Anyone have regrets about moving to SLR system from a point/shoot?

I am planning to 'upgrade' my current Tetra 5050 system in the very near future. I have assumed for a while that I would move to a housed Canon SLR system as I happen to shoot with a Canon 50D (30D, 10D, etc) above water so I am already very familiar with the Canon bodies. I have also specced out a G10 system in case I decide against spending the 'big buck$' for the SLR system. When I start to think about my current shooting style (favorite is macro but I also shoot WA often as well) I realize that the lack of flexibility between macro shooting or WA shooting on the same dive with an SLR is kind of bothersome.

I was wondering if anyone has moved from a nice point/shoot system to an SLR and then decided to move back to a point/shoot because of the UW lens flexibility? Or does everyone just enjoy the big advantages of the SLR enough and not worry about shooting the passing whale shark when they have their macro lens on?

Thanks for any advice/opinions.

Doug

I am planning to 'upgrade' my current Tetra 5050 system in the very near future. I have assumed for a while that I would move to a housed Canon SLR system as I happen to shoot with a Canon 50D (30D, 10D, etc) above water so I am already very familiar with the Canon bodies. I have also specced out a G10 system in case I decide against spending the 'big buck$' for the SLR system. When I start to think about my current shooting style (favorite is macro but I also shoot WA often as well) I realize that the lack of flexibility between macro shooting or WA shooting on the same dive with an SLR is kind of bothersome.

 

I was wondering if anyone has moved from a nice point/shoot system to an SLR and then decided to move back to a point/shoot because of the UW lens flexibility? Or does everyone just enjoy the big advantages of the SLR enough and not worry about shooting the passing whale shark when they have their macro lens on?

 

Thanks for any advice/opinions.

 

Doug

I move back and forth all the time. It usually SLR unless I am too lazy to deal with airlines..etc etc...then followed by regret when I get the results. The size of the SLR system is the only regret. The pictures though...ahhhh the pictures.

With a DSLR it is true you have to dance with the one you brought, there are some very versatile zoom lenses today which offer a great trade off between close up photography and WA. Add a wet diopter to the zoom and you can get some pretty nice results for most small stuff while the 14-24mm end of the zoom will be enough to cover most WA shots outside of scenes. Anyway, unless you were really quick, you'd miss the whale shark with a compact in macro mode as well. Furthermore, I was missing at least 3-4 shots a dive with the P&S due to write times, flash recharge times and just general slow focus and shutter lag. My vote would be DSLR.

With a DSLR it is true you have to dance with the one you brought, there are some very versatile zoom lenses today which offer a great trade off between close up photography and WA. Add a wet diopter to the zoom and you can get some pretty nice results for most small stuff while the 14-24mm end of the zoom will be enough to cover most WA shots outside of scenes. Anyway, unless you were really quick, you'd miss the whale shark with a compact in macro mode as well. Furthermore, I was missing at least 3-4 shots a dive with the P&S due to write times, flash recharge times and just general slow focus and shutter lag. My vote would be DSLR.

I have shot P & S, DSLR, and of course the Nikonos IV's and V's. The P & S has the advantage of being able to shoot short videos - closeups and wide angle big stuff on the same dive but the overall photo quality and lack of lag time with the DSLR more than makes up for the decrease in single dive flexability. I sometimes will cheat - when I am not sure what I am going to find on a single dive - I pull out the Sigma 17 - 70 HSM - close focus - OK closeup and OK wide angle all in one lens - not as great as a dedicated close-up or wide angle lens but acceptable for that scouting dive. I do miss my Nikonos V with the 15 mm lens but virtually unlimited pictures with instant results vs 36 exposures and waiting to get the photos developed is a no-brainer. The wet diopters give some flexability too. OF course my biggest fear is shooting with my 105 VR when something big and interesting comes by - but you know that you can get some great eyeball shots with this lens too.

Andy

I have shot P & S, DSLR, and of course the Nikonos IV's and V's. The P & S has the advantage of being able to shoot short videos - closeups and wide angle big stuff on the same dive but the overall photo quality and lack of lag time with the DSLR more than makes up for the decrease in single dive flexability. I sometimes will cheat - when I am not sure what I am going to find on a single dive - I pull out the Sigma 17 - 70 HSM - close focus - OK closeup and OK wide angle all in one lens - not as great as a dedicated close-up or wide angle lens but acceptable for that scouting dive. I do miss my Nikonos V with the 15 mm lens but virtually unlimited pictures with instant results vs 36 exposures and waiting to get the photos developed is a no-brainer. The wet diopters give some flexability too. OF course my biggest fear is shooting with my 105 VR when something big and interesting comes by - but you know that you can get some great eyeball shots with this lens too.

