As a pretty devout land photographer (for an amateur), I finally realised that it would be impossible to get an underwater case for my Gandalfi Universal 4x5" negative camera. I guess the whole one-shot thing pretty much ruined that idea as well - after all, it's really hard to change film holders underwater.
As a beginning diver, I also realised that I wanted to start small, but with good quality. I have an Oly E-3 DSLR and a suite of rather expensive lenses for it, but housings for it are hard to find, and it is large and heavy in it's magnesium case. Fortunately I have a much-loved Olympus XZ-1, which is my travel camera. Not to say that I wouldn't LOVE to have my 7-14mm lens underwater on the E-3, but you have to start somewhere.
So I just ordered the PT-050 housing from B&H, and am having it flown around the world to me in Australia. The goal is to get PADI certified in the next three weeks, and then I have just booked on Mike Ball's boat on the Great Barrier Reef for June. That might be a tad ambitious, but at my age you can't wait around. Not enough time left to play games. I do worry about getting to terms with the diving experience whilst trying to master a camera underwater, but I'll do the best I can - I bought a lanyard so I can always just drop it and concentrate on my diving if I need to. I will try to take the camera and housing into my building's pool for some trials before I leave, so that at least I have experience in the water with it. I also bought a Fantasea 44 LED light, that had some very good reviews both as a dive light and as a focus assist light, and comes with a mounting.
As a photographer (something I know a little bit more about than diving), I do recommend the XZ-1 as an EXCELLENT camera for someone wanting something smaller than a DSLR, but a much larger sensor than most compacts. With the JJC snap-open lens cover it is the best travel camera I have yet seen, and at least on land it's pictures can be stunning, in both RAW and jpeg. Additionally, it has a true pro-quality Zuiko lens with a f1.8 aperature, which makes it ideal for low-light situations underwater. I figure that even if I lose a stop to a red filter I am still in good shape. And the FT-050 seems a great value case to start out with - and I will likely shoot in manual mode much of the time anyway, so the Ikelight's TTL doesn't seem a huge advantage. YMMV, of course.
Wish me luck - I will probably need it...
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