S95 + Ikelite + Big Eye Lens

On a recent trip I used my trusty Olympus SP-310. And I could not believe how slow it was. Now I'm going to buy a new point 'n shoot or mirrorless setup.

On the less expensive end I am considering a Canon S95, Ikelite housing and the Big Eye dome lens that would screw onto the Ike housing. Does anyone have thoughts on this?

I'm using S90 with Ikelite, Inon UWL-100 and pair of old Inon D-180 strobes. Both UWL-100, strobes and optical cables are straight from old Canon point and shoot setup and they works pretty well. With UWL-100 you will get some black corners on maximum lens width (28mm) so you would have to zoom to 35mm or crop in post processing. All in all it was very worthy upgrade. I can post some shoots I took with it, if you like.

The problem with Canon P&S's, is their slow AF shutter lag. They won't make them compete with their DSLRs. This camera has a full AF shutter lag of 0.6 to .65 seconds, plus it gets longer when using a flash.

While this is much faster than oly or nikon P&S cams, it is painfully slow underwater, when the perfect composition is gone before it will trigger.

The class leaders in this area are Panasonic and Sony. They have lots of P&S cams with full AF shutter lags in the .3 - .35 second range.

If it were me, I'd go with a sony that has an ike housing and manual exposure, like the hx1 or hx5.

Or I'd go with a pany, and the LX5 would be truly a great P&S camera! Good IQ, and very good AF performance and total lag time.

One of the cheaper panys like the zs5 of zs7 would be very decent alternatives - they offer A, S, and M exposure modes, and ikelite housings.

Thanks for the replies. The S95 interested me because of its RAW capability. I also like the front dial for topside use.

The Panasonic LX5 looks like a terrific camera. On the cost side, I might as well buy an Olympus E-PL1. The LX5 is about $500 plus $700+ for a 10Bar housing. That's a lot more than the Canon.

That brings me to the Panasonic ZS7. I wasn't aware that it can shoot manual. I do have an FX-37, which while fast does not have good low light performance. If I do opt for the ZS7 plus Ikelite, I am back to the same question about a dome (either the Ikelite WD-4 or Big Eye).

Just a lens related comment- If you go with S95, there are lots of wide angle conversion lenses that work well, and offer much wider field of view than you'll get from one of these air lens thingies...

Ryan, I'm glad I posted this question. Which conversion lens would you recommend? I'd like something with about 100 degrees coverage. Thanks!

Thanks for the replies. The S95 interested me because of its RAW capability. I also like the front dial for topside use.

 

The Panasonic LX5 looks like a terrific camera. On the cost side, I might as well buy an Olympus E-PL1. The LX5 is about $500 plus $700+ for a 10Bar housing. That's a lot more than the Canon.

 

That brings me to the Panasonic ZS7. I wasn't aware that it can shoot manual. I do have an FX-37, which while fast does not have good low light performance. If I do opt for the ZS7 plus Ikelite, I am back to the same question about a dome (either the Ikelite WD-4 or Big Eye).

The Olympus XZ-1 which was just announced (along with an Olympus underwater housing) also looks interesting. I have no idea about the shutter lag on it, but the f/1.8 lens should allow for fast autofocus.

The Olympus XZ-1 which was just announced (along with an Olympus underwater housing) also looks interesting. I have no idea about the shutter lag on it, but the f/1.8 lens should allow for fast autofocus.

I am probably wrong, but don't all Olympus cameras have a 4/3 ratio, which makes 4 x 6 prints a painful cropped situation, and wastes space on the screen if viewed on HD televisions?

I'm using S90 with Ikelite, Inon UWL-100 and pair of old Inon D-180 strobes. Both UWL-100, strobes and optical cables are straight from old Canon point and shoot setup and they works pretty well. With UWL-100 you will get some black corners on maximum lens width (28mm) so you would have to zoom to 35mm or crop in post processing. All in all it was very worthy upgrade. I can post some shoots I took with it, if you like.

