Entry level camera

philmatt · Post by **philmatt** » Fri Jul 29, 2011 6:40 pm

Hi, I looking to buy a camera, any ideas on a good starter camera. looking to pay around $1000.00 to $1500.00 is that doable? oh is doable a word!!

H20doctor · Post by **H20doctor** » Fri Jul 29, 2011 9:32 pm

there are a bunch of us divers here that take pics.... id say buy a Canon... you can get into one for under 500 bucks , the powershot series.. A640 etc.. etc... if you want nicer ... go with a G10, or G11

dphershman · Post by **dphershman** » Fri Jul 29, 2011 9:37 pm

Well, it kind of depends on what you mean by a 'starter' camera. If you mean just a point and shoot with no plans for 'moving up' then any Canon Powershot with a Canon uw housing will do. Most of the relatively inexpensive Canon SD series cameras (i.e., Canon SD 880) have an uw case as an option. You can use your dive light as a main light source and get some pretty good shots with these. These will run just a few hundred bucks for the camera and housing.

Do you think you'll be tempted to upgrade later on? If so then I'd suggest going with a better housing that will get you into a system you can grow. Start with a good point and shoot like the Canon S95 or G11 and put it into an Ikelight housing. These will cost close to about $800-$1000 or so. You can then add an Ikelight Strobe later on as your budget allows. Either of these cameras can do some amazing images. When you add a strobe you will be amazed at how great the images look.

If you should decide to eventually go for a DSLR, you can move the strobe to an Ikelight housing for the DSLR, then sell your original point and shoot with its housing to get back some of what you paid for the original camera.

Hope that helps a bit--- I'm sure that there's others out there with good recommendations too.

Dusty2 · Post by **Dusty2** » Fri Jul 29, 2011 9:39 pm

With that kind of cash you can easily get into a G10, G11 or G12 with Canon or Ikelite housings. They are top of the line point and shoot cams with lots of room to grow as you learn. For my 2 PSI Canon is he way to go. Check out my photo site below for an idea of what they are capable of.

I did a bit of checking and you can get the Canon G12 (newest model) with the newest Ikelite case and an extra battery for $1,143.94 from amazon. Not bad for the latest model and it does 720p HD video too.

LCF · Post by **LCF** » Fri Jul 29, 2011 10:24 pm

I'm using an Olympus 6020, with the Olympus housing. Peter bought it from Jack Connick in April for $499, housing and camera together. It's not a fantastic camera, but it's small and easy to carry, and it has the signal virtue that the camera is waterproof to a degree, so if the housing leaks a little, you haven't fried the camera. If you want to see the kind of pictures you can take with it, take a look at my report from Point Hudson from last weekend.

It's not a "work of art" camera, but it was cheap, and I'm learning a lot using it.

philmatt · Post by **philmatt** » Sat Jul 30, 2011 9:17 am

Thanks for responding to my post, sound like canon is a popular choice. How about the Sealife DC1200 camera?

Dusty2 · Post by **Dusty2** » Sat Jul 30, 2011 9:28 am

philmatt wrote:Thanks for responding to my post, sound like canon is a popular choice. How about the Sealife DC1200 camera?

They are OK but I feel they are too pricey and not that great. Why not go for a camera that is great on land as well as in the water? If price is a factor go with the canon case and save a bundle + it's way smaller than the ikelite.

DecidedlyOdd · Post by **DecidedlyOdd** » Sat Jul 30, 2011 10:15 am

I think he's out of town at the moment, but Jack at Optical Ocean Sales sells full setups (housing, strobe, arms, etc.) for a few cameras in your price range like Olympus XZ-1, Canon G12 or S95.

They have a showroom on the north end of Westlake Ave in Seattle. I'd strongly recommend checking the place out in person if you can because you'll be able to actually see and handle the different options.

Dusty2 · Post by **Dusty2** » Sat Jul 30, 2011 10:34 am

DecidedlyOdd wrote:I think he's out of town at the moment, but Jack at Optical Ocean Sales sells full setups (housing, strobe, arms, etc.) for a few cameras in your price range like Olympus XZ-1, Canon G12 or S95.

They have a showroom on the north end of Westlake Ave in Seattle. I'd strongly recommend checking the place out in person if you can because you'll be able to actually see and handle the different options.

Good idea, Jack is very knowledgeable and full of good info.

eliseaboo · Post by **eliseaboo** » Sat Jul 30, 2011 3:51 pm

SeaLife cameras are a good option for people who want a very basic camera. The new model doesn't offer any flexibility to change, say the shutter speed, but if you think you just want to point the camera at something and press the shutter it would be a good choice. The packages are pretty reasonable, actually. We're a dealer over here in WI and the camera/housing runs about $500, and the whole deal with the wide angle and the strobe runs about $900. I've used it in the pool and it was really simple: it asks you simple questions such as "Are you diving or snorkeling?" and the piano key buttons are really nice too. As said above, there aren't a whole lot of options to grow with this setup, but it will get you going pretty fast. And as someone on her second camera/housing now, it seems that there isn't a whole lot of "moving up" to be done without getting a whole new set up anyway.

Another thing to consider is if there is a housing for a camera you already own. You'll already know how to use the camera on land (you usually can't see the buttons while it's in the housing) and it will save you some cash. Cannons are nice cameras, but I'm in the Nikon camp because I've had good luck with their macro shots. If you choose a good Cannon/Nikon/Olympus point and shoot with a solid housing(I like Fantasea, because it lets me use the internal flash, but Cannon and Ikelite make super solid cases that you pretty much can't go wrong with) you will be in good shape with plenty of options.

