I need a housing/strobe but only have limited funds,

I am very new to UW photography and used to shoot a oly 4040 w/ the oly housing and no strobe. I was planning on adding a strobe to that combo this fall but lost my camera due to a flood some months ago. I since purchased a digital rebel. I am going down the islands to dive in Dec. but am only going to have 1000-1500$ to spend on a housing or strobe.

I could get the ikelite housing for around $1200 but then dont I need a front port for it or does it come ready to use? Also then I wouldnt be able to get a strobe untill next year, and only shoot UW in a decent spot once or twice a year.

Otherwise I can probably get a used oly 5060, new oly housing, and new strobe for around $1500 and think this might be the way to go.

What would you do?

I would house your rebel. Makes no sense to house a point a shoot if you already have a dslr. Call up ryan at uwcp.com and talk to him about options. A port for the Ikelite is going to run around 125 to 150. A set of arms will run around 225 and a strobe could perhaps be picked up for around 400. So for a little more you could have a system with no shutter lag and precise focusing

Tony

hard decisions :evil:

As Tony wrote you can have an housing and flash in little more then 1500.

According to my research (I made it to the D70) you can have this set (B&H prices):

Underwater Housing for Digital Rebel...$1,079.95

Dome Port........................................$139.95

SB-105 (used, can be found in ebay)...$150 (+)

Strobe Arm.......................................$59.50

Arm Adapter.....................................$12.00

TTL Sync Cord..................................$84.95

.......................................................------------

.......................................................$1,526 (+)

Of course that is only the beginning... (more lens, more ports, more light)