Help Needed Please!

[kafandiyev 0]

Hello I am a beginner diver and I want to buy DSLR camera and I have a budget of 2000USD for camera and lenses. But in the future, probably by the end of the next year I intend to buy a good housing for that DSLR.

The problem is I have no clue about underwater photography with DSLR as I used only Canon PS 720IS with dedicated canon housing.

My only rational is that having HD video ability in camera would be fine. And for that reason I'm interested in Canon 7D, 5DmkII (exceed my budget) and Nikon D90... But I really don't know which is more convenient. As I don't now the burden it will cause when I will be selecting the housing flash and suitable lenses.. Probably my problem is that I haven't seen any DSLR equipment in some other's hands so I don't know anything about the DSLR combinations for UW photgraphy.

 

In brief my questions are:

 

Does the camera really matters in terms of choosing housing in the future? Canon or Nikon? Would you advise D90 or 7d or 5DmkII ?

 

What about lenses? Which lenses are more suitable or preferred in underwater photography? Zoom or prime?

 

Or should I think again for UW DSLR because housings and other equipment for DSLRs are very expensive?

 

any commnets, advises and suggestions are very much appreciated!

 

Thank you in advance...

 

PS: Is there any up to date source for learning about DSLRs for UW photography?

[ronscuba 4]

Canon T2i

[gravity 0]

There will be varying opinions on Nikon vs Canon. At any given time one is ahead of the other, but they seem to take turns. Both are well supported by housing manufactures. It mostly comes down to personal preference. But I will say for Nikon you should the d7000, not d90. I am not sure if there are housings available yet for d7000, but there will be soon. I think Nauticam has announced one, and I think it is generally considered a significant upgrade from the d90. I

 

With a limited budget, I would start with a wide angle lens. My favorite is Tokina 10-17 fisheye, and you will find that it is a very popular lens underwater. When your budget allows add a macro lens. I prefer the 105mm macro, but some prefer the 60mm. More than 90% of my pics uw are taken with a wide angle or macro lens, but eventually you will probably want a mid-range zoom also. The Sigma 17-70 performs relatively well behind a dome but doesn't work with full frame camera's (eg 5D MKII).

 

The only other thing I would add is that if you are looking to be able to afford everything quicker, you might want to look into the new EVIL (electronic viewfinder, interchangeable lens) cameras. They are less expensive and tiny, but supposed to be high quality and you maintain the flexibility of interchangeable lenses. Nauticam makes a housing for one of the Sony models, and Olympus makes their own housing for one of their models. Recent issues of Underwater Photography Magazine has a review and more details.

[bvanant 195]

There will be varying opinions on Nikon vs Canon. At any given time one is ahead of the other, but they seem to take turns. Both are well supported by housing manufactures. It mostly comes down to personal preference. But I will say for Nikon you should the d7000, not d90. I am not sure if there are housings available yet for d7000, but there will be soon. I think Nauticam has announced one, and I think it is generally considered a significant upgrade from the d90. I

 

With a limited budget, I would start with a wide angle lens. My favorite is Tokina 10-17 fisheye, and you will find that it is a very popular lens underwater. When your budget allows add a macro lens. I prefer the 105mm macro, but some prefer the 60mm. More than 90% of my pics uw are taken with a wide angle or macro lens, but eventually you will probably want a mid-range zoom also. The Sigma 17-70 performs relatively well behind a dome but doesn't work with full frame camera's (eg 5D MKII).

 

The only other thing I would add is that if you are looking to be able to afford everything quicker, you might want to look into the new EVIL (electronic viewfinder, interchangeable lens) cameras. They are less expensive and tiny, but supposed to be high quality and you maintain the flexibility of interchangeable lenses. Nauticam makes a housing for one of the Sony models, and Olympus makes their own housing for one of their models. Recent issues of Underwater Photography Magazine has a review and more details.

 

If I were only shooting on land or mostly on land, I would skip the Tokina. Underwater it is a great lens but on land it kind of sucks. The D7000 or the T2i are both excellent cameras and both will serve you well for quite a while. Get the kit lens with either. One point to consider is that the D7000 is about $500 more than the T2i with comparable kit lenses.

Whichever one you get, practice, practice, practice on land so that if you take it UW you will know exactly how it works.

Bill

[ornate_wrasse 0]

I recommend that you pick up a copy of The Underwater Photographer, 4th Edition by Martin Edge. Although it won't have the absolutely latest models of cameras in the book, it's chock full of a lot of information that is helpful to uw photographers. On this site, it's often called the Bible of uw photography, it's that good.

 

It just may help you form your own decisions about what you want to purchase.

 

Ellen

[Aussiebyron 57]

My suggestions are that you personally go into a shop which sells a whole range of DSLR and have a play with them. Recommend Nikon or Canon to be your major brands to look at as they are the two brands which most third party housing manufactures build for. Quite often you will like the feel or the button layout of one brand over another. For on land use I love my Nikon 18-200, but you cant take this underwater.

 

I see the rational in getting a good DSLR and lens first for land use and then look at getting it housed and lenses for underwater use at a later date. But you have to bear in mind that the cost of getting a camera underwater far exceeds simply buying a underwater housing for it. It comes down to buying lenses which a primary for underwater use (like as stated by poster above Tokina 10-17mm for wide angle and a macro lens like 60mm or 100/105mm are an excellent choice) but thats over $1,000 just for two lenses. Then there is housing, ports, arms, sync cords, strobe/s etc etc etc. So you have to understand that its going to cost a few thousand dollars to get this camera underwater.

 

Also I strongly suggest that you rack up a lot more dives before you consider purchasing a DSLR and setting it up underwater which will cost you a few thousand.

 

Regards Mark

[Paul Kay 65]

Whilst buying a dSLR with the intention of housing it later on might seem logical you need to bear in mind that it might not be so easy to find a housing for a specific model later, especially if the camera model is obsolete by then. I usually advise that a camera and housing are bought together to avoid problems in finding housings. Also used housing are often offered for sale complete with the camera. If you are a beginner diver I would say that Mark's advice is also very sound - do more diving and learn to master buoyancy - good buoyancy control is the biggest asset that you can have when taking photos and will be much more beneficial than the difference between a good and a top of the range dSLR is! I'd suggest more dives then a used set up which is a few years old and which falls into your budget would be a good way to go. (Nikon and Canon both make excellent cameras - the high end models that you mention will ALL produce superb results).