20D IKELITE housing or a new camera ????

I currently own a canon 20d digital srl which I'd like to bring UW on my next dive trip to the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia.

I also have these 3 lens:

50 F1.8

18/55 kit lens

28/135 is usm

As far as I've understood the best choice would be:

-Ikelite 6871.20 TTL HOUSING f/CANON EOS 20D

-Ikelite 3944.75 SubStrobe DS-125 Digital Package with TTL Sync Cord

-Ikelite Dome Port for SLR Housing for Up to 3" (7.6cm) Lens

Total: 2200$$

There's no Ikelite dome port for my 50mm and 28/135 lens, so with this configuration I can only use the poor 18-55 kit lens.

PROS:

image quality and focusing speed

Another option would be buying a new digital camera to be used only Uw.

As far as I've understood the best choice in this case would be:

-Olympus Camedia C-7070 Wide Zoom, 7.1 Megapixel, 4x Optical

-Ikelite 6130.61 Underwater Housing for Olympus Camedia C-5060&C-7070

-Olympus WCON-07C, 0.7x Wide Conversion Lens for C-5060 & C-7070

-Ikelite 9306.37 Dome Port for Olympus Wide Lens WCON-07C with Ikelite 6130.61 Underwater Housing

-Ikelite 3944.75 SubStrobe DS-125 Digital Package with TTL Sync Cord and Deluxe Ball Socket Strobe Arm

Total: 2350$$

PROS:

19-77 mm lens range and a good macro (maybe)

LCD composition instead of the odd optical viewfinder

Quicktime Movie with Audio @ 30 Fps Unlimited (I enjoy them a lot UW)

Which one would you go for ??

Thx a lot for your kind advices

Have you considered buying another lens for your 20D? A few that you will really like are:

Canon 10-22 = $600

Canon 100 Macro = $400

Sigma 15mm Fisneye = $375

I would consider one or all of these lenses, rather than buying a whole other camera for underwater use. Of course, you can use these lenses topside as well and you'll really get a lot of use out of the 10-22. Once you have one, it rarely comes off the camera.

Cheers

James

I think you need to answer the broader philisophical question about where you want your photography to go, how important it is to you, and your diving style before you can answer your above question. The decision to go DSLR vs prosumer is a complicated one and not to be taken lightly.

Price is only one small consideration. As you point out you can get the camera and the housing for about the same price as the housing. In addition there is the endless lens lust and countless add-ons that will multiply this price differential many times over. There is no question that DSLRs are more expensive than prosumers.

I've seen some fantastic photos taken with prosumers. They have tremendous potential and factors like composition are huge in evaluating the quality of a photo. But there are certain things that the larger format, wider aperture, and better quality glass will buy you. I definately would follow James' advice above. None of your lenses are particularly good for underwater use and I wouldn't spend the money to house them. I would start with the new 60mm macro lens. I get most of my "keepers" from that lens. The 15mm is a good wide-angle addition to the 60/15mm pair. Additionally, prosumer camera response still isn't up to DSLR speeds. Most of all I find the camera operation and usability of DSLRs to be much more intuitive than any prosumer I have seen (although there is no reason why it couldn't be). For me this makes the difference between using the features and getting their benifit or not.

DSLRs take up much more space in your luggage. The whole thing quickly gets out of control. Prosumers are much easier to pack and set up. If photography isn't your focus then prosumers may be a better choice.

Finally, I wouldn't worry about framing through the viewfinder. Once you start doing it you'll quickly see why this is a non-issue for serious photographers. It is much easier to get accurate compositions through the viewinder.

If you are used to SLR focus speed, and shutter lag, you will HATE the oly. They are quite poor in focus speed, and have the worst final shutter lag of any 7 mpix camera. (Until Nikon comes out with one...). The sony V3 would be first choice for digicams, in my view.

As others have stated, you need to decide how much you want to carry around, what you want to invest, etc.

Good luck,

Don

I agree with James, sell off your 50mm & 28-135 and buy the 10-22mm Canon zoom and the 100mm macro.

Doug

I don't think the 50mm is worth selling. Is an incredible sharp $79 lens, and still works fine topside!

Yeah, keep the 50, but I would certainly not hesitate to sell the 28/135. Topside lens selection is a very personal thing, but for my style of shooting the 28/135 on a 1.6 crop just isn't that useful.

UW lens selection is more limited by constraints of visibility and the peculiar difficulties associated with shooting in the medium. For this reason, the 10-22 or 15 are superb and teamed with a 100 mm macro, make a killer combination.

Yeah, the "thrifty fifty" I've heard it called - it's small, light, and sharp.

Great for topside portraits.

Cheers

James

I'we just decided:

20D + ikelite housing + ds 125 Ikelite strobe + 18-55 dome (for now)

I'm from Rome and I'll go to NY on purpose to buy the housing + strobe

Unfortunately these items seem to be in short supply everywere (b&h photo included) :-((.

Hope the'll have in a couple of weeks because I'm living on 22th April.

Any suggestion ??

Ciao

p.s. What's the value of my 28-135 in good conditions ??

Sounds like the right pick to me...

28-135's seem to go on Ebay for between US$340 and $400 depending on sellers feedback, item condition, inclusion of box and luck. You might do better selling in a local "trading post/newspaper." Lens can be had brand new for $400 as you probably know.

Good luck.

Those inexpensive 50mm's are also great, reversed, if you want to play with insect macros ... take you to 2X with the 100mm.

Sounds like the right pick to me...

28-135's seem to go on Ebay for between US$340 and $400 depending on sellers feedback, item condition, inclusion of box and luck. You might do better selling in a local "trading post/newspaper." Lens can be had brand new for $400 as you probably know.

Good luck.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's still impossible to buy the Ike 20d housing in NY and i'm living on the 22th of april.

Any suggestion ??

Thx

Some 20D housings were shipped to New York dealers on March 30th. More should be available about April tenth.............

I just got mine from Helix today. It came in 4 days.

Still waiting on my housing in NC what I am realy worried about is my 2 DS125 strobes people have told me I might have to wait a while on those