Canon or Olympus ???

Hi all,

I have been researching more than i'd like to admit - almost to the point of obsessive!

It'll be my first time diving and snorkelling with a camera in August, going to Bali.

I love photography but as i've never photographed underwater i am worried about taking my DSLR. So i am looking to invest in a digital camera and housing for diving and snorkelling.

I have narrowed my list down to either an Olympus or Canon.

I can only afford (for now) a good camera and housing. If it is something i enjoy then i'll venture into strobes etc etc So on a budget i need a camera with a good flash for underwater and able to take great close ups. All of that just based on the camera and housing, no strobe lights.

So it'll be great if anyone can help me decide on which of the following:

Olympus TG-810

Olympus XZ-1

Canon Powershot S95

Canon Powershot G11 or G12

Your help is greatly appreciated!!!

Marijana

Hi all,

 

I have been researching more than i'd like to admit - almost to the point of obsessive!

It'll be my first time diving and snorkelling with a camera in August, going to Bali.

 

I love photography but as i've never photographed underwater i am worried about taking my DSLR. So i am looking to invest in a digital camera and housing for diving and snorkelling.

 

I have narrowed my list down to either an Olympus or Canon.

 

I can only afford (for now) a good camera and housing. If it is something i enjoy then i'll venture into strobes etc etc So on a budget i need a camera with a good flash for underwater and able to take great close ups. All of that just based on the camera and housing, no strobe lights.

 

So it'll be great if anyone can help me decide on which of the following:

 

Olympus TG-810

Olympus XZ-1

 

Canon Powershot S95

Canon Powershot G11 or G12

 

Your help is greatly appreciated!!!

 

Marijana

My take is that the Olympus XZ1 is better on land so if you are looking for a land camera that does an occasional UW trip that might be important but if you are looking for only UW then the Canon S95 in the Canon housing would be my first choice since the limitation of the Oly for macro and no flash in super macro mode make it less suitable for macro UW

Bill

The tg-810 seems to be surpassed by the pany ts3, in just about every way.

If you want a camera that can go underwater without a housing, those would be good, but in my experience, you give up a lot of image quality.

The canon G series has been surpassed by many other camera these days - they just have non-competitive autofocus speeds compared to the latest panasonic, or olympus.

If it were me, I'd go xz1 and oly housing, or panasonic lx5 and ikelite housing. Or for just a few hundred more, the oly epl2 and their housing would really be a better land camera and underwater camera.

Here is a nice report from our pals at reef photo:

http://www.reefphoto.com/kb.php?id=28

Thank you so much for your suggestions, i honestly was leaning towards the G12 with ikelite housing but with all the great reviews on XZ-1 in Oly housing i think i'll give it go :-)

I am soooo very new at this and a little too ambitious i'll now look into strobe lighting and how this stuff works, but i'll be buying a book to save myself from embarrassment and asking the very basic questions.

Thanks for all your help

Marijana

Another vote for the XZ-1 unless you are prepared to spend for the nauticam housing for the LX5 or $1200 for an E-Pl2 and housing setup.

Essentially the AF speed is better on the xz-1 than the Canon s-95. However, Bill make s good point about macro and the s-95

Tom

Hi all,

New to this and underwater photography!

I see alot of people are recommending the XZ-1. Just wondering what housing you'd recommend as best for the camera, as I can see from a quick search the PT-050, Ikelite TTL, 10 Bar all as options. I want to make sure the housing I get allows for future 'expansion' to allow for a tray and strobe system as well as adjustable lenses. Do all of these have this flexability? I'd imagine the Ikelite does, but not so sure about the PT-050.

Any advice would be most welcome!

Cheers

but i'll be buying a book to save myself from embarrassment and asking the very basic questions.

Hi Marijana,

Martin Edge's underwater photographer was recommended to me by a friend which is very good...

I had a G11 underwater prior to getting a new system and changed because it was slow plus the limitations of what you could add on to the OEM housing. If you are planning to use it frequently then look at what you can add on to the housing before making a decision such as wide angle lenses, macro etc. Also be wary of wet mount lenses (such as BigEye) as you wont get the same clarity as dry mount lenses.

I my opinion dont bother with the in camera flash, get a strobe.

Cheers,

John

I would definitely go for the Canon G12 (or G11) with the Ikelite housing...