Diving Digital camera

richolionheart · Post by **richolionheart** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 1:33 am

What model would you suggest?

Maximum 500$, new or used....

150 feet or around that. SD cards.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Grateful Diver · Post by **Grateful Diver** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 5:57 am

If it needs to be an SD card, the Canon A620 would be my hands-down choice.

http://www.amazon.com/s/102-5436752-192 ... ndex=photo

Recommend upgrading to a 1 GB memory chip when you order the camera ... and unless you're planning to use it with a strobe, might as well get the counterweight as well ... floaty cameras are a pain underwater..

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Sounder · Post by **Sounder** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 8:31 am

Canon SD630 with the Canon underwater housing (WP-DC3) can be found on http://www.Adorama.com for under $500 - they're out of NY and have great customer service and prices. It's got a 3" screen which is great underwater through the housing and an "underwater setting" that helps compensate for the blue/green tint of being at depth... very easy to use too.

richolionheart · Post by **richolionheart** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 10:05 am

How does this one compare to the Sealife camera?

Thanks

Tangfish · Post by **Tangfish** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 10:42 am

I'd get a non-diving branded camera. The ones specific to diving are usually just rebranded 'normal' cameras, though they lag behind the market a little due to the extra time it takes to rebrand them.

Here are my thoughts on a Canon model.

Pinkpadigal · Post by **Pinkpadigal** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 12:38 pm

One of my divemasters has the Canon SD550 and her UW photos are amazing. She isn't a professional but her photos are clean and not over or underexposed. She has only the UW housing and her Puget Sound photos are good. Her Caribbean shots are not blue and you can see amazing detail.

So I have been shopping and I am looking to get the SD900 (10 mpx) with the Canon housing. It is a bit spendy for the camera ($499) but if I wait a month or so, the price might go down.

Sounder · Post by **Sounder** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 1:12 pm

Amy - 10.0 mega pixels?! I had no idea there even was such a thing!!! Let me know what the bacteria looks like on the critters when you "blow-up" the picture on your computer!

Calvin - great review of the camera (as usual)! As mentioned, I have the SD630 and Canon housing... mine does not require weights though - it's neutrally buoyant strictly with camera & housing. Others require 1, 2, or 3 weight plates, but mine does not - on the Canon website, they show how many weights each "rig" requires (mine says 0). I too have experienced the same rotational compensation "feature" in the few times I've taken mine down.

For what it's worth... Amy's DM and I have comperable cameras but I have YET to have an underwater picture turn out whatsoever.

My pictures are more like "and see... this brown area is actually a large ling cod... and in this picture, it's hard to seem, but this is actually my dive buddy posing with 2 crabs." ](*,) Other people like Amy's DM and Bob have incredible pictures from comperable cameras and simply post them for all to enjoy

... clearly, having a "good enough" camera is only the beginning. Actually being able to take a picture is a whole other story!

Buoyancy & being awkward in the water are where my problems are... it's certainly not the camera... it's the diver/photographer. ](*,) I'm still very awkward in the water (so the fish swim away from me)

and when I DO get close to one... I can't quite "freeze" mid-water being perfectly still to keep it from becoming blurry. Even in my lack of skill however, I still have a GREAT time trying! $\:D/$

bnboly · Post by **bnboly** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 5:35 pm

Does anyone know if there is an underwater housing for the Cannon SD450?

Tangfish · Post by **Tangfish** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 5:45 pm

bnboly wrote:Does anyone know if there is an underwater housing for the Cannon SD450?

Yep

bnboly · Post by **bnboly** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 11:13 pm

OK Calvin,

Where can I get the housing for the SD450? Hopefully it is rated deeper than the one I found - 9.8 ft. ](*,)

Pinkpadigal · Post by **Pinkpadigal** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 11:37 pm

Sounder,

How are you "framing" your photos? You are right, buoyancy is part of it but make sure of a couple of other things too.

Brittany (my divemaster) took most of her photos of small items like hermit crab and nudis. She has great buoyancy but I think it also requires just practice taking photos. Photos of things in a distance don't work very well in Puget Sound.

