Canon: High-end A series or low end S series? (or Fuji f810)

Here is a link to it on the inonamerica page.

Cool thanks for the first-hand report! Glad adobe can pick up where fuji software fell short. I wasn't too worried about battery...mostly about RAW since i could go for a canon A-series or sony for less money without RAW. I have faith the software can catch up with the hardware.

Thanks for the info on the lense adapter. Being in the US i'll have to track down a closer store...but any kind of lense is in the future for me. Gonna have to buy everything one at a time Camera first then housing...that'll at least give me a starting point. Looking to buy my camera (Fuji right now but who knows? ) after my next paycheck. I'm gonna have to get the hang of it and probably wait for gentler weather before i would take it underwater anyway so that will give my time to get my housing.

Chris

I'm sure Ryan Canon at Reef Photo Video could supply you with one. Just click the link near the top RHS of the page...

Hi Chris.

Actually, both the sony f828 and v3 do raw. They just do it fairly slowly - like 12 second cycle times.

The canon G series and Pro1 have a bit of buffering, so while their total throughput is no faster, they can shoot 4-5 shots in raw, at a couple seconds each, before having a longer pause to make more room in the buffer.

Don

Chris and Don....

As much as people like the 5050 i think it's pretty much above my range

I assume this means price range...so

both the sony f828 and v3 do raw

Probably puts the Sonys and G-series Canons in the same category - they do look like nice cameras to swim with though

The Fuji writes a RAW file in 5 seconds which seems reasonable for a P&S. Could be quicker though I guess.

Yeah those 2 sony's price me out. They'r really cool looking though Probably too much camera for me...and the size of the current P&S cameras seems good for diving. I'm hoping to get away with as small a setup as possible just to keep everything streamlined.

anthp, thanks for posting your first-hand experience, especially about the focusing and battery life.

Monkey_Knife_Fight, if you are planning on getting the Inon adapter anyway, consider also the Ikelite housing. It is comparably priced to the Fuji housing plus adapter, and is threaded so doesn't need an adapter.

I suggest you look at the Canon A series cameras with the Canon housing. The Inon D-2000 strobe is compatible with these cameras with it's S-TTL automatic flash control. Get whichever (the best) "A" model you can afford.

HTH

James

James, the only thing is, it sounds like the fuji has a heck of alot better autofocus than the canons...

anthp, thanks for posting your first-hand experience, especially about the focusing and battery life.  

 

Monkey_Knife_Fight, if you are planning on getting the Inon adapter anyway, consider also the Ikelite housing.  It is comparably priced to the Fuji housing plus adapter, and is threaded so doesn't need an adapter.

The Ike housing for the F810 isn't out yet (i don't think)...at least i can't find anything about it. But then again i can't find too bloody much about the Fuji housing either. I read somewhere the ike housing is coming out in March. I probably won't be buying the housing for another couple months anyway so i'll see if it comes out.

The ikelite web site says that.

Arguments on our F810 housing are placement and type of shutter release control, should housing include tray and handle or simply include a lanyard, which optional lens type to use as in screw on 67mm or newest bayonet mount, etc.

The S70 fits 137 6MP RAW images on a 1GB CompactFlash card (link).  The Fuji F810 fits 39 12MP RAW images on a 512MB XD card (link).  512MB XD cards cost the same as 1GB CompactFlash cards.  XD memory is a big liability.

 

The F810 I think has better controls than the S70, which is important underwater.  I don't know if the better low-light focus still applies underwater, since it is achieved using a focus-assist light. ?

You're going to fit the same amount of the same files on the same size card. you are comparing apples to oranges when you say that you can only get 39 as opposed to the 137 files on a larger card. Actually, I'm finding that the 12MP Jpegs straight from the F810 are incredible and they only take 4MB of storage.

1 GB xD cards are due out in a few weeks. 512k cards have dropped down to about $60. xD cards write much faster than Compact Flash.

Yeah, a slight bit more, but no huge deal.

The F810 has excellent battery management and very fast turn on time, so it is easy to let it sleep or turn on and off between shots.

Not sure about the focus assist, but I don't know why it wouldn't work UW, it is a laser.

