Newbie Rigs: What camera system did you buy?

[Jasoncassanova 0]

hello,

 

I recently bought a G11 and I got the Ikelite housing with it together with a double handle tray

[kentmarcus 0]

Hi all,

 

I have been shooting with my canon 5d mark 2 since it was released. Love the camera. I have just bought the ikelite houseing for the camera. Cant wait to shoot with it.

 

I am also wondering of anyone has played with strobe triggers, especially when shooting in shallow water. I am wanting to trigger my studio strobes from underwater. Any ideas appreciated.

[Kammeraspiel 0]

This is a great post! I really like your story of change-over from chem photog. because it gives me hope. I have been trying to do this after years of reticence and I am going CANON. I have just been through about a month of nightmares trying to purchase and build a kit, dealing with crazy people; Salesmen right out of David Mammet's GLENNGARY GLEN ROSS, and great deals with sketchy websites. Lost my money once but got it back again and had to cancel my credit cards on a second occassion of bait and switch sales. But I've got to expand my abilities and go pro. This is the only place I feel safe. Is there a reason the Canon Mark IV doesn't seem to be readily available with UW housing or why other models are preferrred? Is it all about $; being that M4 is a high end camera will not sell as well or is it a bad choice as an UW camera? It seems to be the perfect camera for me, the versitility I would want; an art camera that will work wonderfully for stills, news clips, UW and short film. I would like to be pointed in the right direction so I can go dig my money up from the benthic regions (joking) build my kit, and get to work.

Thanks, CR

 

 

Hi folks,

I put my first DSLR rig together this year. I have a Canon 40D in a Sea & Sea housing with 2 YS-250 strobes, UCLS arms and a Fisheye 48DX LED focus light. I have the ports and focus/zoom gears to support the Tokina 10-17mm and the Canon 10-22mm along with the 60mm and the 100mm macro lenses. Everyone will have their own "best system". What's right for me might not be what your looking for so I will attempt to talk a little about why I made the choices I did so you can have a little more info to make your own choices.

 

I was changing over from the chemical photography I had done using a series of Nikonos cameras. My motivation to move up to the DSLR came from a request by a developer to use some of my film images in a hotel/condominium project. This architect really liked my stuff and it was just enough of a push to get me started down the digital path. I knew I wanted a system that provided the best image quality and versatility I could reasonably afford. The nikonos system was great for it's day, and can still make some incredible images but you are severely limited in some areas. I wanted my new system to fill those holes.

 

I surveyed the available camera systems and purchased a 350D a year earlier so I could begin to learn how to deal with the digital world. My decision to go with a Canon was based on the fact that I had a lot of Canon glass from the film days. In retrospect a non issue since I would need all new lenses anyway, but I didn't know that. Sometimes it just comes down to Karma, I was celebrating my 40th year of diving so the 40D seemed like a great choice for my first underwater DSLR. Actually it was positioned technically right in my wheel house. Very good image quailty, big LCD which I love, larger viewfinder, easy controls, etc. and it's not ridiculously expensive. I don't do underwater photography for a living or I might have made a different choice. I give my Nikon friends grief sometimes but in reality either system in the hands of a competent photographer can do amazing things. In retrospect the 40D was a great choice for me. I love what it can do.

 

The housing was a tougher chioce, I live in the desert SW so there was no place close by to put my hands on the different options. Eric's post from last years DEMA came at a great time for me. He went to the trouble to post images of all the new housings for the 40D that were still to be introduced and saved me a ton of work and travel. All of the folks on Wetpixel were a fantastic resource and helped me immensely. The best thing a potential buyer can do to save some growing pains is spend the time to research the posts here. In the end it came down to the Subal, the Sea & Sea and the Aquatica. The Seatool wasn't released yet and I wanted an all aluminum housing so the Ikelight wasn't on my list. Based on features and price point I choose the Sea & Sea and it's been very impressive so far. The new MDX housings are very nice pieces of gear. Solid, nice locking ports, very well made, with well designed ergonomic controls. The 40D was the first Canon housing for Aquatica and they didn't have the port selection available for Canon lenses at the time I was making my decision. The Subal is a gorgeous tool but I didn't feel I could jusity the additional expense. Again if I was making my living with it I might have made a different choice. On a business trip back east I was able to stop by the great shop of Underwater Photo-Tech in Derry, NH and finally lay my hands on real housings. This cemented my choice and the rest was easy.

 

The new YS 250's looked perfect for what I wanted to do and they turned out to be even better than I imagined. The miniscule recycle time on the big strobes is very different from my old Nikonos strobes and completely changed the game. Our past experiences always affect our decisions and I'm haunted by the time I was being looped by a manta in the waters off the outer reefs of Belize while I hung there stupidly waiting for the strobe to recycle. Never again, if I can help it. When it comes to light, I want as much as I can carry and control. The well written articles by Berkley White of Backscatter in Monterey came at a great time to help me decide on the strobes. The great guys at Backscatter were a superb help all along this little journey.

 

I decided on the Fisheye 48DX focus light. This is the LED version with 50,000 hr bulb life and a huge 10 hour burn time on one set of batteries. It's about half the price of the halogen version and uses the same difusers. It puts out plenty of light for the AF sytem of the Canon, a little over half power on it's adjustable output is all I needed. Ryan at Reef Photo was a big help in getting me set up with a small arm that would get the light high enough to get over the dome when I want to use it at night or for CFWA.

