Newbie Rigs: What camera system did you buy?

Hello everyone!

I've recently started diving seriously (PDT), and want to start looking at underwater photo gear. I've made a pretty serious hobby of photography above water, my current gear is as follows:

Canon 40D and 350D,

Canon 10-22mm,

Sigma 150mm macro,

as well as a handful of other lenses less suited to UW, and a Canon 430EX flash.

Budget will be a concern, to be sure, which has me thinking I'll be going with Ikelite. Budget is enough of an issue that I'm almost wondering if I could save some money by getting a housing for a 350D rather than a 40D, but the 40D has so many advantages this would be a last resort kind of thing. I think my first priority will be macro photography with the sigma, but I'm equally in love with the 10-22mm, so a dome port seems pretty inevitable. I think I understand enough of Ikelite's port system that both my main lenses will work, but confirmation would be very helpful!

I'm a little uncertain about whether I should budget for a diopter for the 10-22mm, Ikelite makes mention of it helping corner sharpness. I understand this is about having to focus on a 'virtual image' effectively 3 ft from the lens due to the dome port, but would like to hear opinions about how big a factor this is on this particular lens, especially since I expect to be somewhat stopped down anyways.

I also know that I'll need a strobe or two, I've been hoping for a DS160 (or used 125), but budget may force me to look more closely at the DS51, and add a more powerful flash down the road. Would this be wise? Would a DS51 give me enough practical power for a stopped down macro lens? How about dealing with a wide angle of view?

Thanks in advance!!

DS51 wouldn't be enough beyond macro. Get some use DS-125 or one DS-160 at least to begin with. & I am selling mylast DS-125.

DS-125, NiMH battery, extra NiMH battery and charger all for $555. Let me know if you are interested.

It was set up like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cadiver/59055...57603784637205/

 

Thanks!

Thanks for the info, it's exactly what I needed to save myself some grief! Right now my tentative budget is entirely based on my tax return, so it'll be a while before I can actively go shopping, but I will remember your offer!

I purchased an Olympus 1030SW with a PT-043 housing. I works great and with infrequent dive trips, I am still getting better. I want to step up to a flash and have investigated two. The Olympus UFL -1 and the Ikelite AF-35 kit. I am really new at this so after seeing a comparison of the two they look rather evenly matched. UFL is about half the price. Anyone familiar with these lights that can be offer the pros & cons?

Also the AF35 come in left or right side configurations. What is the criteria for picking one or the other?

I also have an Olympus 1030 SW with PT-043 housing and love the camera. It takes really good pictures but i am exploring at adding a strobe for it.

Hi Everyone

I must start by sending my complements to this forum, what a great place to find all those answers that you have been looking for, thanks.

Myself I stared with a Panasonic FX7 in a Panasonic housing + an INON z240 a few years ago, unfortuately the housing decided to give up last spring and flooded my camera which left me with the strobe only - no picures last summer Anyways, I bade my time, saved some money and searched information on what to buy next and came up with:

Canon G9 in a a Patima housing - a very good compact (the best until the G10 came out?), I didn't want to get another housing problem so I went for a high quality Al-housing, expensive - yes, heavy - yes, but made with clockwork precision

I went for another INON z240 to get better lightning

And since I was almost broke at this stage anyway I also got myself an INON UCL165 close up lens

So with all this new stuff it is now only 9 days to my upcoming Philippines trip.

cheers

/Bjorn

Thanks to everyone for their great information. Just wanted to say that this is a very informative thread. I still have a coolpix 5000 but am looking to get something newer soon. I will keep an eye on this forum

Hello everyone and thank you to Wetpixel for this website. I am learning so much.

Last year my children gave me a SeaLife DC600 camera, housing, SL970 24mm wide angle lens, and SL961 digital pro flash. Over the past year my husband and I have taken some not so great shots and some pretty good ones as we learnt what the camera could and couldn't do. Even with careful maintenance and always checking the O ring the housing flooded last month and destroyed the camera. Is flooding just part of underwater photography and to be expected?

We also have a Canon Eos 30D that we love. We would like to know if we should just replace the DC600 camera, buy a completely different compact digital set up or make the jump and outfit the Canon? We currently live in Egypt and usually dive one weekend a month. We are not looking to be professionals but want good pictures.

We look forward to your recommendations and thoughts on this.

Thanks.

Is flooding just part of underwater photography and to be expected?

The short answer is "Yes", although hopefully it won't happen often. It's been said before and it bears repeating "It's not a question of if you experience a flood, it's a question of when. I didn't completely believe this, thinking that it would never happen to me. But, sure enough, I became the victim of a flood last fall when diving in Indonesia. It was caused totally by human error, which is the reason for many floods.

