cobra

so, i'm thinking of getting one of these creatures -- i can not currently afford a "real" housing, but would like to take me dslr and macro lens underwater. i wouldn't take it much deeper than 10-15 feet... so my specific questions are have you used one of these at shallow depths (15ft and under)? did it "work"? was it hard to use? any problems with vignetting? anyone have a leak at under 30ft? yes, i know they are the boil in the bag option, but it might be this year's solution, until i can afford something much more serious. thanks in advance

thanks that's exactly the info i was looking for. have you noticed any deformation at the edges of the frames? not that the subjects would make any bending all that obvious. thanks again.

i have a related question and thought i'd add it here -- i'm interested in getting a macro lens add-on for my pt-015. olympus makes one, as does inon. inon seems to be bringing out a new one in the near future. does anyone have any experience with either of these lenses? any general feedback? and my specific questions are: can the olympus lens be changed underwater? what is the magnification of the inon lens? (it's listed as 330mm, but what does that translate to in magnification? thanks in advance shelby

thanks for the suggestions. i had wondered about getting '3rd party' o-rings, and if there were considerations for it.

i'm going on a several month trip and would like to purchase replacement orings for my housing. the o-rings for this housing is rather thin and black (unlike what i believe is used in the housing for the P3/P5) i tried purchasing them from B&H and was told they don't carry them... thanks in advance

just one thought about the d60 / coolpix decision if you are used to shooting the d60, the coolpix is going to feel very slow, both the auto focus and the actual shutter lag. and i find that as i'm fighting underwater, that lag seems long. i would strongly suggest getting your hands on the coolpix and taking a couple shots before going that route, and see how it feels to you, and if you will be comfortable adapting. i'm using consumer digicams myself, but the couple days i had the d100 were heaven, which is why i mention it.

okay, i'm looking at purchasing one of these cameras with their related oly housing and am looking for some feedback. i already have a sony p1 w/housing for underwater with a YX DS90, and a sony F707 for land and a lot of slr experience. i know at some point, i'll be exchanging the f707 for a DSLR, and so am leary of investing another 1000$ in a housing i can't use afterwards. my questions are: how useful/necessary are the 'my modes' settings for underwater? eg does the fact that the 4040 doesn't have them constitue a major disadvantage? how does the new placement of controls in the 5050 change the ease of use compared to previous models? how accessible are the manual controls on the 5050? how does one focus manually? other than pixel size, f stop and depth possibilities of the housings, what points would you feel the most important in deciding for or against one of these configurations and why? and are replacement o-rings available for the housings? thanks in advance for any feedback

yes, people here seem to all use the DS, i've heard good things about the sea and sea YS90 DX elsewhere -- was hoping to get some comparison, though people seem to be one or the other. for connecting physically, you got that answer, otherwise, for making the strobe flash, there's an optical cable that sees the internal flash 'flash'

i just asked this questions , you can take a look at the replies in "sony P1 strobe questions". the responses will be the same as long as there is a viewport for the camera's internal flash. depending on your housing, you may have additional options.

thanks for all the information

thanks james, and i was just reading about your marine biology course -- i'd be interested to know if you count on doing another one. for the size of the flash (there's a big and a small in both cases) is bigger always better? or are there situations where smaller is preferable? thanks again

i'd like some suggestions on a strobe set up for my sony-P1 (no pre-flash). outside of the water i use a sony f707, in manual mode. my primary requirements are: 1) works with a digital system (sony now, something else later) 2) upgradeable -- if i put my big camera in a housing, or get another that this will still be a useful part of my kit. 3) for now i will be shooting in carribean waters, more close ups than anything. could i get a smaller flash, that could become a 2nd flash later? i've seen several options -- ikelite, sea and sea being the main ones. any suggestions? any personal results? thanks in advance.