The Best UW Compact with strobe + wet lenses

I need advice/help in the selection of a new set up please. I am an experienced UW photographer with 950 dives and , having flooded my old Nikon Coolpix 5900 (which has an INON D2000 and wet lenses ) I need to get a new set up within a few weeks before our next liveaboard trip. We do about 150 dives a year , mainly in Indonesia at present.

I want to shoot macro and wide angle on virtually every dive , so that means a really good point and shoot compact with strobe(s) and wet lenses. My criteria is :

1. Capability to set aperture and shutter speed and preferably to shoot raw.

2. Ability to set a manual wide angle.

3. Not involve any meaningful shutter delay : eg for mandarin fish mating.

4. Large viewing screen.

5. Histogram easily displayed and viewed .

6. White balance setting capability.

7. Minimum of 8 megapixels.

8. Not less than 40 m depth rating.

9. Preferably leak alarm capacity.

and this is based on advice received : please tell me if you disagree.

In Australia , we have relatively few UW Camera specialists and 2 of the largest recomended a Sea&Sea DX-1G ( which I think is an adaption of a Ricoh GX100 and which I thought looked quite good based on what I read about it ) and a Fuji Finepix F50D . Neither really appealed to me as the best I could get without it being a DSLR .

Another suggestion was a Cannon G9 which is apparently a really good camera , but the Cannon housing will not accomodate wet lenses. The Ikelite housing for a G9 is apparently a bit bulky and heavy. I have just read about a Patima pdch-g9 housing and it may be the answer. BUT the G9 is just discontinued and I think there is no housing available for the G10 . I recognise that I can't defer buying the new set up because there is a new model about to be released .

I would appreciate recomendations as to the best set up , ie camera , housing , strobe(s) and lenses .

Rob

Hi Rob,

I'd be trying to get a G9 from somewhere if I was you. Try Camerastore, I bought my last few cameras off them.

The Ikelite housing is larger than the Canon housings, but is by far worth it. Can easily attach wet lenses, and allows you to use their eTTL when you conect strobes. Contact Cape Byron Imports for info and prices on this.

As for the Patima housing, I haven't seen one, so couldn't really comment, but I'm not sure if you can attach wet lenses?

Strobes, if you go for an Ikelite housing, go for an Ikelite strobe/s.

Hope that's some help!

Ryan.

PS. If you're wanting to save some cash, I'm looking at selling my G7/Ikelite/Ikelite settup soon. It's more or less the same as the G9, just with no raw. PM me if you're interested.

I need advice/help in the selection of a new set up please. I am an experienced UW photographer with 950 dives and , having flooded my old Nikon Coolpix 5900 (which has an INON D2000 and wet lenses ) I need to get a new set up within a few weeks before our next liveaboard trip. We do about 150 dives a year , mainly in Indonesia at present.

 

 

[/font]and this is based on advice received : please tell me if you disagree.

 

In Australia , we have relatively few UW Camera specialists and 2 of the largest recomended a Sea&Sea DX-1G ( which I think is an adaption of a Ricoh GX100 and which I thought looked quite good based on what I read about it ) and a Fuji Finepix F50D . Neither really appealed to me as the best I could get without it being a DSLR .

 

Another suggestion was a Cannon G9 which is apparently a really good camera , but the Cannon housing will not accomodate wet lenses. The Ikelite housing for a G9 is apparently a bit bulky and heavy. I have just read about a Patima pdch-g9 housing and it may be the answer. BUT the G9 is just discontinued and I think there is no housing available for the G10 . I recognise that I can't defer buying the new set up because there is a new model about to be released .

 

I would appreciate recomendations as to the best set up , ie camera , housing , strobe(s) and lenses .

 

Rob

Hi Rob,

I don't know who you are asking/receiving advice from, but 'bloody hell' their advice seems pretty "LIMITED" in my opinion...

If you have a look through the forums here at WP you will find at least 3 threads currently running info/results on the Canon G9.

It appears to be an amazing camera and there is plenty of evidence to prove this. The only bloke trying to sell you the DX-1G is obviously a S&S rep with one on the shelf.

If you check these threads, you will see that these days it is becomming harder and harder to carry a decent P&S underwater that has the ability to shoot macro and W/A on the same dive. As far as the G9 is concerned, the OEM housing and Ike long port housings are for the macro style. If you want to shoot w/a with the housings, you have to change ports with the Ike and saw off the OEM.

BrianM also ran a thread on a quick fix to mount wet lenses to the OEM housing.

So there you have it. If you have a bit of a look around, you can find out all you want in the pages of WP.

By the way, if you buy the G9 and the OEM housing, your current Inon strobe suits it perfectly...woohoo.

HTH,

Bruce...

Rob, I'd say your criteria is pretty spot on. As I'm sure you know, all compacts have some shutter delay, but some are better than others.

As Bruce said, it sounds like it was a rep trying to sell you the S&S camera. I dive with a guy that has one, belive me, I'd prefer my G7 any day!

Good luck with the decision though.

