Newbie Must Read: What new system did you just buy?

[morrissey91 0]

Hi there,

 

i am lover of snorkelling and scuba diving when ever i get time

 

i have always wanted to buy a decent UW camera setup however never had the money

 

i have recently bought a Nikon Coolpix S9100 http://mynikonlife.com.au/gear/digital-compact-cameras/s9100

as a compact camera to take on vacation etc

i have found the camera to be excellent for scenic and zoom photos on land but i really want to find out whether it would be good to buy a housing for it so i can take some UW photos

or would i be better off buying a proper setup

 

the other thing is that i can only find one manurfacturer for a housing for my nikon http://www.ikelite.com/web_two/nik_s9100.html

 

does anyone know of any others?

[wma 1]

Hi

Thought I'd refresh this topic for 2011.

 

The most asked question by any newbie is one that many ask or do research on. So in the tradition of Mr Wetpixel himself, we will (try) to restart this thread to give newbies the most up to date new rigs from members who have made the plunge themselves and why.

So members who have recently bought new rigs, please feel free to add your opinions and feedback on your rigs so that others may benefit from your knowledge. The more details the better.

 

For ease of reading and research for members, please refrain from off topic discussions

Thanks and happy shopping.

 

The older thread is here:

 

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=24887

 

Just replying to this post so I can start a post.

[chuckdee 0]

Hi

Thought I'd refresh this topic for 2011.

 

The most asked question by any newbie is one that many ask or do research on. So in the tradition of Mr Wetpixel himself, we will (try) to restart this thread to give newbies the most up to date new rigs from members who have made the plunge themselves and why.

So members who have recently bought new rigs, please feel free to add your opinions and feedback on your rigs so that others may benefit from your knowledge. The more details the better.

 

For ease of reading and research for members, please refrain from off topic discussions

Thanks and happy shopping.

 

The older thread is here:

 

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=24887

 

noob here...just trying to reply to a topic so i can post. lol

[rzxrey 0]

noob here...just trying to reply to a topic so i can post. lol

 

Good job. You did it.

[tronage 0]

Hello Everyone,

Just got back from Beneath the Sea tradeshow, and found out about this forum while attending an AMAZING workshop given by Michel Gilbert. I'm very new to photography UW, and want to start working up to a better system... Currently using a Sony DSC-TX5 inside a Sony MPK-THJ housing. The thought being that if the camera inside the case is also waterproof, then if/when it floods, the camera would be "Safer". After seeing all the goodies at BTS, I want to buy everything lol, however my wallet tends to disagree with me on that... So I'm looking to begin to upgrade (piece by piece if possible), so I'll be looking for some help in a later post (just replying here so I'll be able to post lol)

 

Take Care!

-Rob

Edited March 27, 2012 by tronage

[DivePalau 0]

Hi. New poster here.

 

Here's my rig I just bought (and am still assembling.)

 

Nikon D90

Nikon 60mm AF-D /w Tamron SP AF 1.4x teleconverter

Nikon 18-55

Ikelite housing

 

What I'm planning on buying:

 

Tokina fisheye

(2) Ikelite DS-161 Strobe

Ports for 60mm and tokina and maybe the 18-55?

[DamonA 7]

Hi. New poster here.

 

Here's my rig I just bought (and am still assembling.)

 

Nikon D90

Nikon 60mm AF-D /w Tamron SP AF 1.4x teleconverter

Nikon 18-55

Ikelite housing

 

What I'm planning on buying:

 

Tokina fisheye

(2) Ikelite DS-161 Strobe

Ports for 60mm and tokina and maybe the 18-55?

 

 

Hi,

How does the tamron TC go for Auto focusing with the nikon lens?

I am similar to you, but went the nikon D7000 in Aquatica housing and basically have the same strategy, start 60mm macro and grow out to the 10-17 fisheye( I am steering towards the YS-D1 sea n sea strobes however, preferring the Optical setup sea n sea has developed).

 

The 18-55 is a cheapy lens, why bother buying a port for it? - probably will work with your 60mm port anyhow, does it AF????

Hope your dives are safe and you camera is always dry,

Damon

[stivesbathroom02 0]

hi guyZ!!)

[futureshock999 0]

As a pretty devout land photographer (for an amateur), I finally realised that it would be impossible to get an underwater case for my Gandalfi Universal 4x5" negative camera. I guess the whole one-shot thing pretty much ruined that idea as well - after all, it's really hard to change film holders underwater.