To deal with the inevitable flood, there are steps you can take to minimize its effect:

1) Bring backups

2) Take out an insurance policy

In my own case, I had brought a backup camera just in case I experienced a flood. This enabled me to continue taking images, albeit not with my lens of choice. But at least I was not prevented from taking underwater images. I had also insured my equipment, so at least I was reimbursed for the damaged equipment. There are several options for insuring your equipment if you choose to take this route.

It may not have been the answer you wanted to hear, but I hope it helps. Sorry to hear about your flood.

Ellen

Thank you Ellen,

You are right, it's not the answer I wanted to hear, but it is the answer I expected. Thank you for the advice on how to minimize the effect.

It also makes me very wary of taking my Canon underwater, we use it top side for so much. So on that note, what recommendations do you have for compacts?

I'm new myself to this forum and to U/W photography, but since you asked about available compact cameras I figured it wouldn't hurt to share my recent purchase which I'm hoping will turn out well.

http://www.scuba.com/scuba-gear-535/069809...deo-Camera.html

On it's own it's a compact easy to manage camera but has some add-ons available for it to turn it into something an intermediate photographer could use (lens, strobe, etc). Hope this is of some help for you. For now I just have the camera, but if things go well I'm sure I'll be getting a lens and that strobe I mentioned earlier.

Thank you Ellen,

 

You are right, it's not the answer I wanted to hear, but it is the answer I expected. Thank you for the advice on how to minimize the effect.

 

It also makes me very wary of taking my Canon underwater, we use it top side for so much. So on that note, what recommendations do you have for compacts?

I did a search of housings for the Nikon D80 and didn't find any results. Can anyone give feedback on the Ikelite housing for the D80 and what setup for strobes and arms would you use for macro? Thanks in advance for your input.

I just received my Canon G-10 and the WP-DC28 housing. I am new as well to underwater photography and I will primarily be using it to take pics while snorkeling with the kids. Me and the family are going to the Caymans next month and was wondering if anyone could give me some tips on the settings for the camera? I hope to get a strobe sometime in the near future.

Hi Brian,

Jump in and try this previous thread. http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=25631

There is also a link in there to another earlier attempt to answer your question. If you have any questions after reading just jump in again and let us know.

Good luck!

Steve

I'm hoping to grab a Canon HV-30 and housing very shortly. Does anyone have any recommendations on a housing?

Hi Brian,

Jump in and try this previous thread. http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=25631

There is also a link in there to another earlier attempt to answer your question. If you have any questions after reading just jump in again and let us know.

 

Good luck!

 

Steve

Thanks Steve. I got a lot out of this thread and others one that were attached to it. I am going to try and shoot some shots in the pool this weekend with the different settings that I read about. Looks like trial and error and the mistakes usually come out looking great. So glad I joined the group. Have a great weekend.

Brian

hello folks...

Lucky me...In a months time I'm off to the Maldives for a couple of weeks diving...

New to underwater photography, I just ordered a Canon G10 and WP-DC28 housing..Out in the air I use a Nikon D300 and if all goes well I shall consider splashing out on a case for that, but for the moment, bang for bucks is best for me so i went for the Canon..Normally, I do a lot of post editing, so the RAW capability of the G10 was a big selling point for me..I know i will get well frustrated with only JPEGs to play with....Anyways, to get to the point, I'm wondering if anybody can recommend an ideal strobe/flash set up for the Canon? Trying to keep the price down (the holiday is allready costing me an arm and a leg!) I've been looking at various Fantasea rigs but wonder if they are up to the job?, also what's the advantage of a focus light and do i need one that automatically turns off when the main flash fires?...I've really got to make some sort of decision in the next week or so as I'd really like to get a bit of pool practice in before i go...any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Yours truly...: )

new user reply to a post before i can start a topic.

done.

Canon G10 with an Ikelite housing and strobe.

hey!

I just started diving and the reason why I started in the first place was for underwater photography.

I work at the Sony Store and do get quite a significant discount on every product in the store so I decided to buy a point&shoot camera and the underwater housing for it.

SONY DSCW290 http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/servlet/P...oductId=1006240

MPKWE -Underwater Housing http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/servlet/P...oductId=1006070

Sea&Sea YS27 http://www.seaandsea.jp/products/strobe/ys27dx/index.html

Please keep in mind that I am 20 years old and do not have too much money to spend and am only able to get this equipment because I work at the Store.

Please tell me if there are other/better solutions, it would be much appreciated.

Should I also get a close up lens with my setup?

There is a Sea&Sea System Chart and that is what I am basically following to get the best I can afford.

Thank You for any Help

Sergei

[quote name='sergei_vishovski'

Please keep in mind that I am 20 years old and do not have too much money to spend and am only able to get this equipment because I work at the Store.

Please tell me if there are other/better solutions, it would be much appreciated.

there would be other/better (as you put it) combinations

but until you can afford them or really desire them why worry?

Enjoy what you have and do what you can and upgrade when you can.

You have many years to come, so dont rush anthing. Good time for you to master the basics and have some fun.