Andy

Im in the same boat as you and ive got an olympus stylus with inon WA and macro wet lenses and love to be able to change between the two underwater, but at the same time it is a pain in the ass and i think my photography would be better off if i just dedicated the dive to one or the other... Anyway my point is that you could just put your P and S in your BCD pocket and when a big ol whale shark or manta comes by you can get the shot if your quick enough to pull it out in time...

I shot 2 P&S (both Olympus) and moved into a 30D, and just bought another housing for my 40D. I carry a seperate video rig also, so not too concerned about getting video from a still camera.

The size of the housings and lack of flexibility (range availaable on one dive) is made up by picture quality, even with a "not good" general scout lens is made up for me by picture quality/less lag, etc.

Though I loved my P&S (and would probably carry one as a back-up at thiss point, 2 camera housings and a video housing is a bit much ), I prefer the dSLR.

My only regret to moving to a DSLR is that I didn't do it much much sooner.

Steve

My only regret to moving to a DSLR is that I didn't do it much much sooner.

 

Steve

Hahahah! I second that thought!

My WIFE regrets my moving to DSLR, because I became (in her words) 'unbearably obsessive' about packing etc. Having the DSLR rig makes for obvious compromises with airline packing, as a large photo backpack becomes my carry-on with as much of the rig as possible in it. That, and I am constantly talking about upgrading strobes, adding lens options, etc. etc. even though I've only gotten to take it on the sum total of one trip so far.

Strangely, it didn't bother her that she now has a really good desktop picture of herself cruising past a huge stand of tube sponge which she shows off proudly at work. Of course since I'm the photographer, she's the 'model' in all the human-involved pictures. But don't get me started on matrimonial logic.

Hear that high pitched 'scrape, scrape, scrape' sound? She's sharpening an ax. I wonder why?

Of course since I'm the photographer, she's the 'model' in all the human-involved pictures. But don't get me started on matrimonial logic.

 

Hear that high pitched 'scrape, scrape, scrape' sound? She's sharpening an ax. I wonder why?

What you should do is buy her a dSLR and housing. Does not have to be the same dSLR, but as long as the ports and lenses are interchangable with your housing then she can carry some of the things that you would otherwise carry, plus will be just as cautious in making sure everything gets packed in a true obsessive manner. MUCH more bonus points than just a photo with her as a model, takes some of the weight off you and just may have the ax put away for a bit (until you do something else axeworthy )

dSLRs are far superior in every way. Except cost and the weight.

I think we would all like a digital Nikonos with a 35 mm sensor. Of course with a 12-100 2.8 lens that does 1:1 macro.

The Panasonic G1 looks like it could develop into a good compromise. Hardly any bigger than some of the larger compacts, yet with dSLR like performance. I have read review that suggested the EVF works poorly in low lighting.

I think we would all like a digital Nikonos with a 35 mm sensor

Yup

The Panasonic G1 looks like it could develop into a good compromise. Hardly any bigger than some of the larger compacts, yet with dSLR like performance. I have read review that suggested the EVF works poorly in low lighting.

Yes, the EVF is problematic. I've had a bit of a play, just simulating low light by stopping down and using the DOV preview and you're very much aware of it's limitations. Framerate drops significantly and it suffers from tearing. Unfortunately, it may not be something that they can fix any time soon...

What you should do is buy her a dSLR and housing. Does not have to be the same dSLR, but as long as the ports and lenses are interchangable with your housing then she can carry some of the things that you would otherwise carry, plus will be just as cautious in making sure everything gets packed in a true obsessive manner. MUCH more bonus points than just a photo with her as a model, takes some of the weight off you and just may have the ax put away for a bit (until you do something else axeworthy )

You are absolutely right Drew!!!

Few months ago I bought my buddy / wife a used P&S Oly C5060 (since i had a housing lying around) so she would not be so bored while I'm takeing pictures. We can change 67mm. wet lenses (wide angle and macro) while diving, so a bit less investment... But now she's so into UW photography that I'm allmost home free for buying a DSLR and give my G9 to her Just got to get them addicted

I'd rather get a few excellent pictures and plenty so so good. A so so good picture is to me not a picture. Even if it's on a whale shark.

If you want video, the Canon Mark 5D Mark II is pretty good. Nikon D90 may work too. Especially if you use them with wide angle lenses and small aperture, so you get a big DOF (and don't need to worry about the manual focus).

The main drawback with D-SLR is that new models keep coming out all the time and you want them. That might have been OK if they would fit in your rather expensive uw-housing, but they never do... There are some uw-housings that are "universal" but few uses them and I've never actually seen one.