Sometimes, you just get lucky. I took this picture on the Saskatchewan a couple of years ago with my Sealife DC100 (that's right, 1 mpx).

http://a2zscuba.com/scuba/links

richolionheart · Post by **richolionheart** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 1:32 am

Is there a housing for the Pentax Optio WP? It already goes in water but not deeper than 5-12 feet.

richolionheart · Post by **richolionheart** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 1:49 am

Amy,

I found the SD900 at $368

http://www.preferredphoto.com/product.asp?id=cnpssd900

The housing is around $160. Would this be a good kit?

bnboly · Post by **bnboly** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 2:46 am

Thanks Calvin - looks like the only housing for the SD450 only goes to 9.8ft. Guess that means I'll just have to invest a few scuba units in another camera and housing!!

Sounder · Post by **Sounder** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 8:11 am

That's a great picture Amy! Taking pictures in Maui was easy! Point & shoot and whatever you want! The PS is another beast - can't take pictures of things far away because they won't turn out, and I'm still working on my "approach" to get close to stuff.

I'm sure with time (and practice), I'll be able to take a good picture or two! In the meantime I'll enjoy everyone elses!

thelawgoddess · Post by **thelawgoddess** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 11:06 am

i had the canon s410. i absolutely loved it. so much that i bought another one. long story short - i don't have either anymore, and i actually thought about getting a 3rd ... because it really is a phenomenal little camera. but i decided maybe i was being sent a sign of some sort and i decided to move up to 4x optical zoom. i wanted to stay small, though. i spent much time reading reviews and comparing some options, and i just ordered the canon sd700 is. i've read that it's not quite as good as the s410 quality-wise but i think the difference will hardly be noticeable. i scored it for 3 scuba units (plus $1, with no tax and free shipping) on amazon.com (from adorama).

i didn't have a lot of experience shooting underwater, so my first day out i took 82 pics and only a few were pretty good. here are a few (all with the canon s410 with the canon housing):

Nwbrewer · Post by **Nwbrewer** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 12:12 pm

Hey Lawgoddess,

How much was the housing for the sd700? I'm looking at picking up one of those too.

Jake

thelawgoddess · Post by **thelawgoddess** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 2:26 pm

yeah; haven't purchased the housing yet. i think newegg has it for $155+$5 shipping. probably the cheapest i've noticed it is around $155, but i haven't scoured the internet yet. i figured first things first with the camera. and i'm ordering a super-fast 2gb sd card next i think ...

Tangfish · Post by **Tangfish** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 3:49 pm

bnboly, I think I spoke too soon, looks like the model I pointed you to is the AW-DC50, models that start with A are 'all weather' and ones that start with D are for diving. I bought the housing for my sister for Christmas last year and she enjoys it very much, but she was only snorkeling.

At a glance though, the housing looked very similar to the one I had for my SD500 (which is now Nailer's). Sorry, I wish I could offer a better solution.

cardiver · Post by **cardiver** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 4:24 pm

For under 400.00 you can get the Oly sp350 (8mp) and the housing. Large view screen and an uw macro mode.

richolionheart · Post by **richolionheart** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 4:31 pm

Ron,

Where did you find this olympus and housing at $400?

Do you know if the sealife strobe works with it?

cardiver · Post by **cardiver** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 4:43 pm

The camera is 199.99 at Costco with a lifetime warranty and the housing I got on line from a place in Ohio for 179.99
I just got this set up last week and have posted some photos on the flikr site.
<a href="" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/83/274927633_7ce1334968.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="PA190066"></a>

Cera · Post by **Cera** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 10:39 pm

A good place to research Canon's are at canon's website. It tells you which cameras have housing and such.... Also I think all the camera's work with the SD stobe from Sealife... (D is for digital)

Tangfish · Post by **Tangfish** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 11:45 pm

You'll want to consider the orientation of the camera and housing before picking the strobe. The SeaLife SL960D is oriented for a camera with the flash on the left-hand side (if you're shooting with the camera).

jeff98208 · Post by **jeff98208** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 3:34 pm

i like the sealife 5.0 housing and software is included. i use the sd 2 meg memory, i can about a weeks worth of pics.

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