Canon G15 & Housing advice.

Aloha,

I've just posted a little about myself in the introductions forum so I'll try not to repeat myself too much here, as am sure I will end up posting more than I intend to. Skip sections as necessary.

(About me:)

I've been working as an underwater videographer for the last 4 months in Thailand but have come home to save some money for a couple of months, with the intention of buying a camera. My first camera (besides a GoPro, which I've lost a lot of faith in). I was lucky enough to try many camera's whilst out there and talk to many professionals/regulars about their kit of choice. I'm someone who likes to do a ton of research before they commit to something pricey. That being said, I'm also a sucker for making my mind up early on, and then being too stubborn to want to change it.

(About the Camera:)
I've got my eye on the Canon G15. Having fallen in love with my friends g12, I honestly feel its the best choice for me right now. I'm keen to try my hand at more photography, though video is where my true passion lies. I've read a ton of reviews and am really happy with the sound of the g15, and even got to borrow a friends for a while (on land). Just to be on the safe side, I figured it might be a good idea to ask for advice that anyone may have, just incase I'm about to make a disastrous mistake. My budget can't stretch for a DSLR or anything too high end right now, but I need something with more control than a compact so I think the G15 seems like a good option for me.

(About a Housing:)
I've also done a ton of research on housings, before I settled on my preferred camera. However my budget is quite limited. I've used a few Ikelite's and, though they did sometimes drive me mad, they are relatively cheap and robust. Here is a short list of a few housings I've considered, in order of the cheapest available prices I've found:

Fantasea £330

Ikelite £420

Patima £610

Nauticam £675

Recsea £680

In all honesty, I'd love an aluminium housing, but I'm tempted to suck it up and go for the fantasea as money is a huge deciding factor here, I do look after my kit, and it has the option for the Bigeye wet lens for £170ish (if anyone has an opinion on that too?) as add-ons wont be an affordable option for me with the other housings.

If anyone has any advice on a housing in particular it would be greatly appreciated. Like I said, my money is quite limited, it is my first camera so I'm not looking to go pro right away, I just need something cheap and diverse for the next year or so. Thanks for reading, apologies for blabbing.
~Z~

Hi,

I am reviewing the Fantasea housing this week!

I'll be posting the results on the front page very soon.

Adam

Awesome, looking forward to it.

Thanks Adam

Hi,

Where are you finding these prices? I’m afraid the NA-G15 is £799 in the UK (although you can likely get a VAT refund if you are based in Thailand).

I’d consider the Sony RX100 or the Canon S110 also.

Is this for stills or video?

For video the canon compact cameras are not the best choice by far due to the lack of controls in video mode and a tendency to overexpose everything

If you are looking for a good still compact camera the G15 could be a good choice but it does have some limitations and the fantasea housing especially does not have an M67 threaded port so it will cut your options for wet lenses to near zero

For video the most effective advanced set up are based on Sony RX100 and Panasonic LX7. The Sony is also an impressive still machine, the panasonic if you are mostly into video is your best choice but does have some small limits for stills lacking a semifisheye option

Hey Alex/Interceptor,

My Nauticam housing price was one my godfather in the states offered me as 'special price for you'. Though it was a limited time offer and is still a bit expensive for me. The NA-g15 is my ideal option if I'm honest, though when you go up the higher end of the spectrum, they all seem to be rather similar, and just aesthetically different (no?).

Thanks guy's, in my g15 research I have come across the RX100, LX7 and S110 as the main comparable cameras, and have read/watched many a review comparing them. I've managed to borrow an S110 in Ikelite housing which was really nice, but it lacked the extra external controls I was keen to get used to, though my friend is very happy with it, I'd recommend it on behalf of her. I also had my other friend practically try sell me his LX7, as he reckoned it was a better option to the RX100. I agree with you interceptor, the RX100 in particular seems to be a more popular choice for video (which is my main interest), but with what I intend to use it for (myself..) I just feel I don't need the extra oomph in the res and colour space that the RX100 has, though I would definitely benefit from the extra macro capabilities (due to lack of funds for macro lenses) and slow mo functions that the G15 has, and again, I really want to get used to externally controlling my settings as quick as possible. Menu's drive me mad when I'm trying to be quick.