 

All in all I'm extremely happy with the system I've put together. I still have a lot to learn but I'm headed in the right direction. If you'd like to see what kind of images the system can do in the hands of recreational shooters on their first attempt take a look at our web page on Flickr (linked below). I have some old film images up and a new set called digital Bonaire from my first trip with the new rig. The macro shots felt much easier to do with the digital system than the old Nikonos. I found that good wide angle images were harder to get than I expected, I still have a lot to learn. The fish shots with the new system were miles ahead of anything I was able to do before.

 

One other note, I spent a lot of time reseaching the folks who advertise here on wetpixel and some who don't. In every case I got great, helpful, accurate answers to all my sometimes dumb questions. We are blessed with a group of fantastic people supporting and supplying us with equipment today that previous generations of divers never dreamed of.

 

So do your research, decide what you want the tools to help you do then use all the great resources at your disposal to find your own treasure.

Good luck!

Steve

[gina 9]

After about two years of using my Canon 5D in an Ikelite housing I upgraded to a Canon 5D MkII in an Aquatica housing. The Ikelite is fine for a beginner, and relatively inexpensive, but I was running up against its limitations. Now that I've used a pro-style housing I'll never go back.

 

The Aquatica (and by extension, Subal and the other pro housings) is made much better and sturdier, and there is more precision involved than with the Ikelite. As a result it is more watertight and the lens port attachments are more secure. (My Ikelite once flooded due to the port attachment coming loose.) I found the controls to be positioned well and easy to use, particularly after I installed the Xit knob cover over the focus knob. All that being said, after I bought my housing it did need some tweaks to insure all the knobs were aligned correctly. I was luckly enough to be on a trip recently with Berkley White who helped me dial in everything so that now it works like a champ.

 

Here's a great post showing exactly how Aquatica housings are made.

 

I've used the Aquatica + 5D MkII on four trips this year and love the combination as it's just right for me. One word of advice should you be buying a new camera/housing--please don't buy it immediately before a "once in a lifetime" trip! Make a few test dives and if there are any problems or adjustments necessary, make sure you have time to visit/contact your dealer and fix them before that big trip.

 

-Gina

[Byte Me 3]

Finally pulled the trigger on a new UW setup. Been looking to replace my SP-350, Oly housing, Inon WA wet lens. So I sold that (hung on to the ULCS tray/arms & Inon D2000) and also sold my D300 and 5 lenses which were strictly above water use (and weren't getting that much use) to fund a totally new setup.

 

After MUCH deliberation, I decided on the E-PL1 for a "best of both worlds" approach, interchangeable lenses, small form, does HD video. I went with the Oly housing, Inon macro lens and adapter, Zen 7-14mm port and Panny 7-14mm lens. Added on a Sola 600 focus / video light. It's on its way here now and I can't wait to get it wet!!

[sucinimad 0]

Hi all. Newbie hear looking to learn much from the forum.

[hemdale 0]

Very nice forum thanks to everyone !

[FishDragon 0]

Just a newbie myself. Glad I was pointed towards this forum.

[Maggie 1]

Just starting and these post are really helping.

[RVbldr 6]

Great thread! I actually started with a borrowed Nikonos around 1985 or so, and around 1998, dabbled with a Sea & Sea Motomarine 35 film camera. Finally, the first real kit was 2013 Sony RX100 MKI, Ikelite housing, 2x YS-D1 strobes, focus light, a Nauticam CMC-1 close-up lens, and a Kraken wet wide angle lens, all purchased over a period of time. The RX100 is great with 20MP and manual controls and has stood up to almost 8 years of diving Seattle and travel. For an entry level, it's really been a fantastic camera, but it's getting time to upgrade! 

[Dann-Oh 40]

Ive been using the Olympus EPL10 inside an AOI housing since the beginning of 2021.  The EPL10 is an awesome step into interchangeable lens cameras it utilizes the micro4/3s sensor which  gives the compactness of a point and shoot camera but the ability to change lenses like a big ole DSLR.  The housing also allows the user to change ports based on the lenses you are using.  I currently have mine set up like a DSLR; I use a 8mm fisheye lens and the 60mm macro and associated ports. The standard port has a m67 thread on it so it can accept a wet lens.  I have added the Backscatter MF1 strobe (I have 2x strobes but I have only used 1 strobe so far).  At the time of purchase the camera and housing could be bought for $1,200USD which is a heck of a deal. I might look into adding a a Backscatter Macro Wide 4300 macro video light.

 

I look forward to MANY years of UW Photography with this camera rig.  

[Atjdiver91652 1]

I have recently upgraded from the Olympus TG 5 and housing to a Backscatter/AOI housing and Olympus E-LP 10.  My maiden voyage with this new rig was in June and have to say it has changed the way I think of underwater photography.  While more complex (manual mode, etc) it allows me to change lenses and dial in on the types of photos I want.  Couldn't be more happy.  Go to www.backscatter.com for more info

[JCF 1]

I haven't gotten it wet yet, but I have the AOI housing and Olympus EPL10 as well.  This replaces an old Sony point and shoot with housing that I had for well over 15 years. I really like the compactness of the camera and I think it's going to replace my topside Lumix FZ1000 for surface pictures as well. Just waiting till December for our next dive trip, cobbling together a kit, and doing a lot of reading. Living in NC makes it challenging to get in the underwater practice.