Sony V1

I have purchased a Sony V1 and a EWA Marine Housing for it. I will be doing only shallow diving in the range of above 30ft. I was looking through the posts and have been unable ot find any thing on the V1. Does anyone have any experience with diving or snorkling with this Camera? i dont have an external Flash but a do have a 10 or 20 watt regular video light from the Camcorder that might fit in the DS-C case. Is it ok to use Auto or should i do more manual settings? I will be going to Jamaica in a week. Thanks guys. Jon

well, looks like you are the first. I nearly got one of these cameras, and now that the V3 is out, I think I'll get one for sure, (assuming Ikelite keeps supporting this line).

These cameras have some of the best focus systems going, faster than the canikoly's, and much faster "pre-focus shutter release" times. Check out the times at:

www.imaging-resource.com

So, Jon, how did the V1 work out?

Don

AHH, I wish I could have waited on the V3 very sweet but I do like the sizr of the V1. I enjoued the pictures of the v1 underwater. Next time I think I will have an DSLR with a proper strobe. the unit focused well. proper light from the sun helped imensly. I had a medical issue as I was unable to dive on the trip that I didnt know about till i got there in Jamaica. So I was only able to Snorkel. I will Be Back and try it again. Cheers.

The huge advantage, of the P&S digis over DSLRs, is the ability to compose your shot via the LCD screen. For underwater, with a mask on, this is way better than trying to see through a tiny viewfinder.

Don

I would flat out reject that statement. The Optical viewfinder of a dSLR is FAR superior to the LCD on a digicam for composing a shot. LCDs are the greatest addition to photography for reviewing a shot after it is taken to hit photography in a long time. But they are no where near as effective as a decent optical view finder for composing a shot.

While that is certainly true on land, I flat out reject it, underwater.

I've used an n90s since 1993 underwater. Now I'm also using a P&S digi that isn't quite there, but they're getting closer

People used to pay big bucks, to get an F4 or F5 with huge action finder, and housing the whole mess.

Now, with DSLR viewfinders getting smaller and lower eyepoint, and harder to see through a mask and housing, and a big LCD is just the thing - about the same size as a sports finder.

What you are objecting to, surely, is the lag in the current P&S digis. Lag in LCD display, lag in autofocus, and lag in final shutter release.

Once all those lags are short enough, I think it will be an SLR killer, for underwater work.

Don

i too have one of these cameras and this week recieved my ikelite housing ready to get wet on sunday

it is a fantastic camera on land and im hoping its as good as ive read underwater..

depending on how it goes in sunday ill post a few piccys monday!

Andy..

{UW photographer newbie}

I shoot a D100 UW and also a CP5000. I have shot the 5050 and the 5060 Olys UW. The Optical view finder on the D100 is far better UW than any LCD preview on a digicam. I would like to get a small digicam as a backup to my D100 but using it's LCD will never be in the same ball park as a good optical viewfinder. What I would ideally like to get is a small rangefinder digicam. It would give you the small size and hopefully a good optical viewfinder.

Boy, Dave, your eyes must be alot different than mine. While I'd love a nice big sports finder, which doesn't exist in DSLRs yet, and I couldn't afford if it did, I'd much rather have a big LCD than a tiny viewfinder.

As long as the LAG for the LCD itself is VERY short, the autofocus is fast, and the final shutter release is short.

Even the sony p100 has better focus and MUCH faster final shutter release, than any of the canon, nikon, or oly digis. It's final shutter release time is 11 milliseconds. Won't get fish tails that way! This is much faster than the 100 milliseconds for the d100, or the 124 for the d70.

All the sonys in the last year have had killer AF and shutter lag times. Check imaging-resource.com, for accurate timings.

The 828 is a big monster - might as well have a DSLR, by the time you get through housing it. But it has great AF and shutter lag.

The V3, looks like better specs than the 828, in a small, reasonable zoom package. Includes raw, manual exposure, aperature and shutter priority, etc.

The 8400, with the non-ttl external strobe sensor, and external Auto Focus range sensor, is likely to be problematic, in a housing. Too bad, cause otherwise it looks great!

Don