Jack

Arguments on our F810 housing are placement and type of shutter release control, should  housing include tray and handle or simply include a lanyard, which optional lens type to use as in screw on 67mm or newest bayonet mount, etc.

Well, as a customer who's (beyond) anxious to buy the new housing for the F810, here are my votes:

Please, please, use the AD bayonet or at least have an option between it and the 67mm type add-on mount. I think the screw type mounts are nowhere near as good.

Have the tray and handles be an option, but maybe have a great "package" price with them. Forget the lanyard, they do nothing more than foster lost lights and cameras. Possibly a "soft" handle strap sort of thing.

As far as the shutter control goes, I think you better send me one to test...

Want a C.C. number?

Jack

Do Ike housings provide access to all the controls on the cameras?

Jack, out of curiosity why do you like the bayonet setup more than the threaded for the lenses? I'm not even sure i understand how the bayonet adapters work but i was just curious about the differences between the two.

EDIT: Also can you turn off the preflash on the F810?

Thanks

Do Ike housings provide access to all the controls on the cameras?  

 

Jack, out of curiosity why do you like the bayonet setup more than the threaded for the lenses?  I'm not even sure i understand how the bayonet adapters work but i was just curious about the differences between the two.

 

EDIT:  Also can you turn off the preflash on the F810?  

Yes, the housings most always include access to the controls. But the F810 housing isn't done yet, so I'll let Ike comment.

I like the bayonet mounts much better. They mount with a half twist and have a large thread, like a jar and lid. The screw thread must be rotated a couple times and can easily be cross threaded, both slow and cumbersome in cold water.

The F810 doesn't use a pre-flash.

Jack

Yes, the housings most always include access to the controls. But the F810 housing isn't done yet, so I'll let Ike comment.

 

I like the bayonet mounts much better. They mount with a half twist and have a large thread, like a jar and lid. The screw thread must be rotated a couple times and can easily be cross threaded, both slow and cumbersome in cold water.

 

The F810 doesn't use a pre-flash.

 

Jack

Cool thanks for the info. I can see how you'd just wanted something that like snapped into place for a lense more so than anything that requires manual dexterity. So the reason people prefer the Ikelite housings over the ones made by the camera manufacturer are they'r thicker and beefier right? Do the seals tend to be better or is that mostly a function of proper maintenance etc..?

I like the bayonet mounts much better. They mount with a half twist and have a large thread, like a jar and lid. The screw thread must be rotated a couple times and can easily be cross threaded, both slow and cumbersome in cold water.

Can standard filters be used with bayonet mounts? (Secured in there somehow?) The ability to use standard 67mm filters seems to be the biggest advantage of the threaded mount. The other advantages are I guess backwards compatibility, and potential cross-compatibility with adapter lens made by different manufacturers.

Cool thanks for the info.  I can see how you'd just wanted something that like snapped into place for a lense more so than anything that requires manual dexterity.  So the reason people prefer the Ikelite housings over the ones made by the camera manufacturer are they'r thicker and beefier right?  Do the seals tend to be better or is that mostly a function of proper maintenance etc..?

Yes, far thicker and more rugged, much beefer controls that I can use with thick gloves, etc. The Ike case should be rated for 200' as opposed to 130'.

This is a guess, but a thicker case equates to more surface area and a larger seal area. Ike cases aren't too leak prone.

Seal maintenance is the most important thing on any housing.

Jack

Can standard filters be used with bayonet mounts?  (Secured in there somehow?)  The ability to use standard 67mm filters seems to be the biggest advantage of the threaded mount.  The other advantages are I guess backwards compatibility, and potential cross-compatibility with adapter lens made by different manufacturers.

Yeah, a 67mm to Inon bayonet would be a nice bit of gear. Not sure it's feasible due to distances from the camera lens, etc.

If you look at the Inon website the idea of the bayonet mount is that as you change cameras and housings, all you have to do is buy a new adapter. Unfortunately, a lot of people have the older style 67mm add-on lenses and want to upgrade without buying new ones. But well, the bayonet mounts are the current idea, are much easier to use and I think they should be the way Ike goes with the housing for the F810. I would hope he'd be able to have a way to order it either way.

Jack

(Hey, how'd I get to be the expert on Ike cases around here?? I'm still waiting for mine! :roll: )