What choice - next camera

[Osprey 0]

I'm not a beginner, but thought this most likely sub-forum.

 

My first Digi was a canon G3, then up in size to Olympus C 8080, then a Fuji F30, followed by a Fuji F31.

Now looking to get my next camera, not wanting to go to DSLR... it needs to be a reasonably compact item with at least a 3" screen.

 

This is not just used as an UW camera, but obviously need a reasonable wide angle zoom ... with a good aperture.and sensor size.

 

I have been considering the Canon G 1X ... it has good zoom coverage with the 28-112mm F2.8-5.8 lens

and it's 1.5" sensor is almost up at the DSLR size.

Although it probably has a huge range of functions I will never use.

 

It was mentioned here to consider the Olympus XZ-1 .... it's about 1/2 the price of the Canon, the Oly is now approaching 18 months old, so is it due to be replaced ?

 

Any others I should consider.

Edited April 7, 2012 by Osprey

[derway 2]

The canon has 2 killer bad problems for underwater. No automatic flash in M mode. So to use M mode, you must go entirely manual on everything.

 

And the Canon still has class lagging horrible auto focus speed. Not much better than the old g3, which I also had.

 

The oly is a fine camera. How important is using this camera above water as well? What is your budget?

 

The other ones one my current hot list, are the fuji fx10, oly epl3 or epm1, and pany lx5.

[Osprey 0]

The canon has 2 killer bad problems for underwater. No automatic flash in M mode. So to use M mode, you must go entirely manual on everything.

 

And the Canon still has class lagging horrible auto focus speed. Not much better than the old g3, which I also had.

 

The oly is a fine camera. How important is using this camera above water as well? What is your budget?

 

The other ones one my current hot list, are the fuji fx10, oly epl3 or epm1, and pany lx5.

 

 

Needs to be at least 'suitable' for out of water use.

 

The F30 / F31 models I owned were pretty good for UW use, so want to get something that is as good ;now' as they were when they were released ... i.e. to[p of the tree compacts for UW use.

They were never the most expensive, the highest MP count, widest zoom ... but what they did, they did very well.

 

I don't really need removable lenses as a compact with a reasonable zoom covers my needs.

 

I had almost discounted a Fuji .. as each successive model failed to better the F31 for UW use.

Plus I want to go for a 3" screen ... X10 is smaller.

Edited April 8, 2012 by Osprey

[derway 2]

The x10 rocks. and rec sea says they are about to release a housing for it.

 

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=43887

[Rocky Heap 0]

Why not an older Sony NEX-3 if it's budget, the NEX-5 was a stepping stone, and I'm drooling hard at the NEX 7 for my next step up from as a Prosumer mid-sized body without going full on DSLR.

 

google the NEX series from Sony, they're pretty awesome for a compact body with full sized features, heck the NEX 7 has a 24.3 meg pixel full sized sensor in a mid sized body I believe.

Edited June 8, 2012 by Rocky Heap

[JKrumsick 3]

If the budget is an issue then why are you choosing the most expensive point and shoot?

 

I do like the Canon brand and have owned many of their products... but I am starting to see the benefits of the m4/3 category. It's $800. Of course this includes the lens and this lens is supposed to be a good one. However, the new OM Olympus is supposed to be really amazing. Much better image quality.

 

Also, the really cool thing about the M 4/3 category is that they can accommodate for old, rangefinder lenses (voigtlander, zeiss and leica). I don't know about how suitable these lenses are for underwater work, but I can attest, these are fantastic for topside photography (portrait work is great). The voigtlander lenses are very reasonable as well (some for $300).

 

If I were to go for anything, it would be for the new OM Oly.

Edited June 8, 2012 by JKrumsick

[bear35 11]

I was in the same boat as you not long ago looking at the same cameras... In the end I opted for an Olympus EPM1(shop around and you can get one for £250) lots of lenses a 4/3rds sensor,oly housing... I am glad i went for it.

