3rd party websites selling that housing. Looks like I'll have to get my hands on that housing quick.

And thanks for the help on the magic filter. I will be diving in Thailand. Can I assume thats the 'blue water'? And do i need to buy extras?

 

Also someone suggested investing in silicone and additional O Rings. Can i get that from a place like B and H (I live in canada but can ask someone to buy it for me).

 

Thanks again for the helpful advice.

If you're in Canada, try Henry's Camera or Canon Canada directly.

Yup, Thailand would be blue water. One should do, although I believe it comes in sheets that need to be cut to fit the lense on the housing, so maybe cut up a couple from the sheet and carry them as spares.

Oh, and best results I got were Program mode, no flash, and manual white balance to a white slate when I got to depth. Get big memory cards and shoot the heck out of it. I figure 1 good photo for every 100 shots, although that's getting better.

If I were you, G9 with the Canon Housing and a Magic Filter on the lense (adds red back in making the colours better).

Ditto that - totally. You'll want to use the Magic Filter for video and/or anything more than a foot or two away; the built-in flash is really only going to be functional for close-up macro. How close? Well, as in ALL underwater photography, if you think you're close enough, get closer (the more you take photos underwater, the more you'll come to realize how true that is!).

If/when you decide you want to upgrade your system, the first thing I'd do is buy a good external strobe, since that (unlike a more expensive G9 housing) will be transferrable to your next uw camera, and thus will retain its value far more than spending extra money on a more expensive G9 housing.

Oh, and be SURE to always shoot RAW underwater. You'll often find (whether using Magic Filter or flash) that you need/want to tweak the white balance after the fact to make things look "right"/real, so RAW is a must (it's the primary reason I bought the G9 as a compact uw camera).

Also, as someone else mentioned, find and order an OEM housing sooner rather than later, since it's no longer being made.

Good luck! The G9 is a great little camera!

Brilliant

Thanks for all the help.

I'm in ottawa and i found the casing in store at Vistek right now (just called them) so i will pick it up soon. Looking for the camera now (will stop at bestbuy today).

I'll be at a depth of 100 feet. Still no flash? (no externals, too costly for me right now)

I did find a great little site where someone took pictures with a G9 without RAW but at 60 feet. Thought some of you might be interested. This type of picture quality was good enough for me.

Has anyone tried using the video underwater? If so, is it good enough for youtubing with no lights? Anyone has links?

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingRe...71_193844708111

Has anyone tried using the video underwater? If so, is it good enough for youtubing with no lights? Anyone has links?

Yeah, check out http://gallery.me.com/tcherna#100099 and http://gallery.me.com/tcherna#100066. I used some lights, but you can see where I did that. Works great!

You guys have been awesome with information. I will keep you guys updated on what I am upto.

I'll be at a depth of 100 feet. Still no flash? (no externals, too costly for me right now)

I think you will have a hard time shooting only with ambient light at such depths ... I haven't had much luck below 30 ft without strobes and my G9.

You can get pretty good macro results with the built-in flash and diffuser, but wide scenes at depth will be tough.

I see. Thank you.

...I'll be at a depth of 100 feet. Still no flash? (no externals, too costly for me right now)

 

I did find a great little site where someone took pictures with a G9 without RAW but at 60 feet...

As long as water is clear and you're within a few feet of your subject, flash will work. However, if water is clear/blue, Magic Filter will give far more consistently pleasant results for everything except macro (where you're QUITE close).

I don't want to get into an argument about RAW. Let's just say that if there is any chance you might get a photo that is really good - worth framing - you'll wish you had used RAW. If you're sure you'll never have such an image, then JPG underwater is fine.

Is there anything wrong with I use thef filter even close up? Will the pictures not show up?

Yeah, check out http://gallery.me.com/tcherna#100099 and http://gallery.me.com/tcherna#100066. I used some lights, but you can see where I did that. Works great!

Hi TDC

What software did you use to edit you video files from the G?

Joe

Is there anything wrong with I use thef filter even close up? Will the pictures not show up?

You can definitely use the Magic Filter close up, but if you use it close up WITH the flash, the picture will be far too red. Generally, using the Magic Filter means NOT using the flash...and vice versa. IOW, if you're specifically going down to shoot macro stuff (with flash), you'll want to leave the filter off that dive. If you're going down to shoot video and/or big stuff (fish, wreck, other divers, etc.), then you'll likely want to leave the FLASH turned off that dive. The other big thing to remember when shooting the Magic Filter is to keep the sun BEHIND YOU.

BTW (warning: another plug for shooting RAW), if you're going to use a Magic Filter much/most of the time, you REALLY should shoot RAW...otherwise, you should be resetting your WB every time you change depth significantly. If you shoot RAW, you don't have to do that; you can just shoot AWB or "Cloudy" and then tweak the WB when you convert the RAW files...

iMovie

Hi TDC

 

What software did you use to edit you video files from the G?

 

Joe

Hey

Just wanted to inform you all that I bought the G9, a demo unit for additional money off. I've confirmed and will be getting the casing tomorrow.

I may be the dumbest person in the world.

I have the camera set on Auto

I'm clicking Func/Set (so i can choose the left side vertical options). It only allows me to choose S and L. Nothing else.

How do i get to the color changing (Sepia) and AWB. its not letting me. I've only been able to do it in Movie Mode. The manual says I should be able to access it in AUTO.

I may be the dumbest person in the world.

 

I have the camera set on Auto

 

I'm clicking Func/Set (so i can choose the left side vertical options). It only allows me to choose S and L. Nothing else.

How do i get to the color changing (Sepia) and AWB. its not letting me. I've only been able to do it in Movie Mode. The manual says I should be able to access it in AUTO.

Try shooting in Program (P) mode. Auto is pretty limited to what you can change.

Ry.