Still cannot decide which camera to buy...

Hi all,

I've read many posts and reviews (wetpixel, digideep, etc) about cameras and housings, as well as the pinned post here, and still I'm not sure in which camera model I'm going to invest.

My U/W photography experience is very poor : I had an MX-10 3-4 years ago for about 20 dives, and used a very cheap throwable camera (15 mtrs max depth) in the Maldives islands last year for a couple of dives. Now I'd really like to buy a good camera (still not professional ok B) ), and also LEARN how to make good photos and learn techniques like using filters and White Balance as they seem very interesting (like described in Craig Jones' excellent article).

Therefore, I'd avoid using strobes for the moment (maybe later when I get more experience in all this), and I'd like to use the camera in U/W as well as outside "on the ground".

My preferred list so far looks like this (no order) :

- Sony CyberShot P12, with Sony DSC P12 housing

- Sony CyberShot V1 (don't know what housing to take yet)

- Canon PowerShot S50 with WP-DC300 housing

- Olympus C5050z with PT-015 housing. Heard about he C5060 camera but seems it's not a so big upgrade to the c5050 (at least underwater, because of the lens) ? But I may be wrong.

I'd also like to have high storage capabilities as I'm travelling often for diving holidays (2-3 times a year, especially in live aboard trips), thus I'd avoid taking a laptop with me to store photos... My girlfriend already uses a Sony TRV950 digicam with Ikelite housing, that's why a Sony camera looked nice to me in order to share the memory cards. Still, Canon (with its 1GB Microdrive) and Olympus seem very interesting too...

So I'm a bit lost here

I'm going to Galapagos end of december, so the best thing would be that I buy the camera / housing very soon, so that I can practice diving with it around here in the cold lakes of Switzerland (yuck !).

Thank you very much for any help / suggestion. I'm especially interested in personal experiences (the main reason for my post) and any pros / cons of any of the upper cameras. Although I've seen the Olympus c5050z seems very popular here, I still need help from -users- before spending such amount of money.

Regards

Herten

PS : this is my first post, sorry if by mistake I didn't respect any etiquette of this forum

If lots of storage is a concern, I'd stay away from Sony. Their Memory sticks have generally lagged in capacity and "led" in price per MB. Many cameras allow microdrives, but you may want to think about big cards for (a) speed (most cards are faster), (b ) power consumption (cards burn less), and (c ) shock resistance (drives are more fragile). If you really need tons of storage (and you can get >1GB compact flash now...) you can always go with an Image Tank or similar solution.

Regarding cameras: the wider the better. This is why the Oly with adapter lenses and the Nikon 5000 with WA and port are popular. Myself, I would stay away from anything that can't do about 20-25 mm (35 mm equivalent).

Having had a Sony DSC-S85, I'd also echo staying away from the Sonys, if only for UW use. Memory stick media is cool and all, but it's overpriced, and limited in size. I loved the camera, but if I had to do it over again, I'd go with an Oly or maybe one of the Canon S series. I'd also make sure whatever I bought could use CF cards.

Hello,

I used a Sony S-75 in an Ike housing for a while, and I'd also stay away from the Sonys for UW use (love the Ike housing though). For topside, I'm very happy with the camera. I still use it for the majority of my above water vacation pics.

I would recommend going with the 5050. Have seen some amazing things with it.

John

I have an Oly 3040 and a 5050, both in Ikelite housings with Ikelite DS 125 strobes and I love both setups. I would probably be happy with the Oly 4040, and the Oly 4000 as well.

But the real plus I see for the 5050 is that there are so many folks on this and other forums that have them. Thus there is a wealth of information on how to use the camera and lots of folks to help if you run into problems.

For more on my setups and settings and to give you an idea of what information is available for the 5050, see my web site at the following URL.

http://www.splashdowndivers.com/photo_gall...aphy/index.html

Flooded my P9 recently (with Sony housing), "user error".

Took some great pictures with it. Good beginner camera. Limited room for expansion, such as macro or wide (due to lack of manual functions and camera focusing limitation and limited accesories availibility).

