Advice required

Hello, first of all yes I did read all the relevant posts first to see if I could not be annoying and I have even read other forums but I still have to annoy you all with this question sorry !

I am looking for a camera that I can do just under the water and landscape/wildlife (yes probably in the environment!) photographs. I have got two EWA housings but I had an accident and lost two DSLR bodies, two lenses and a flash (yes a very expensive mistake!!!!!) and I am going to purchase a new DSLR now but am very reluctant to put this into housing.

My priority is quality of image !!!!!!

I need something that will enable me to zoom in and out (EWA does not)

I would appreciate any comments as I am sure there must be something more suitable than what I have been looking at !

How about a Canon 5DmkII in an Ikelite housing? You can use a 17-40L wideangle zoom lens w/ Ikelite's 8" dome and get great photos. Moving up the line, have a look at housings by Aquatica and Sea and Sea - but these aren't available quite yet.

Cheers

James

Well it would not give me any telephoto and I wanted to use it in a small boat so dont want to much weight. (probably should have mentioned that one sorry)

Well it would not give me any telephoto...

Anything beyond 100mm is only of limited use under water imho, so just go for a nice lens for top-side. I use a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 USM IS and am happy with it. But that is also the limit in my budget, otherwise I would consider the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 USM L IS. There are no ports for either of these two lenses, so top-side only. As for u/w use something to the extend of a 17'ish - 50'ish as James suggested. I am bit vague here, because there are several alternatives (I know that the Tamron 17-50 is houseable, I suppose the Sigma and Canon versions will work as well) and it depends on if you get a full-frame or APS-C camera.

... I wanted to use it in a small boat so dont want to much weight. (probably should have mentioned that one sorry)

I think you are out of luck as far as a dSLR goes. If you find a small footprint light-weight dSLR with housing&strobes, let me know. Look into a Canon G9/G10 for u/w (and a dSLR of your choice for top-side). Still good quality, but smaller volume and lower weight.

There are some compact DSLR's and associated housings. I believe that both Canon sxi and Olympus E520 have relatively compact housing for DSLRs. They will far exceed the image quality of a P&S but won't give you full frame results. Seems a reasonable trade off between quality and weight as stated in your post.

What kind of climate will you be shooting in?

Thank you I was looking at the compact type cameras with increasing interest. Nikon sent me an email they have got a coolpix p90 coming out soon I havent been able to find sensor size and other info regarding quality but that would be ideal if its good quality and you can get underwater housing !?

I was only intending to use the wide angle underwater and the wide angle and telephoto above water but I am not sure if you would be able to use the full focal length of eg the p90 in housing anyway !?

I did have a look at the Canon G10 and thought the sensor looked rather small.......is it the highest quality you can get from a compact in waterproof housing ?

climate, hhmmm seems to do what it wants at the moment ! England, the only part without snow :-(

I somehow got carried away last night and went to bed at 5.15 am need my beauty sleep

These are the ones I have been looking at, anyone have any thoughts ?

http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/camera/spe...-1930-1969.html

The D700 is the best on there :-P

But seriously, where is the rest? What about the Canon 5DII and the Canon 40D/50D?

Cheers

James

The G9 / G10 is pretty good already. Last year's winner of the Scuba magazine photo contest was shot with a G9. Check it out here. There are a lot of people here on WP that use a G9 and seem to be very happy with it.

The P90 has the smallest sensor (1/2.3") of any on your list. The G9/G10 and P6000 all have a 1/7". DP Review has a nice page on the sensor size. For comparison, the P90 has 43 MP/cm2, the G10 has 34 MP/cm2, while the D700 has only 1.4 MP/cm2.

If you are going for the smallest package a G9/G10 with Canon housing and an Inon D2000/Z240 strobe will provide good services.

As for the quality. What do you want to do with the photos? If 20x30 poster is the maximum, the G10 will be fine. I have enlarged photos I took with my SD630 (6 MP, small 1/2.5" sensor) to that size and they look good.

I feel like I have been going round in circles tonight, not that I havent got anywhere its that I have been reading other forums and there have been links to your web pages ! Obviously your giving out good advise here !

Er Canon really !? lol I prefer the end finish of Nikon which at the end of it all matters ! They drive me nuts though, they make you work so hard just to find out specs you would think they would actively encourage buying. Unless its the same psychology as cloths in a shop, that if you have to unfold an item and refold after you have looked you are more likely to make the purchase due to the extra effort !

Thanks for the DP Review link I had not noticed that information before ! I was able to search with the sensor sizes and know what they are !!!! I do like the look of the G10 the drawback is people seem to say not to take it past iso100 :-( Also I am not sure if agencies would except images from this camera :-( I have seen alot of photographs from it but non cropped/at 100%, but I do know it is very popular both in and out of water ! When I saw the Scuba contest pics it did seem one of the better quality pics, but it is hard to tell at that size. The seal pic made me chuckle, I dont have to go far to see them lounging on the beach but they turn into mischievous little tinkers when underwater :-)

Ive read that if you are taking pictures 6 or less meters from the surface you dont really need to use flash !? (I assume this would be more true of the D700 as you can take it to iso 32000 with no problem if I remember correctly)

Also is it possible to fully use a 70-200mm or 80-200mm (both f2.8) type lens in the housings for D700 type ?(above water) And can you put an accessory lens on the end so it can be used under water ? (or have I completely lost the plot!?) I saw a hard body waterproof housing that had a telephoto which looked like it could be adjusted but I have looked at sssoooo much I cant remember where it was now !

Way past my bed time sweet dreams all.

Since you have your heart set on a D700, here is a list of ports for it from Ikelite and Aquatica.

What are you actually trying to do with the camera? Small boat, less than 6ft depth, large telephoto... Sounds like you are some sort of paparazzi trying to get some photos celebrities swimming

Seriously, if you explain in some more detail in what conditions, depths you want to take photos, which subjects and how you want to use those photos (web, print, posters...) you might get a more helpful response from this forum.

Since you have your heart set on a D700, here is a list of ports for it from Ikelite and Aquatica.

 

What are you actually trying to do with the camera? Small boat, less than 6ft depth, large telephoto... Sounds like you are some sort of paparazzi trying to get some photos celebrities swimming

 

Seriously, if you explain in some more detail in what conditions, depths you want to take photos, which subjects and how you want to use those photos (web, print, posters...) you might get a more helpful response from this forum.

I have enjoyed this thread. Am sorry t see it died.

I am looking into using my D300 with a 10.5 and 12-24mm lens underwater. I've been looking into housing and strobes ...

Hi also new to all this and also dont want to ask any stupid annoying questions either but just wondered if anyone knows of any photography exibitions for under water photography or surf photography in the UK that you can actually go to to learn more about it all?

Thanks

Choppy x

choppy:

No worries about 'bothering' people. They seem a pretty well-intentioned bunch. Haven't kicked me out yet at least.

As for exhibitions etc, well, you just missed the London International Dive Show (LIDS)....

I guess do a search for the British Underwater Photo Society's website and see what they can tell you?...that's the best idea I'd have for you. Hopefully one of the UK members will chime in and help you out.

Thanks pal

I will have a look, nice to see this is one of the nice forums x