The other drawback is that due to the price and size of the D-SLR, you seldom have a backup system. On my last trip to the red sea my D300 decided it would only work in manual mode. On top of that I had no way to control focus, so I had to preset focus. Not very good...

I would therefore recommend a second hand D-SLR with as few buttons as possible. Believe it or not, but a Nikon D50 is a pretty good camera (beat the crap out of any compact, incl the G10) and really cheap. It's even rather small. The only drawback is the display. New cameras simply have better displays, but as it's a D-SLR you only use the display for preview. Get two second hand and a second hand housing for a fraction of the price of a new model + housing for it. Now you have tons of money left for ports/dome, lenses, strobes, and for travelling. And hey, you even have a backup (or a "land camera" to take all the shots you miss as you can't bother to remove your camera from the housing on the dive trip)! I'm not very good at Canon, but I guess the 350D is a comperative model. An old, small, cheap but still darn good D-SLR.

/Peter

I'd rather get a few excellent pictures and plenty so so good. A so so good picture is to me not a picture. Even if it's on a whale shark.

If you want video, the Canon Mark 5D Mark II is pretty good. Nikon D90 may work too. Especially if you use them with wide angle lenses and small aperture, so you get a big DOF (and don't need to worry about the manual focus).

 

The main drawback with D-SLR is that new models keep coming out all the time and you want them. That might have been OK if they would fit in your rather expensive uw-housing, but they never do... There are some uw-housings that are "universal" but few uses them and I've never actually seen one.

 

The other drawback is that due to the price and size of the D-SLR, you seldom have a backup system. On my last trip to the red sea my D300 decided it would only work in manual mode. On top of that I had no way to control focus, so I had to preset focus. Not very good...

I would therefore recommend a second hand D-SLR with as few buttons as possible. Believe it or not, but a Nikon D50 is a pretty good camera (beat the crap out of any compact, incl the G10) and really cheap. It's even rather small. The only drawback is the display. New cameras simply have better displays, but as it's a D-SLR you only use the display for preview. Get two second hand and a second hand housing for a fraction of the price of a new model + housing for it. Now you have tons of money left for ports/dome, lenses, strobes, and for travelling. And hey, you even have a backup (or a "land camera" to take all the shots you miss as you can't bother to remove your camera from the housing on the dive trip)! I'm not very good at Canon, but I guess the 350D is a comperative model. An old, small, cheap but still darn good D-SLR.

 

/Peter

Can anyone tell me where I could find a good used Ikelite housing for a Nikon D50? Or, does anyone have one to sell?

Bryce

No regrets.

Kept the compact and still use it for dirty/risky situations, worth too much to me and not enough to others to sell.

Keep the DSLR for the fun stuff.

Can anyone tell me where I could find a good used Ikelite housing for a Nikon D50? Or, does anyone have one to sell?

 

Bryce

A friend of mine just bought a D50 and a Sea&Sea housing for it at eBay, at a very nice price. If you can't find uw-housings for the D50, look for the D70, it a much more common "uw-DSLR". It will be more expensive, but on the other hand there are plenty of them so you should be able to get a good deal. It's more or less the same camera (D70 has a few more features and controls).

/Peter

No one will debate that a dslr is better in every aspect when it comes to image quality.

Other obvious down sides: more expensive and more to haul around. One thing sometimes overlooked though, is that a UW dslr-setup is more time consuming than a P&S ditto ...

It can be an important factor if you're planning to use it on holiday trips. The extra fiddling a UW-dslr setup requires isn't acceptable to everyone. Especially not on short holiday trips. Especially not to spouses.

cheers

Believe it or not ... a Nikon D50 ... beat the crap out of any compact, incl the G10

Like so many things ... it depends ... are you intending to make a wall-size print? If not, I'm not sure IQ is the deciding factor ... shutter lag is a much bigger deal in my mind when comparing a camera like a G10 to a DSLR - partcularly underwater.

I owned a G9 (and a G7). I also own a Nikon D700.

Viewed at 100% on a good computer monitor, there are obvious differences between the output from the two cameras. The G9 at ISO 100 looks like the D700 at ISO 1600-3200. The D700 at ISO 200 looks like glass candy.

But view full-frame on a monitor or printed at anything less than HUGE, it is DANG hard to tell the difference. I would say that at 8 x 10 it is basically impossible to tell which is which and only somewhat easier at 16 x 20 ... especially if both were handheld.

This is based on personal experience with actual images and actual prints from the G9/7 and the D700 ... but others have made similar comments ...

Luminous Landscape only half-jokingly compared the G10 to a MF digital back ... click here to read about that ...