Agree with others that memory card, battery are all heavy add on cost for Sony products. I am now stucked with 2 x 128MB, 2 batteries, external charger, etc. Sea and sea adapter and macro (bad idea). Thinking of buying one of the small handy Sony with lower pixels for top side travelling usage only - to use back my memory sticks.

IMHO - for underwater, stay away from Sony for the plain reason of the cost of memory stick and battery life. Consider Olympus and Canon seriously.

I have all accessories to buy back the SonyP series, but I bought the Canon G5 with Ikelite housing, love the low battery consumption, love the availability of microdrive (price has dropped too), and the expandability of the Ike housing.

Good luck, choose wisely and maintain your equip. B)

Thanks for all your replies.

I'm quite stunned by the number of "stay away from Sony" answers, but still this seems logical as Sony has always been expensive as for accessories, upgrades, memory etc. I must admit, although we already have a good Sony digicam, that Sony wasn't my 1st choice for cameras either.

Concerning all your replies, I have a few questions :

- What is the most recommended storage media, as for speed, shock resistance, and reliability : Microdrives or CF cards ? I saw 1GB and 2GB CFs in a local store, but are they worth it and reliable ?

- Do Olympus C5050z and Canon Powershot S50 easily support CFs ?

- What should I do if I'm on a live aboard trip during a week with my camera : buy several CFs to handle the whole week, or only 1 or 2 CFs + an "external" storage media (please don't tell me to take a computer with me) ? What other media could you recommend ?

Peter Schulz : I saw your web site and what happened to your C5050z and PT-015 housing (which is the one I'd buy if I take the Olympus). This is quite frightening I think, as you cannot entirely trust your housing at all, since f.ex. yours flooded for no apparent reason ? I'd become crazy if something similar happens to me in the beginning of a live abord trip... :angryfire:

Does this kind of accident often happen in "cheap" housings ? Should I really buy an Ikelite housing or the like (price isn't really the same... ) ?

But I'll take an insurance anyway (H20, Depp), like you recommended on your site...

Otherwise, any Canon Powershot S50 comments ?

This makes quite a lot of questions, sorry for that...

Thank you all again for your help and valuable info, I really appreciate it !

Herten

Re "Does this kind of accident often happen in "cheap" housings ?

In general I don't think so. But I continue to believe there is a design problem with the PT - 015.

For more see the following threads on another forum.

http://www.digitaldiver.info/yabbse/index....y;threadid=3892

http://www.digitaldiver.info/yabbse/index....y;threadid=3884

Thanks Peter for the links and info.

Meanwhile I've been reading about the Canon S50, tested a little bit a Canon S45 from a friend, and I must say this is my 1st choice currently. This camera looks really nice from what I've seen in other posts, and the WP-DC300 housing seems ok too.

Any comments anyone ?

And by the way, what CF brand would you recommend : PQI HSpeed ? KingMax ? SANDISK ? SANDISK Ultra II ?

The prices differences are quite high...

Thanks again.

Herten

Hi,

I own a Canon S40 with Canon housing.

I used it for four holidays and was quite OK with it.

+ ease of use

+ CF memory

+ price of the housing

+ picture quality

- internal flash is limited (as always) you should get an external flash)

- I don´t like the often blown out areas of sand and corals in UW pictures, the blues go often into cyan

I am now switching to a digital rebel (waiting for Ikes housing actually) and won´t go the p&s route again. But two years ago there was no price alternative...

If you like you can look at some pictures from different locations on my homepage:

http://www.aquamaniacs.de/html/____tauchen.html ...just select the holiday (not the 2001 trip) you want

Best regards

Christian

Thanks Mexwell for your reply. You've got really nice pictures by the way, I hope one day I'll be able to do the same...

What about the type of Compact Flash cards I should buy (PQI HSpeed, KingMax, SANDISK, SANDISK Ultra II, etc) ? Are the differences worth the extra money ?