HELP!!! Desperately need a smaller u/w camera! 5050 too big

I do a lot of freediving & while I love the 5050/pt-015 combination, it's just sometimes too big.

I can't stow it easily in my center kayak hatch & I'd like something I can clip to my belt when slithering around the kelp forest.

I was thinking about a Sony P-100, but slightly hesitant since my last 3 cameras have all been Olympuses.

Please help. Any personal suggestions for a good quality, mobile camera is very appreciated. Thank you.

hey fuzz-

ive seen some photos on this site taken with canon digital elph that have been very impressive, just with internal flash.. i think the housing for it is considerably smaller than what you are currently using..

M.

I'm pretty sure that I'm going to take a quality loss downsizing, especially for macro, but want to find the best alternative.

Right now I'm looking at the smaller olympus cameras, canon, & sony.

I'm really hoping some of you out there have had good experiences with a particular model!

The Sony V1 would be killer! Great pix, tiny size, MUCH faster autofocus and shutter release than any of the canons, nikons, or olys. Ikelite housing....

I'm waiting for the V3, which is larger, but supports RAW mode.

Don

If you looking for macro. I'll suggest the Nikon's series, I know the 4300 from few friends and its give good macro shots.

The Canon are not so good in macro.

Also they are small as you requested.

The Olympus 4040 (with no accessories) is very compact. Plus you could pick one up cheaply secondhand, you will already be familiar with the controls and you could share accessories with your 5050.

Alex

I'll put a plug in for the Sony P100. It's small, 5mb, can be used manually and takes excellent quality images. And the housing for it is very compact and rated to 40 metres.

I purchased it for my wife as a method of getting her into underwater photography so she might start to understand why I must always be buying new camera stuff :wink:

You might consider the Olympus Mju series camera / PT-016 Combination.

The camera is quite robust , has a lithium iron battery and has proven to be a reliable unit. The housing will accept a 46mm closeup lens (diopter) directly screwed to the lens port.

We have been using these in our rental department and have some pieces with over 250 dives ( rental dives are always a lot harder on equipment ) on them with no real issues.

If you are into macro, I would recomend Sony T1. The camera is TINY and allows you to focus 1cm away. This means in the housing you can pretty much touch the camera to you subject and still focus.

If you are into macro, I would recomend Sony T1. The camera is TINY and allows you to focus 1cm away.

 

Not according to the reviews, which says:

 

"with a Macro setting that lets you get within 3.25 inches (8 centimeters) when the lens is zoomed to its wide angle position, and 9.8 inches (25 centimeters) at its telephoto setting."

 

Also, the T1 has no manual modes, and is very unlikely to ever work with an external strobe, since you can't control the aperature of a shot.

 

Don

Which review were you looking at? It has two macro modes. The flower mode lets you focus to 8cm and magnifying glass mode which lets you focus to 1cm.

From sony's website.

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP....roductSKU=DSCT1

• Minimum Focus Distance: 19.7" (50cm)

• Macro Focus Distance: Selectable 3.1" (8cm), Magnifying Glascant s Mode 0.4" (1cm)

The T1 does not have manual modes but that dosent mean that you cant use a strobe. It just means that you cant use the stobe in manual. It will work fine in TTL. Although I must admit you will never get a stobe to work in the super macro mode with the camera 1cm from the subject. (Not that you need a stobe at this distance)

I got a chance to use this camera both above and below the water a few weeks ago. I couldnt get over the macro mode. It could take close ups of smaller subjects than you can even with a SLR.

The diver in the picture in this post is holding a T1(without stobe). The camera is so small it it almost completely hidden behind his hands. It would easily fit in a BC pocket.

http://wetpixel.com/PNphpBB2-viewtopic-t-6376.phtml

The magnifying glass mode uses digital zoom. Is it more than a gimmick? Sure sounds like you got some cool results!

Although I must admit I am mystifyed how the camera could focus so close, I dont understand how can digital zoom let you focus closer?

Appreciate all the discussion!

The T1 looks great, but how is the lense? The 3.5-4.4 paerature rating worries me. :?:

The sony V1 looks nice as well, looking more into that.

Nikons are out since I'm trying to find either an oly, sony, or canon for the cheap housings.

Also only use ambient light if that makes any difference. :wink:

Thank ou everyone, your input really helps - keep it up

Manual modes are very important. If you have an all automatic camera, it will choose f2.8 every time, in order to get a reasonable shutter speed.

If you are using an external strobe, the camera won't know it and won't adjust it's settings accordingly. I'd suggest looking for a small camera that also has manual modes. I suggest trying the Canon A70/80/85 series. They are small and Canon makes an UW housing for them. Inon makes accessories for these housings as well.

Cheers

James

Manual modes are very important.  If you have an all automatic camera, it will choose f2.8 every time, in order to get a reasonable shutter speed.  

 

If you are using an external strobe, the camera won't know it and won't adjust it's settings accordingly.  I'd suggest looking for a small camera that also has manual modes.  I suggest trying the Canon A70/80/85 series.  They are small and Canon makes an UW housing for them.  Inon makes accessories for these housings as well.

 

Cheers

James

No strobes, only ambient light. I was looking at Canon's too, but wouldn't the S-series be a lot better than the A-series?

You know, if tiny is what you want, and no need, ever, for external flash, how about the sony p100, or brand new p150. Sony makes a cheap housing for them, too...

The reviews look good. And focus speed, and shutter lag to die for!

Don

Everyone realizes they are talking differences in size by mere inches, right?

An inch or two less here, and an inch or so less there...still doesn't change the size all that much...

~Matt Segal

Actually, for snorkeling to any depth, a bulkier housing, like for the 5060 would certainly be more drag and more fatigue, than the 6.16 x 3.08 x 3.28 inch housing for the sony pt100/150.

But I find snorkel uwphoto far too frustrating, except for large shallow animals like sharks and whales.

Don

Sorry, it might be a bit late, but if you haven’t bought a camera yet, here is another option.

I recently bought the Sony DSC-P150 with the MPK-PHB marine pack. It comes with a Carl Zeiss lens and a 7.2 Mega Pixel rating. I am very happy with the camera.

There is very little difference in the size of the two camera’s marine packs.