Canon S1is / WP-DC20 Combo

Hi all

I'm considering buying the Canon S1is / WP-DC20 combo, or the A80 / WP-DC900 combo. Bearing in mind that the primary purpose of the camera is for general use, I'm looking for hints/tips regarding their underwater use. The thing that puts me of the S1is at this stage is the fact that the flash cannot be used, and with the A80, the flash is only useful if a slave system is used.

The question is then what options do I have with the S1is as far as lighting is concerned? I suppose I'm going to have to go for UW video lighting systems, but then these cost a fortune....

Can anyone recommend aleternatives in the same price range? (I love the 10x zoom option and use it frequently on my oly c700.

Any ideas would be great, thanks

Simon

Hi,

For reference, there is an Inon news article on the S1 IS / DC-20 combo here.

http://www.inonamerica.com/news.html?news_...id=16&newscat=0

-Mark Rupert

Inon America, Inc.

I bought the Canon S1 IS primarily for its zoom and image stabiliser, for taking wildlife shots. I also hoped it would work well underwater with the Canon housing. It does, in fact it exceeded my expectations.

What's so good about it? Apart from the usual Canon quality images (I've always liked Canon cameras) the image stabiliser makes a huge difference. I've managed to take stills at 100asa in Program mode in natural light on a dark evening in Scotland at 20m - OK you wouldn't win any prizes but it takes at one sixth of a second shutter speed with hardly any blurring! Very atmospheric. The video worked even better using natural light, I was absolutely amazed at its ability to work in such low light conditions, it even made a fair attempt at white balance. The 'fast' lens and IS are what makes it so good. You can use the internal flash - I had some pretty good close-ups using it, though if you get too close you get a shadow of the protruding lens housing at the bottom of the frame. More distant objects are affected by backscatter so its not really much use for anything but close-ups. I tried using the zoom with the video - it works but its hard to keep it framed on a moving fish and camera shake gets noticeable. I wouldn't think of using the zoom with stills, unless maybe it was really clear water, just get closer and reduce the amount of water between the lens and the subject! I've just taken delivery of a TTL digital converter from Matthias Heinrichs (www.muenster.de/~matthias/blitz/indexe.htm) which lets me use my old S&S YS50 flash with it with true TTL capability, not had a chance to try it in the water yet but it works well on land. Wide-angle and close-up lenses would be a welcome addition and I'm pleased to see that INON have decided to support this model, better start saving my pennies!