some advice please

hello all

first of all im very new to underwater photography and would like some advice please.

i have a canon rebel200 (yes i still use film) and was looking for a housing, i was thinking the ikelite #6773. has anyone had any experience with this housing if so any pros or cons or better recommendations? also i have no idea of what kind of lighting to use underwater, or what would fit this specific housing.

i also have a digital rebel i cant for the life of me think of which model since i dont have it with me now. also does anyone know if they make housings for medium format cameras? thanks for any advice

-dan-

hello all

first of all im very new to underwater photography and would like some advice please.

i have a canon rebel200 (yes i still use film) and was looking for a housing, i was thinking the ikelite #6773. has anyone had any experience with this housing if so any pros or cons or better recommendations? also i have no idea of what kind of lighting to use underwater, or what would fit this specific housing.

i also have a digital rebel i cant for the life of me think of which model since i dont have it with me now. also does anyone know if they make housings for medium format cameras? thanks for any advice

 

-dan-

Hi Dan,

Since I also still have (35mm and medium format) film cameras and an old digital, I would suggest you look for an used Ike housing for your digital Rebel on Ebay. It be a good way to get your feet wet and then start the upgrade game afterwards. Film is just dead.

I would suggest you start with used Ikelite gear, plenty to find used and work well for the price.

What lenses do you already have for your Rebel?

Bo

my current lenses that i use are a 24-105 f/4L and 300 f/4L, im not sure how practical these would be for underwater, especially the 300mm, but im ALWAYS willing to buy more lenses. the ikelite was what i was looking at but couldnt find one for the digital on ebay, guess ill keep looking, i believe it is the digital rebel xt. still planning on getting the one for film cause its only 200 dollars.

also i was wondering how different it is shooting in water as opposed to land. i would also know what kind of lighting equipment i would need and if it would be different for digital and film or if the same lights would work. im sorry i have no idea of anything when it comes to underwater. thanks

-dan-

p.s. film will never die

Dan,

Recommend you pick up a copy of Martin Edge's book, "The Underwater Photographer" Version 3 covers both film and digital, the latest (version 4) is prtty much digital only. Best reference book on the planet for the kind of info you need to get up to speed underwater. There is also a good website for the fundamental questions called http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/

The biggest difference between digital and film is the learning curve underwater. With digital you can try, learn, improve, on the same dive a few hundred times. With film that cycle can take weeks or months. You might think about using your rebel to learn all the hard lessons and use the film camera later when you would expect to have a higher percentage of good shots. There have been a few times I wished for Velvia when I see a beautiful reef full of color, but the more I work with digital the more I understand how to get the image quality I want.

Good luck,

Steve

my current lenses that i use are a 24-105 f/4L and 300 f/4L, im not sure how practical these would be for underwater, especially the 300mm, but im ALWAYS willing to buy more lenses. the ikelite was what i was looking at but couldnt find one for the digital on ebay, guess ill keep looking, i believe it is the digital rebel xt. still planning on getting the one for film cause its only 200 dollars.

 

also i was wondering how different it is shooting in water as opposed to land. i would also know what kind of lighting equipment i would need and if it would be different for digital and film or if the same lights would work. im sorry i have no idea of anything when it comes to underwater. thanks

 

-dan-

 

p.s. film will never die

Film might never die, but film companies might. Thank goodness that most of the interesting B&W film in large format is still around.

I don't think the 300 will be very useful underwater but the 100 mm macro for the film camera and the digital or the 60 mm for digital are great choices. The 24-105 is a nice lens but not quite wide enough for the film camera and way not wide enough for the digital rebel. I would recommend the Tokina 10-17 for the digital world and the 16-35 for the film world as your workday wide lenses. You definitely will need some strobes to go along with your housing.

I second Steve's recommendation of Martin Edge's book and take a look at

http://www.uwphotographyguide.com

run by a friend of mine. Lots of good stuff there as well. (I see Steve recommended it also and concur)

Bill

Bill

I shoot film, both 35mm and Medium Format, and develop my black and white film myself, so I'm right there with you on using film.

But I agree that the learning curve for film is so much longer than it is for digital. You will progress much faster using digital than film.

If you are still interested in using film, I recommend you pick up a Nikonos V and the legendary 15mm lens for wide angle work. The Nikonos V costs less than $300 these days. Velvia 50 was what virtually all the uw photographers used to shoot and the very saturated chromes looked fabulous showing the colors of the reef.

The Martin Edge book is a "must have" if you're an uw photographer. Lots of great information in there. I refer to the book again and again.

Shooting uw is completely different from shooting on land (as we like to call it, shooting "topside"). Most of the time, the strobes used are ones that are dedicated for uw use. However, they do make housings for some topside strobes. I haven't used my SB 800 underwater, but I've heard that using topside strobes, although there are a few advantages, basically is not as good compared to using dedicated uw strobes such as the ones made by Ikelite, Sea & Sea and Inon.

Another good resource is Reef Photo and Video, one of the sponsors of wetpixel. They are friendly and helpful and can often help you make descisions about the right gear to purchase, given your situation and the equipment you are using.

Lastly, feel free to come back here again and again with your questions. We're all willing to help!

Ellen

thanks for all the help, i just ordered the book and will check out the webpage later tonight, im in iraq right now so i have a few months before i really start getting into everything, but that gives me plenty of time to read up. ill also be looking for some new lenses for the digital and keep my eyes out for a used housing

-dan-