 

As a beginning diver, I also realised that I wanted to start small, but with good quality. I have an Oly E-3 DSLR and a suite of rather expensive lenses for it, but housings for it are hard to find, and it is large and heavy in it's magnesium case. Fortunately I have a much-loved Olympus XZ-1, which is my travel camera. Not to say that I wouldn't LOVE to have my 7-14mm lens underwater on the E-3, but you have to start somewhere.

 

So I just ordered the PT-050 housing from B&H, and am having it flown around the world to me in Australia. The goal is to get PADI certified in the next three weeks, and then I have just booked on Mike Ball's boat on the Great Barrier Reef for June. That might be a tad ambitious, but at my age you can't wait around. Not enough time left to play games. I do worry about getting to terms with the diving experience whilst trying to master a camera underwater, but I'll do the best I can - I bought a lanyard so I can always just drop it and concentrate on my diving if I need to. I will try to take the camera and housing into my building's pool for some trials before I leave, so that at least I have experience in the water with it. I also bought a Fantasea 44 LED light, that had some very good reviews both as a dive light and as a focus assist light, and comes with a mounting.

 

As a photographer (something I know a little bit more about than diving), I do recommend the XZ-1 as an EXCELLENT camera for someone wanting something smaller than a DSLR, but a much larger sensor than most compacts. With the JJC snap-open lens cover it is the best travel camera I have yet seen, and at least on land it's pictures can be stunning, in both RAW and jpeg. Additionally, it has a true pro-quality Zuiko lens with a f1.8 aperature, which makes it ideal for low-light situations underwater. I figure that even if I lose a stop to a red filter I am still in good shape. And the FT-050 seems a great value case to start out with - and I will likely shoot in manual mode much of the time anyway, so the Ikelight's TTL doesn't seem a huge advantage. YMMV, of course.

 

Wish me luck - I will probably need it...

[bugsy15 0]

Hi all. Stepping up from a G10 with Ikelite housing!

Just bought a Canon 7D. I'm very close to buying the Nauticam housing. Does anyone have any thoughts about this housing? Good/Bad? Should I consider Subal or Sea&Sea?

Also... am thinking of getting the Canon 60mm macro lens and a Tokina 10-17mm fisheye. Should this have me covered? Also looking at the Sigma 10-20mm b/c it's easier to find here in Australia.

Finally, I currently have a DS-51 Ikelite strobe. I'm going to use that for a few months. But will probably upgrade to a 2nd flash in a few months. Thinking having the Ikelite paired with an Inon. Is this a good/bad idea?

Thanks for your feedback!

Jay

 

Hey Jay,

I've just bought a G10 (Canon housing) as my first underwater camera. Seeing as you've just upgraded from one was wondering if you had any tips on getting good shots out of it underwater. I'm fairly new at photography both above and below the water so I'm wondering if maybe I've started a little out of my depth!

 

Thanks,

Bugsy

[apsimpson06 0]

I started with a fuji f80 exr last year, with the fuji housing and a intova strobe, whilst at the time it was just a starter kit for myself, it has served its purpose and will be going to DSLR Nikon D7000 with a Nauticam housing in the next few months.

 

 

I have been dabbling in u/w photography for 12 months and have the same camera Fuji F80 EXR. impressed with the quality of images from reletive shallow dives, hoping santa will get me a strobe for christmas.

[mmorgan0330 0]

Hithere! New to the forum but not to the joys of underwater photography. Lookforward to learning more about my passion! BTW I am selling my Nikon d300 WITHthe Subal ND300 housing AND the Subal WS 45 degree viewfinder! I will post acomplete add in the classifieds.

 

[hammer88 0]

hi everybody

[bear35 11]

HI Newbie bear35 here just making a reply so I can post.

[nflor001 0]

Hello new here. Went from a Sealife DC1200 to an Olympus epm1 and housing.

Joined to get some tips and tricks.

[TheDeuce 0]

Hey,

 

My story starts in January of 2011 when the gentleman operating the Belezian dive shop we were diving with lent me his Canon Powershot SD 850 (iirc). I'd been diving since 2004 (rarely, as us Canadian prairie folk are wont to do) and my buddy and I had goofed around with his first-gen GoPro but I was instantly hooked once I got the Powershot images uploaded. I was an SLR shooter back in high school (circa 1991), lost it for a while, and got back into it when I accidentally bought a Canon Rebel XTi (Canon 400D in international parlance, I believe) in 2007.

 

Starting shopping, I was expecting to invest in a P&S, perhaps a Sealife, given that I dive so rarely. Making an investment in an SLR housing didn't seem prudent, but when I went to my LDS for advice I was in luck! His photography-inclined employee was selling his Ikelite XTi housing for peanuts. We closed the deal, bought a single DS161 strobe, and still had change for what I'd have spent on the Sealife setup. Bulky, perhaps, but affordable! I was pumped to start hitting the local dive sites with a vengeance. Local, cold, freshwater diving with my new setup. What could be better?