Grizz · Post by **Grizz** » Sat Jul 30, 2011 4:55 pm

I just happen to be selling a really nice Uw set up .
I have a DX-G1 with a flight case, spare o rings new batters etc. i can send pic.
the camera is capable of taking very nice macro shots and it also comes with a wide angel.
see attached pics.

: http://www.nwdiveclub.com/download/file.php?mode=view&id=13783&sid=c8792fd8a785babd1f38d63ce2be7cc4

Dashrynn · Post by **Dashrynn** » Sat Jul 30, 2011 5:16 pm

You won't go wrong with a canon g10/11/12. I looked at the sealife to begin with and thought it was nifty but after talking to owners of the camera and seeing the results along with the lower price of a land camera in a shell I was definitely glad I listened to the photogs on here.

+ 10000000 for jack. His setups are the best for the price. Plus his customer service is AMAZING. His wealth of knowledge is on par with the the most veteran of under pressure air breathers, helps that he also shoots (takes pictures) actively.

DiverBob · Post by **DiverBob** » Sat Jul 30, 2011 6:48 pm

Lot's of good advice here. Bottom line, you do not have to spend a lot of money to get a descent, entry level set up. Talk to Jack first. If you like shooting pictures, you can then move up to something nicer. You will have a much better idea what will suit you best. There are some terrific pics posted on this forum taken will basic P&S's and using no strobe. keep asking questions and have fun. Bob

inflex · Post by **inflex** » Thu Aug 04, 2011 3:07 pm

Go with a canon powershot G series. You can buy this stuff used for extremely cheap or get a new G12. Housing options are plentiful and some are pretty cheap as well (<$180). Pick up a YS-110 or similar strobe, and you're good to go. Within that price range, such a setup will also allow you to 'grow' and shoot just about anything. You'll even have more flexibility than a DSLR on a single dive at 1/6th the cost.

Whatever camera you choose, the key is to be able to shoot manually and not have to depend on the camera's automatic modes. They work great topside, but make for mostly wasted shots underwater.

At the $1500 price range, on big consideration is if you think you'll truly want to upgrade later. If so, get the best strobe you can afford. If not, get 2 smaller strobes. Strobes can be moved to your next setup, where as the camera and housing will simply be money down the drain.

(I should note that a true "upgrade" from the above setup would be a foray into the world of DSLRs, at which point it's at least 6x the cost).

cardiver · Post by **cardiver** » Thu Aug 04, 2011 6:13 pm

Oly XZ1. Faster and higher quality lens. Better hd video, and you can use your strobes in s t/l while shooting in manual mode.

mcloed121 · Post by **mcloed121** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 8:56 am

If you want a cheap but good camera that take great pics you can go with nikon coolpix L22 with ikealite housing thats what i use and it takes great pics even with out using light just the flash and reflector that comes with it.

finnegankp · Post by **finnegankp** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 9:48 am

I picked up a really nice DMC-TZ5 Panasonic Lumix camera with the Panasonic DMW-MCTZ5 marine case and it takes great pictures and video. It has a diffuser for the flash that is removable and is set up for a light and additional strobes. Got both pieces off ebay for cheap!

Matt S. · Post by **Matt S.** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 11:31 am

The DX-1G is a good camera and there are nice lens options for that housing. I have the DX-2G and it's very similar... It's actually a Ricoh under the hood. Despite being a long time Canon and Nikon user I was super impressed with the controls on the Ricoh, it's very well thought out.

Getting a good point & shoot and adding a strobe later is not a bad idea. You can take decent macro pics with a built-in strobe, and if you are new to photography learning the external strobe along with how to really use shutter speed and aperture settings could be daunting.

Chalk up another vote for Jack's shop. It's a cool place and Jack is super nice.

Things to consider...

- I really really suggest a camera that can shoot in raw mode. That makes it easier to do exposure and white balance fixes. All my cameras, land and sea, are set to shoot jpeg + raw. (When I was buying my camera it was very hard to find a camera that did raw AND HD video, at least that met my other requirements... I had to live without HD video.)

- There are a lot of good cameras with good 3rd party housings. Not all of the housings will allow you to use the internal flash. If you are getting an external strobe right away, no problem. But you may want to add a strobe later, or you may want to be able to still use your camera if your external strobe goes kaput.

- Try to find a housing that will let you use wet-mount lenses, and that has good macro and wide-angle options available. You may not need to buy them right away but if you stick with the hobby, you will want them.

- An external strobe with some kind of magical TTL metering will make your life easier. You can certainly learn to set flash exposures manually, but I was really pleasantly surprised that my rig's TTL system works so well that I never had to.

Good luck!

guitarmaker · Post by **guitarmaker** » Thu Aug 25, 2011 11:40 am

I'm looking to upgrade my SeaLife 800 and thinking of the Canon G12 too. Question for those of you experienced with the G12, is the Ikelight housing really worth more than 3 times the price? I see the Canon is rated to 130' and the Ikelight to 200 but I really don't get much below 100 fsw very often.

Matt S. · Post by **Matt S.** » Thu Aug 25, 2011 12:09 pm

The Ike housing will probably be compatible with more or different add-on lenses and may have a fancy electrical strobe cable connection. Depending on your needs none of that may be important to you.

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