Sea & Sea DX-1G VS DX-2G

Need advice. I am going to purchase one of these 2 rigs. I can buy a DX-1G (new) for $600 or a DX-2G (new) for $900. Is it worth it to pay the extra $300? I know the DX-1G is discontinued, but i don't care as long as I am not missing out on some tremendous features.

Thanks!

Need advice. I am going to purchase one of these 2 rigs. I can buy a DX-1G (new) for $600 or a DX-2G (new) for $900. Is it worth it to pay the extra $300? I know the DX-1G is discontinued, but i don't care as long as I am not missing out on some tremendous features.

 

Thanks!

It is my understanding from people who have owned and used both is that the DX-2 is a much more responsive camera, less LCD blackout etc. I would get the DX-2 if it were me.

James

The LCD darkening to indicate underexposure, (when the flash is going to fill in the exposure anyway!), is a terrible misfeature! Watch out - both these cameras have this problem, to my understanding.

For that kind of money you can get the much better canon s90 system, or even a g11...

I have the DX-1G with twin YS27 strobes and absolutely love the camera a part from one annoying feature and that is the darkening of the LCD screen when using manual mode - its so bad you can't see a thing until you take the shot

At first this wasn't too much of an issue as I mainly shoot using Av mode; however, I am wanting to try manual mode as my skills have developed but I can't.

This feature has been rectified in the 2G so I would recommend it if you intend to shoot in manual mode otherwise the 1G is a great camera and a part from this one issue I can't fault it. I will probably upgrade to the 2G in the near future myself.

Hope this helps.

Karl

The LCD darkening to indicate underexposure, (when the flash is going to fill in the exposure anyway!), is a terrible misfeature! Watch out - both these cameras have this problem, to my understanding.

 

For that kind of money you can get the much better canon s90 system, or even a g11...

Have you used the 2G vs the S90? I'm just curious since I wonder what you base such a comment on.

First of all, the 2G does not have the same problems with the darkening LCD, and you can clearly see it even at a 1 f stop underexposure (granted I haven't tried more than that).

Second, the 2G controls/ergonomics blow the S90 out of the water. I have never ever used a camera with a more photographer friendly layout/customisation - SLRs from Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Pentax included.

Third, the 2G's macro at the tele end is vastly superior to that of the S90.

Finally, the one area where the S90 really excels over the 2G - high ISO performance - is less of a concern as long as you use strobes.

Optically, they both have great lenses, and while the S90 is a tad faster at the wide end, the f/2 vs f/2.5 max aperture is 2/3 of a stop, so in reality more a specification thing than a real difference in real shooting situations.

If you want a housing that is equal to the S&S DX-2G housing in terms of quality and control options, you'll have to opt for the FIX, and that will make the package quite a bit more expensive than the 2G, with worse wide end and worse macro capabilities out of the box.

Have you used the 2G vs the S90? I'm just curious since I wonder what you base such a comment on.

 

First of all, the 2G does not have the same problems with the darkening LCD, and you can clearly see it even at a 1 f stop underexposure (granted I haven't tried more than that).

 

Second, the 2G controls/ergonomics blow the S90 out of the water. I have never ever used a camera with a more photographer friendly layout/customisation - SLRs from Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Pentax included.

 

Third, the 2G's macro at the tele end is vastly superior to that of the S90.

 

Finally, the one area where the S90 really excels over the 2G - high ISO performance - is less of a concern as long as you use strobes.

 

Optically, they both have great lenses, and while the S90 is a tad faster at the wide end, the f/2 vs f/2.5 max aperture is 2/3 of a stop, so in reality more a specification thing than a real difference in real shooting situations.

 

If you want a housing that is equal to the S&S DX-2G housing in terms of quality and control options, you'll have to opt for the FIX, and that will make the package quite a bit more expensive than the 2G, with worse wide end and worse macro capabilities out of the box.

I also own a dx-2g and can confirm the lcd screen does not darken with manual exposure. I agree with ktwse that the contols are second to none. Its actually better than my slr (controls not IQ)! For the g11 and s90 you will have to buy the Fisheye Fix housing to rival the dx-2g and that gets expensive. Check out Scubadiving magazine's Aug issue, reviews of many underwater systems. Another major advantage of the dx-2g is the ability to mount wet lens. You can go from wide angle to macro underwater. You cant do that with Fix housings. You may as well get an slr system.

Now for the 1g vs 2g issue: If you use raw format then the 2g is a no brainer as it has a better buffer that allows you to take 5 shots before storing them. If you dont use raw format and the darkening of the lcd screen wont be an issue for you I would get the 1g. You can use the $300 you save for accessories. For compact cameras I think a 10megapixel sensor is better than a 12 megapixel sensor i.e. less noise, less memory used up for storage, etc.

Have you used the 2G vs the S90? I'm just curious since I wonder what you base such a comment on.

 

First of all, the 2G does not have the same problems with the darkening LCD, and you can clearly see it even at a 1 f stop underexposure (granted I haven't tried more than that).