 

(And yes, I know that the term 'bulky' is relative. Looking at some of the rigs you guys are using brings to mind the contraption that James Cameron slid into to go check out the Mariana Trench!)

 

Life deviates from the script on a regular basis, however. In my case it was a very welcome addition to our growing family that helped delete the two annual dive trips me and the buds did. Fast forward to today and I have some great looking equipment that looks like it hasn't been used since.... well.... before I bought it. Yikes!

 

In the meantime my topside equipment has been upgraded (I happily snagged a 7D and recently added a 5D Mark II that was priced so low I couldn't walk away). I started thinking about ways to swap the XTi housing for either the 7D or 5DM2 but rational sensibility stepped in my way. Gear lust and intelligence are on two ends of a teeter-totter in my brain. Gear lust goes up, the intelligence goes down. Thankfully the metaphorical teeter-totter swung back the other way. I'm now getting re-excited to dive the Rebel setup, knowing three things:

 

1. The Rebel can take just as good a pic as the 7D, something I've proven to myself a number of times.

2. The price differential between what I'd get for the XTi housing and what I'd pay for a 7D (or 5DM2) housing would be tough to justify.

3. The cost of a DEU Error (Defective End User Error) is a lot lower if I have a Rebel inside instead of a 7D. Soggy XTi replacement on eBay: around $300. Soggy 7d or 5DM2 replacement: a much larger number, be it in Pounds, Euros, Canadian Dollars, or USD.

 

(I did some internal debating about whether the 7D or M5D2 would make for a better underwater rig. I wonder if that's been discussed around here... )

 

That's my story. It was a book that brought me here ('The Underwater Photographer'). Here's hoping that a lot of fun times keeps me here.

 

 

Cheers to all!

 

 

 

m.

[shaundoylephoto 0]

Hello new here. Went from a Sealife DC1200 to an Olympus epm1 and housing.

Joined to get some tips and tricks.

 

How do you like the epm1 that one im looking at right now? Do you have strobes, are you just using the kit lens or did you get the wide angle with the dome port?

[OCDiver911 0]

Hi. New here. I just ordered my first digital system Listing my old equipment in the classified forum. Bunch of stuff is still useful just need to clean house.

[nflor001 0]

How do you like the epm1 that one im looking at right now? Do you have strobes, are you just using the kit lens or did you get the wide angle with the dome port?

 

I like it a lot. I have a sea and sea ys01 strobe. I purchased my strobe, tray and arms, and housing from optical ocean sales. I puchased my camera refurbished from cameta. No dome port yet.

[Reimalken 0]

Hey there one and all.

Brand new here, and completely at a loss for where to go next. I figure this is probably the right forum for me just right now!

 

I'm faced with a conundrum of having about 250-300£ to spend on a new camera for all purposes, but I am fascinated by the pictures people have shown me from trying underwater photography.

I'd love to find the right camera for me that is new person friendly, but also with scope for learning some more about the hobby.

 

I have had a look around and found lots of really nice cameras at that price, but inevitably they are reviewed as generic cameras (rather than for use underwater) and as soon as I find one that seems good, I can't find a housing for it, or the housing is way above what I could afford on top of that 300£, for example I saw a beautiful camera at 280£ that did everything I could have hoped for, and an internet search turned up no housings for it at all save one, which cost 5 times the cost of the camera. I cried a little on the inside and went back to the drawing board on that one!

Similarly when I look for a decent underwater camera via reviews and similar the cameras they sometimes point towards are older cameras which, when I search, I can't find a housing for.

I am struggling to find a review or recommendation for a camera that meets my wants of being idiot friendly and usable in a variety of settings (i.e is it still an easy camera to use day in day out without the case for general point and shoot-ness) and still provides me with a chance to learn a little more about underwater photography in general.

As for underwater use, i'd love the opportunity to take some shots at relatively shallow depths in tropical water. I am not really sure what the right questions to ask are, let alone whether I am asking them in the right place, and whilst I am sure nobody likes this question I am sufficiently unsure as to make it worth asking...

I'd really appreciate anyone who has had a similar decision to make give me their opinions on the sort of camera I should be looking for, and anything specifically to avoid.

 

Feeling quite overwhelmed at this point and very much in need of advice. I scrolled back through the forum listing on this subforum and found only 2 pages of threads, nobody had asked a stupid question in any of them which either means they're all well informed or I have missed the obvious.