Hi,

I'm interested in the s90 + ike + uwl 100 Type 2 combination too, could you please post a couple shots?

There seem to be no official "support" for this combination, so your contribution is very welcome :-)

thanks a lot

The Olympus XZ-1 is now in consideration. It appears that the PT-050 housing has a control for the front wheel. The housing also looks to have a 67mm threaded port. Olympus' sensor at 1/1.63 inches may not necessarily net a native 4/3 ratio. While I do prefer 3:2, just about every camera has a 4/3 ratio including the S95. In-camera RAW conversion would also allow me to shoot RAW only and make some JPEGs inside the camera.

The E-Pl2 with the Zen dome may fit into my budget if the wide angle accessory lens for the 14-42 is compatible.

Its going to be awhile before we get u/w reiews of the new Oly meanwhile the Canon is on its second generation with the S95. And it looks like Oly is playing the same game about not having a dome port on either housing. Like Ryan says the S90/S95 takes several adaptor lens now.

Ryan, I'm glad I posted this question. Which conversion lens would you recommend? I'd like something with about 100 degrees coverage. Thanks!

i can answer your question.. i have used the fix uwl 04 with my s90-ikelite housing... it was fine! more than 130degrees and half the price of uwl100+dome!

this is some shots.. in red sea last summer.. sorry for the light but i have only one inon d2000!

bye bye

fabio

On a recent trip I used my trusty Olympus SP-310. And I could not believe how slow it was. Now I'm going to buy a new point 'n shoot or mirrorless setup.

 

On the less expensive end I am considering a Canon S95, Ikelite housing and the Big Eye dome lens that would screw onto the Ike housing. Does anyone have thoughts on this?

I am shooting S90 in FIsheye Fix housing and INON D2000. I am having NO problems with digicams delay. A very good system

Review comparing S95, LX5 and CP 7000 says S95 is significantly faster then the other two.

The LX5 was slightly higher rated overall.

I find the Canon S90 quite fast and responsive. If you need faster response then go to manual focus and zone focus with the fisheye lenses. They have so much depth of field perfect focus for a given distance is not required. of course, a dSLR is faster but really, I have not found this to be much of an issue with this particular camera.

James

Review comparing S95, LX5 and CP 7000 says S95 is significantly faster then the other two.

 

The LX5 was slightly higher rated overall.

Hey Dave.

What review is that?

The one at dpreview says the the lx5 is equally fast focus and lag as the s95, as I read it.

The reviews at imaging resource show the s95 with a full AF shutter lag of .6-.64 while the lx5 is .35

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/PS95/PS95A6.HTM

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/LX5/LX5A6.HTM

The lx5 produces great images and better video, with more control over that video, (manual exposure control, etc).

Seems to me the 24mm to 90 mm lens is way better than the competition, as far as underwater goes...

Aloha friends.

Hey Dave.

 

What review is that?

 

The one at dpreview says the the lx5 is equally fast focus and lag as the s95, as I read it.

 

The reviews at imaging resource show the s95 with a full AF shutter lag of .6-.64 while the lx5 is .35

 

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/PS95/PS95A6.HTM

 

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/LX5/LX5A6.HTM

 

The lx5 produces great images and better video, with more control over that video, (manual exposure control, etc).

 

Seems to me the 24mm to 90 mm lens is way better than the competition, as far as underwater goes...

 

Aloha friends.

Reading technical comparisons makes my head hurt. Read the conclusion of the DpReview on the three cameras. It says the operation of the S95 is faster. Not exactly the same a shutter lag. You have to include AF and WB.

I personally lean towards the LX5. But I'm looking for a backup to my D300s and the more compact S95 and more compact housing are very temping. Housing (Ikelite) is also a lot less expensive.

If I were buying a primary camera, the LX5 and the Ike housing with TTL electronics would hold my interest.