 

Second, the 2G controls/ergonomics blow the S90 out of the water. I have never ever used a camera with a more photographer friendly layout/customisation - SLRs from Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Pentax included.

 

Third, the 2G's macro at the tele end is vastly superior to that of the S90.

 

Finally, the one area where the S90 really excels over the 2G - high ISO performance - is less of a concern as long as you use strobes.

 

Optically, they both have great lenses, and while the S90 is a tad faster at the wide end, the f/2 vs f/2.5 max aperture is 2/3 of a stop, so in reality more a specification thing than a real difference in real shooting situations.

 

If you want a housing that is equal to the S&S DX-2G housing in terms of quality and control options, you'll have to opt for the FIX, and that will make the package quite a bit more expensive than the 2G, with worse wide end and worse macro capabilities out of the box.

As an underwater camera the ergonomics of the S90/FIX90 "blow" the DX-2G out of the water, the housing is rugged, durable aluminum, is much smaller, higher quality build, no comparison at all and at 329 for the S90 and 800 for the FIX housing the differential in price is small for the increased versatility and ability to effectively use most all wet lenses from Inon and Fisheye and others.

Wide end? There is no wide end on either camera underwater without the use of an auxiliary wet lens, the S90 is wider with the Fisheye UWL-04 lens, can use the Inon AD, 28AD wide angle and fisheye lenses including the tiny UFL165AD fisheye and Inon macro lenses. A 24mm native lens through a flat port is going to have severe aberration and the DX-2G does display typical flat port aberration at widest zoom ranges, about as useless as t---s on a boar hog as far as I am concerned, put an U/W corrected lens on it like the Nikonos system and get back with me.

The S90 is a Canon, the DX-2G is not. The housed FIX90 combination almost smaller than the DX-2G without it's plastic housing. RAW aside, I like the responsiveness of the S90 and IQ, lol, I will go with the Canon.

The S90 and FIX90 is clearly the winner. My next choice would be the Oly ELP-1, my next would the the FIXG11 with Fisheye dry port and the next would be the DX-2G with an adapter for the Fisheye UWL-04.

By the time we add in the additional expense of external strobes, cables, trays, lights, lenses, the price differential taken as a complete system of the S90/FIX90 vs the DX-2G is small when you consider the improved capabilities and ergonomics of the S90 and FIX90 system.

As an underwater camera the ergonomics of the S90/FIX90 "blow" the DX-2G out of the water

Care to specify how the controls of the FIX/S90 combo are superior to those of the 2G?

As for durability, seems many people on this forum swear by polycarbonate housings so there should be no reason for concern with the quality of the S&S housing, even if the perceived quality of that housing might be lower than the all alu FIX housing. Being smaller is a good thing, of course, but less so underwater (at least that's what I was told when considering switching to bigger cameras and worrying about the bulk). It's not as if you'll be stuffing the FIX in your BCD pocket anyways - especially not with the extras you're suggesting.

As for price, I may be wrong, but I'm assuming that someone who asks whether the 2G is worth $300 more than the 1G for a grand total of $900 will not necessarily be willing to spend an additional $300 on housing, and then a couple of grand more on wide lenses etc etc... At least not to begin with.

Wide end? There is no wide end on either camera underwater without the use of an auxiliary wet lens

True. But the 2G is still wider out of the box provided the user is not willing to invest an additional $500 on a wet lens.

The S90 is a Canon, the DX-2G is not.

No. It's a Ricoh. Very well known for their excellent compacts ever since the first GR appeared and celebrated by photographers around the world for their excellent handling and great IQ. Ricohs are quite often used as pocket cameras by professional photographers, whether they shoot Canon or Nikon. Says a lot, at least to me.

To bash the 2G because it's not a Canon is nothing short of complete ignorance.

By the time we add in the additional expense of external strobes, cables, trays, lights, lenses, the price differential taken as a complete system of the S90/FIX90 vs the DX-2G is small when you consider the improved capabilities and ergonomics of the S90 and FIX90 system.

By the time we add in all additional expenses up, you might as well go with a DSLR system, twin 80's, Halcyon regs, a scooter and all other sorts of redundant stuff. For someone asking advice on $600 vs $900, the FIX/S90 combo with an additional wide lens is probably not the right choice as it's $800 more.

Again you mention "improved capabilities and ergonomics". Exactly what do you mean? Wet lenses work on the 2G as well, as you know...

I wish my 5D mkII handled as well as my 2G.

Need advice. I am going to purchase one of these 2 rigs. I can buy a DX-1G (new) for $600 or a DX-2G (new) for $900. Is it worth it to pay the extra $300? I know the DX-1G is discontinued, but i don't care as long as I am not missing out on some tremendous features.

 

Thanks!

Olympus EPL-1 with kit lens and housing $1,077.99 on Amazon a minute ago! It has a much larger sensor + 720 30P video.