I agree with the lack of m67 thread being a real downer on the Fantasea, but I'm sure I could come up with some way to get around it if I was that determined (some quite good tutorials on Youtube, warranty voiding, of course). But its an option I have to consider due to money, meaning that its unlikely I could afford add-ons in the near future anyway. The Ikelite is another option if I get it with the 67 threaded port, though that limits the zoom range slightly, I'm not sure how much that would affect me. I'm eagerly awaiting Adam's review.

Thanks a lot guy's. I appreciate it!

I think you will need to be careful comparing the video on land with can be taken underwater

Once you take your G15 underwater you will disappointed by the lack of control for video that you will need. The canon cameras don't even remember a default exposure compensation and the auto focus is too quick. There are some examples on another forum

Not good you can see the camera really does not do a good job at auto focus. i have used both the RX100 and the LX7 and their autofocus is excellent and slow as you need it. The canon implementation on the small cameras is just too fast

Also the G15 only shoots at 24p which is really not helpful for underwater video. Everybody now shoots at double frame rate when possible

Hmm you're right. I was drawn in by the g15's reputation and photo prowess, but having reviewed my options (and got slightly side tracked looking at Lumix GH2's...) I think you're recommended LX7 is probably the best choice for me.
And now I've a choice between an Ikelite ~£350 or a Nauticam ~£610(If I can get it from the states and avoid tax). May I ask where you got yours from?

I've read a lot of your blog concerning the lx7 too, some good advice and videos, I think I'd probably go for the ikelite as its almost half the price and comes with a m67 thread too, and maybe spend the spare cash on the nauticam wetmate (do you know if it will it fit the Ikelite?)

I have not seen the ikelite housing. I know that it does not have all controls

More specifically it lacks the ND/manual focus control. I think you could potentially set the neutral density fitler in one of the presets to On however am not sure that then goes off when you change mode

Manual focus can be useful when shooting macro and there are no workarounds

I do not know about the wetmate working but one thing I can tell you for sure is that their lens WA30 does not work with the LX7 and neither does the WA20 despite what their website says.

The only wide angle lens that works is the Inon UWL-H100 28M67 type 1, I do not know anyone who has connected the wetmate to this housing as of yet

Crap, you're right. Back to the drawing board. Every time I make my decision... Where did you get your Nauticam from if you don't mind me asking?
I don't think I can justify (or afford) spending about £1000 on a compact system When there's options like the S110 and ikelite available.
Argh! The LX7 looks ideal too. Right, thanks for all your help. I'm back to google I guess.. Shame there isn't an alternative housing that has all functions available. Truly gutted.

The S110 has the same lack of control in video of the G15 and also a very short battery life

If for stills you can do two dives with it with video it will most likely die on you on the middle of dive 2 or earlier

I bought my nauticam housing from nauticam UK

Ok, thanks.

Sorry to keep bugging, I just really want my first little set up before I get back in the water. And every time I settle on a choice, something I notice last minute sets me back to zero. Happened again last night with the RX100. Manual focus during video is a real bonus that I'd love to have, and only tehe LX7 and Rx100 seem to have it? I do intend on using it for video mainly, with a little dabble in photography here and there.

I read a few previous blogs on the RX100 including your own and it seems great, I also found the Patima housing pretty cheap for an ali, so figured that'd be the one to go for. But alas, you said the RX100 does not have ND filter, is poor at macro and no custom WB in video mode (though you've included many handy work-around tips on your blog, thanks!).
Are these deal breakers, or do you think its still worth getting an RX100 with a Patima housing as a relatively cheap compact video solution??

All of these high end compact camera's seem to have a down side that the others pick up on. Is it simply a case of choosing which feature you can live without? How wrong I was to hope I could have it all and a housing with all features all for max £800..

I just return from a dive trip in Lembeh last week using the LX-7 with the Ikelite housing, and I have the Nauticam wetmate too. So, just to quickly answer your question:

1.) The nauticam wetmate work with the Ikelite housing, you do have to zoom a bit to get rid of the corner vignette.

2.) I shot photos in manual mode, but I didn't have to use the manual/ND dial at all. When you shoot macro, the diopter make it challenging to find the right focal distance, I find myself closing in and out from the subject and half press the shutter to get focus, so no time to mess with manual focus while you dive buddy is waiting his/her turn to photograph, and the creature is moving while the surge is pushing everything a few inches back and forth. So unless the subject is still like a frogfish, I don't see manual focus is that requently used.