Ryan.

The next-generation Fuji is not bad, will work with your Inon strobe and Inon do add-on lenses. I'm playing with the F50fd as back-up for my DSLR, but the F100 is probablt better, the F50 now being out of production.

Tim

PM jeremyPayne he shoots with the G9 and has some excellent images. I am pretty sure he would give you all the advice you need on this camera. I have just purchased one myself for those dives where the dslr would just be too bulky. As a topside camera it is excellent, but i have yet to dive with it yet, so I cannot help on that.

Happy shopping, Stew

PM jeremyPayne he shoots with the G9 and has some excellent images. I am pretty sure he would give you all the advice you need on this camera. I have just purchased one myself for those dives where the dslr would just be too bulky. As a topside camera it is excellent, but i have yet to dive with it yet, so I cannot help on that.

 

Happy shopping, Stew

I'll chime in ...

I think the G9 is a terrific camera. I own both the Canon housing and the Ikelite housing and use Sea & Sea strobes. I think the G10 isn't much of an improvement over the G9 for underwater use - particularly if it is difficult to use a wide angle adapter at 28mm equivalent.

Some bullet points:

** I own both the Ikelite and Canon housings.

They both have their uses; I snorkle and shoot pool video with the OEM housing a lot. The Patima looks VERY nice, but not nice enough for me to sell my Ike and buy one. The Ike is not bulky at all underwater and the Canon housing is like carrying a flashlight. With the weights and no strobes, the Canon is almost totally neutral.

** The ability to sync external strobes at 1000th of a second is really nice

** The two custom settings and two custom white balances are very useful underwater

** The 15fps 1024x768 video is a nice feature; now being surpassed by "true" HD video

** The image quality with good light at ISO 80-125 is truly outstanding

** I can fit absolutely everything (strobes, camera, housing, arms) I need into a pelican carry-on case

Here's your criteria and my comments w/r/t the G9:

1. Capability to set aperture and shutter speed and preferably to shoot raw.

Check.

2. Ability to set a manual wide angle.

Not sure what you mean.

3. Not involve any meaningful shutter delay : eg for mandarin fish mating.

It isn't an SLR, but it isn't too slow. This bothers me more topside than UW ... but now that I am shooting a D700 topside, I may have a different perspective next time I go diving with the G9.

4. Large viewing screen.

Nice and big ... i find it very easy to compose and focus with the LCD. It is bright, big and accurate.

5. Histogram easily displayed and viewed .

Check ... you can even look at it in advance of your shot ...

6. White balance setting capability.

Two custom settings and a programmable button for setting manually.

7. Minimum of 8 megapixels.

Check. G9 is 12 - plenty for that small a sensor.

8. Not less than 40 m depth rating.

I believe both the Ike and the Canon can handle that no problem.

9. Preferably leak alarm capacity.

Both are clear ... not sure you need an alarm, but you could probably get one into the Ike.

Happy to answer any specific questions you have!

Thanks Ryan , Bruce , Stew & Jeremy - I really appreciate your views. I learned a lot in other forums about the various point 7 shoots and I was pleased that you consider I am on the right path. A specific forum focuses the issues and comments.

The Patima housing appeals to me as more easily handled UW and travelling than the Ikelite and if I can still get the G9 ( or better still 2 of them ) I think I will proceed with it having regard to Jeremy's opinion that the G10 doesn't seem to offer many advantages. I note the G10 will be x5 as compared with x6 for the G9 and I don't consider that an advantage. But the G10 will have better wide angle capability. Any viewws about these 2 aspects would be appreciated,

Rob

I think it's going to come down to whether the G10's 28mm lens allows you to use wet wide angle lenses. I wouldn't have a clue if this is the case, and may even have to wait until someone tests one to find out (or they put some info up on the Ikelite or Patima webpages). The 5x lens may mean that it doesn't zoom so much that you need a short and long port for your housing, but again, I'm not sure.

I've bought Inon stuff from Sea Optics in SA before, they seem to have a fairly good idea about wet lenses. Might be worth bugging those guys about it.

The other thing is, you'll most likely be waiting a few months before housings are available for the G10.

Hi Rob,

 

I'd be trying to get a G9 from somewhere if I was you. Try Camerastore, I bought my last few cameras off them.

 

The Ikelite housing is larger than the Canon housings, but is by far worth it. Can easily attach wet lenses, and allows you to use their eTTL when you conect strobes. Contact Cape Byron Imports for info and prices on this.

 

As for the Patima housing, I haven't seen one, so couldn't really comment, but I'm not sure if you can attach wet lenses?

 

Strobes, if you go for an Ikelite housing, go for an Ikelite strobe/s.

 

Hope that's some help!

 

Ryan.

 

PS. If you're wanting to save some cash, I'm looking at selling my G7/Ikelite/Ikelite settup soon. It's more or less the same as the G9, just with no raw. PM me if you're interested.

Patima G9 housing should available through Reef photo in US & it has 67mm thread in port to use additional lenses.

Sam