[adventurechik 2]

If I was in your shoes, I would be looking at either Canon's S95 or S100. I used to shoot with and absolutely adore a Fuji F30/F31 and am so happy using my Canon S95 with a FIX housing and still being able to use the same INON wet lenses as I did for the Fuji. I have a step adaptor which Ryan from ReefPhoto advised that I could use with the FIX and shoot with my INON UFL-165 AD lens.

 

There are so many to choose from, but the beauty of the FIX housing is that the whole set-up stays nice and small.

 

Best of luck and look forward to hearing how you get on.

 

maria

[ChrigelKarrer 52]

I would also go with a Canon, the beefier G12 or the smaller S100, they are both awesome

small cameras. I have a G12 in a Patima G11 housing and are more than happy, a small and sturdy rig

and a more than enough quality for private use.

The ultra small G100 in the FIX housing with 2 Inon S2000 strobes makes a very cute, transportable and high quality

UW rig for advanced amateurs.

I don' know much about the performance of the new G1X, but her technical data is top notch for such a small camera.

M4/3 cameras are nice and offer several lenses but are bigger in size and the possibility to change lenses is not always a advantage.

Chris

[MortenHansen 25]

Regarding the Canon G1X, even though the camera has some awesome specs, the minimum focus distance for macro is around 20-25cm, which means you can forget about macro shots without diopters and a strobe.. I should mention that I do not own one myself but I recently had guests here in the resort who brought one, and they were very disappointed with the macro capabilities. With pygmy seahorses, tiny frogfish and all that stuff around here it was a big disadvantage.. What about the G12 or S100, thats two great cameras!

 

Hope you find something you will be happy with!

Morten.

[derway 2]

The problem with ALL the canon cameras, which rely on contrast auto focus, is that they are the worst in the world at any given time, at autofocus speed. Unfortunately, this included the g1x.

 

Any sony or pany of a given generation is very much better auto focus, with lower lag. The later oly pens, (epl2 and later), are also very good, fast auto focus with small lag.

[seafan 1]

I was in the same situation when my g-10 housing flooded and ruined my camera this march. I wound up going with the oly xz-1 and will be taking it on it's first outing tomorrow as I head down to the Turks & Caicos.

 

Was looking at the lx-5 and s95 / s1000 but neither of those work with the strobe in manual setting... the xz-1 does.

 

Oly makes a better housing than canon and I wasn't ready to pay $900 for the lx-5 housing.

 

I use an inon s2000 strobe which synchs with the oly in all settings (including manual) in sttl.

 

The oly housing can accept 67mm add on lenses if I chose to buy wide angle.

 

I use a subsee +10 with an adaptor for supermacro and had reefnet make one for oly housing so if you want to go that route, they already have the specs to make more. :-)

 

If you go to reefphoto's website they have a comparison between all three cameras.

 

If you're not in a big hurry, I can let you know what I think of the new setup when I get back from my trip.

Edited June 21, 2012 by seafan

[Osprey 0]

 

 

If you're not in a big hurry, I can let you know what I think of the new setup when I get back from my trip.

 

>If you're not in a big hurry, I can let you know what I think of the new setup when I get back from my trip

I would be interested how you find it.

The only reason I have not bought XZ-1 now is that I would prefer to get HD video (1080p) and the XZ-1 does not have that capability.

 

The lens & focus ability are excellent.

 

There is a lot of talk on DPReview & OLY forums that XZ-2 is due ...

[seafan 1]

Got back from spending a week on the T+C Explorer II on June 30th and have posted some of my photos taken with the ZX-1 on my facebook (facebook.com/linda.divewithus). It took me a while to get used to working with the oly but started getting much more comfortable with it by the end of the trip... of course! n

 

My main issue was with the AF in macro mode and am trying to find a camera store here so I can compare it with another one to make sure it's not a software issue. I love the oly housing much more than the canon ones. The locking mechanism is super and it's a breeze to open it, pull out the camera to change batteries and get it ready for the next dive. As for battery life... I had to change it for every dive and am hoping that the new ones I just bought last longer. With my canon, I got 2 dives on a battery... so having to change out for each dive was a little disappointing to me.

 

I think the overall picture quality is better with the oly than my other canon p+s cameras, ease of use is about the same once you get used to working with the menu.