The LX-7 focus very fast so often time you just half press the shutter to get the focus and shoot away.

Now, as far as the Ikelite housing, it's a mix feeling. Frankly speaking, it gets the job done, and budget friendly. The bigger issue I have is the cursor button is too close, so when doing custom white balance in shooting video, my thumb get really sore because I had to press right to do the custom white balance, then click the center to confirm the white balance. The center button is too small and cramp with other buttons so I had to press hard and stick my thumb in certain way which rub against other button. I was told there is way to work around, which is using the end cap of the pencil and add on top of the center cursor button to make it more extrude for easy pressing.

The most important thing to know is, the Ikelite is not design for one hand setting change, a lot of the knobs and dials require you to hold the housing with the left hand, while you lift or pull a knob out and "fish" with the wand or let the dial from the hosuing make contact with the dial on the camera to rotate it.

The Ikelite is almost useless on land as the housing doesn't make contact with the camera tightly. But when you're in the water, the knob and wand from the housing make good contact with the camera because of the water pressure that "push" the knob tight into the housing, so it's not an issue once you're in the water. This is my first Ikelite housing so it's a strange discovery for me.

I don't have the Nauticam housing so I don't know how much more superior it is to the Ikelite. If the Nauticam is as easy as one hand operation like a dSLR, I would go for that as long as the budget allow because I'm use to dSLR on land.

.

You can get the LX7 and nauticam housing for £1000 in UK

There are £210 difference between ikelite and nauticam so you could get the lx7 in ikelite housing for £790 however the ergonomics are not as good

For stills is definitely not an issue the lack of manual focus and ND filter for video those are useful but more than anything you can operate the nauticam housing very easily without strain

Looking at what kc_moses is reporting you have vignette with the wetmate and ikelite so I would not go for that and stick to nauticam this saves you the huge cost of an expensive inon lens so would you choose nauticam plus wetmate of ikelite with inon and not full control for the same price? For video definitely the nauticam combo for still probably the second

A fair point. Looking at the costs for future add-ons is quite important to me. I wont be able to afford any additional goodies for the next 6 months at least, though I may be able to borrow and try out some.
As it stands, I'm looking at RX100's and Patima housings (having read many topics on this camera and the many choice of housings). I think this will be the one for me, a decent Aluminium housing and a great camera, all for around £800. thanks for all the help guy's. My hunt is almost over..! I would've liked an LX7, but the lack of housing choice is a bit of a shame (compared to RX100/G15/S110). I've no doubt a Nauticam housing is great and well worth the money, I am just simply really financially restrained at the moment, and 800 was my absolute max budget (for both). Not much wiggle room, and not that realistic, but I think I can pull it off. Just about..
Thanks for all the suggestions, I should change the name of this topic to "g15 alternatives.."

And once again, awesome blog Interceptor, google keeps leading me right back to it.

Patima housing is £599 in UK together with the RX100 this comes at £1020 if you get it in Europe it comes at £900. If you get it in Hong Kong you need to pay import duty so you are back at the Euro price

Where are you getting the patima at such low price??

Found it for €559 in a few places, still searching though.

If you google '€559 Patima rx100' there are a few online stores with this price. Cheapest I've found so far.

Mostly German stores..?

The RX100 costs around £425 so total is more something like £900 than £800 anyway Patima is a decent choice I do not know how it performs with external lenses

Definitely you will need to buy a lens and some lights so still quite a bit of money to go

yup.. more of a growing investment than a one off purchase! I just need a camera and housing I can slowly build up on and use for the next couple of years. So want a nice durable housing and good cam. Managed to find an Rx100 second hand for £300 on gumtree, grabbed it!
So I guess I'm committed to my Patima choice now. Also found the RX100 new for £350 on http://www.eglobaldigitalstore.co.uk/compact-cameras.html Plus if you google vouchers you can find one for another £5 off of that

pretty good deal considering second hand ones on ebay go for around £350. Ebay is suddenly not so cheap these days..!
Woohoo, glad the chase is over, now to get my hands on it and get in the water. Will update in the future if I get my mits on a Wet-mate or something.
Thanks for all the advice
~Z~