Apologies for the ugly first post.

 

Greg

[Reimalken 0]

I have an olympus xz-1 available to me relatively inexpensively, and the olympus housing looks quite good, hopefully its a good camera for me! Only one way to find out I suppose

[b2003 0]

Been shooting for the last several years with a Nexus d300 and Inon strobes. Bought a D800 and am deciding between the Nexus and Nauticam housings. Have never shot video before. I have always believed its mostly about the user interface with the housing that's most important rather than brand. Have always loved My Nexus but hear Nauticam is more friendly, although weighs about half more. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Also any thoughts on the management of the huge files that are coming my way with the 36mp sensor and the lack of wide angle FX lenses. My 105mm and 60mm are already FX, but I see I need a 17-35FX. Also I'm used to 1.5x on my 105mm and assume I will be disappointed with only the rated 105mm. My 105mm on a DX with a wet Nexus diopter is just right for Pygmies.... I guess not so anymore? Will I have to put on a 1:4 tele to be back in the same place, but with the loss of speed, or buy a more powerful wet diopter? I'm really swimming with issues with housing this D800. Maybe I should sell it and get a D7000 and crank along with all my FX stuff, file sizes and experience from about 10,000 images per year over 5 years????????

[DamonA 7]

Hey there one and all.

Brand new here, and completely at a loss for where to go next. I figure this is probably the right forum for me just right now!

 

I'm faced with a conundrum of having about 250-300£ to spend on a new camera for all purposes, but I am fascinated by the pictures people have shown me from trying underwater photography.

I'd love to find the right camera for me that is new person friendly, but also with scope for learning some more about the hobby.

 

I have had a look around and found lots of really nice cameras at that price, but inevitably they are reviewed as generic cameras (rather than for use underwater) and as soon as I find one that seems good, I can't find a housing for it, or the housing is way above what I could afford on top of that 300£, for example I saw a beautiful camera at 280£ that did everything I could have hoped for, and an internet search turned up no housings for it at all save one, which cost 5 times the cost of the camera. I cried a little on the inside and went back to the drawing board on that one!

Similarly when I look for a decent underwater camera via reviews and similar the cameras they sometimes point towards are older cameras which, when I search, I can't find a housing for.

I am struggling to find a review or recommendation for a camera that meets my wants of being idiot friendly and usable in a variety of settings (i.e is it still an easy camera to use day in day out without the case for general point and shoot-ness) and still provides me with a chance to learn a little more about underwater photography in general.

As for underwater use, i'd love the opportunity to take some shots at relatively shallow depths in tropical water. I am not really sure what the right questions to ask are, let alone whether I am asking them in the right place, and whilst I am sure nobody likes this question I am sufficiently unsure as to make it worth asking...

I'd really appreciate anyone who has had a similar decision to make give me their opinions on the sort of camera I should be looking for, and anything specifically to avoid.

 

Feeling quite overwhelmed at this point and very much in need of advice. I scrolled back through the forum listing on this subforum and found only 2 pages of threads, nobody had asked a stupid question in any of them which either means they're all well informed or I have missed the obvious.

Apologies for the ugly first post.

 

Greg

 

g12 or s95 with canon housing is about the cheapest for quality pics, slow auto focus is the drama- next up would be the Olympus PEN E-PM1.......

Or maybe an older dslr second hand like a d80 or 450d/500d in an ikelite housing.

try here-

http://www.uwpmag.com/?p=sell

 

also scubaboard and ebay and classified ads in your local area.

[Tony M. 0]

Well, I didn't exactly just buy it, but I've been playing around with my old Nikonos II's again here lately, and figured I'd join the forum and see what was going on these days.

 

I normally shoot with Nikon D2x and D2h, depending on subject matter. obviously, those are more terestrial cameras, as I don't have housings.

[joeym 0]

hello i'm new here. hoping to find info on what setup to buy. i currently have a nikon d300 and a bunch of glass. i have never shot underwater except with gopros and PNS's.

 

i am looking for a camera and a housing. but this is the catch. i have no interest in shooting deep underwater, reefs, macro, etc.

 

what i want to shoot are half in and out shots, as well as pics of our sportfishing. which would all be near the surface. i also want to shoot dslr video. i was planning on getting a d800 (for a non-underwater camera upgrade). but a d800 and a housing are both a lot of money and not quite generally available yet.

 

i am wondering if anybody has suggestions. i was thinking an underwater housing for my d300 may be better bang for my buck. but i was worried my d300 is getting obsolete now, and has no video.

 

 

thanks