 

I don't take video so HD doesn't matter to me.

 

If they're getting ready to release the zx-2, you should be able to get some great pricing on the 1. If the controls and other external specs are the same I would definitely go with the oly housing for it.

Edited July 25, 2012 by seafan

[Osprey 0]

As for battery life... I had to change it for every dive and am hoping that the new ones I just bought last longer.

 

 

Wow that is bad ... my F31 would go a wek of diving without needing to chnage battery .. and still show good.

In fact I even stopped taking charger with me to Red Sea .. never needed to recharge.

[seafan 1]

Actually, most batteries on cameras I have used only lasted for 2 dives so I'm not that upset, especially since they power the lcd and internal flash (used on every dive to synch the strobe).. Am hoping the the batteries I just bought will last through 2 dives on my next trip.

[Osprey 0]

Actually, most batteries on cameras I have used only lasted for 2 dives so I'm not that upset, especially since they power the lcd and internal flash (used on every dive to synch the strobe).. Am hoping the the batteries I just bought will last through 2 dives on my next trip.

 

Same for me as regards use ... on previous cameras used to recharge batteries each night ... with F31 ... one battery lasted whole dive trip .... the Fuji has very good battery life.

However it would not stop me getting an Oly .. as long as you know it's poor you can plan for it.

[seafan 1]

Fortunately, you can buy a package of two stronger power batteries with another charger for under $10 so now I have 5 batteries and two chargers. :-)

[Osprey 0]

Check the review about Nikon D4 http://www.photograp...4-camera-review Hope it will help to chose right camera.

 

Might suit a professional .. but as per OP ... I'm just a happy sanapper, and looking for a compact.

I had for many years a full Canon SLR system ..don't want to go back to a camera that large and a with bag full of lenses.

(Although Nikon 1 looks nice.)

 

I just take pictures of what I see when I dive, rather than pictures being the prime purpose ... (and I know it is reversed for some)

[kmo_underwater 1]

When you say budget, and photography is not the primary purpose of the dive then I assume that you don't want to spend any more money on accessories. The basic answer is that any of the top level compacts in their manufacturer's housing should get the job done.

I have an s95 and find image quality good, but agree that autofocus is a bit slow and shutter lag can be frustrating. Very usable though. A lot of guys I dive with aren't focussed on photography and don't want to spend extra on wet lenses or strobes and have been happy with an s95 or G-series canon set to auto for their purposes. In the cheaper housings it can be frustrating not having access to the back control wheel for these cameras.

 

The lx-5 would be good if there was a cheaper housing option, but I think the olympus XZ-1 sounds like the best of the lot for your requirements (if I understand them correctly).

[tdpriest 115]

 

Camera Reviews

 

http://www.kenrockwell.com

 

 

Just beware: not only does Ken Rockwell have a "curious" reputation, but also he has nothing to say about underwater photography...

 

Tim

[Osprey 0]

When you say budget, and photography is not the primary purpose of the dive then I assume that you don't want to spend any more money on accessories.

 

I did go that route .. wet wide angle lens, strobe, modelling light, but got to the point it all felt 'in the way' of enjoying the dive.

Especially when I had a huge Ikelite housing etc.

 

I found that more & more I was leaving the kit on the boat and just taking a compact on the dive, clipped out of the way on BCD when not in use.

 

Due to PFO surgery, I can't dive for a while ... so hopefully within next couple of months Olympus will solve the question over whether there is an XZ-2

[seafan 1]

Have been playing on land with the xz-1 and have figured out the issue I was having with AF in macro mode so now I am liking this camera a whole lot more.

 

While I have always like canon p+s, the oly housing is far superior to the canon oem housing!! I love the latch works on it... it's a breeze to open and close.

 

Just wish I was in the Caymans diving the east end right now but will have to wait until October 8th to start playing underwater again. Can't wait to dive the Kittywake!

[Guest patrickwilson86]

Dont just read on them, go into a store and handle them, see which one fits you, see which one has controls that make the most sense to you....consider the lens line up..consider what type of photography you want to do....everyone has their opinions on the best camera(s)...but YOU will be the one using whatever it is you wind up with.