What camera for newbie???

[morider 0]

Need some advice on purchasing my first digital UW camera. My wife and I vacation in the Caribbean and do some snorkelling and diving. We have been using those cheap throw-away cameras and now want to move up to something a little better. We need a camera that is pretty much point-and-click since neither of us are real camera savy. For that reason we feel digital would be the best way to go. I'm looking for something in the $300-$400 range. I'm not sure what that will buy but we don't want to invest in anything to expensive for our purposes. If we make enlargements it would only be 8X10s so as to keep the quality high and not break the bank for more megapixels. It would be appreciated if you could make some recommendations that would meet our criteria. Thanks in advance for your help.

[CamDiver 5]

Hi there,

You may consider posting to the photographic forum relevant to your predicament. This area is designed prodominantly for underwater video.

 

I hope you find the advice you seek.

 

Regards,

Mark.

[CamDiver 5]

Hi there,

You may consider posting to the photographic forum relevant to your predicament. This area is designed predominantly for underwater video.

 

I hope you find the advice you seek.

 

Regards,

Mark.

[JPPLAY 0]

If we make enlargements it would only be 8X10s so as to keep the quality high and not break the bank for more megapixels.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

No camera in your price range is going to give you good enough quality for 8x10s. Also remember for digital photography you still have to develop your photos just like film. A used film camera would give you better quality for the amount you want to spend.

[dmoss 0]

Morider,

 

I would have to disagree with the recommendation to use film. The main advantage of digital is instant feedback of the image. This is a great benefit when just starting out. The price range you have in mind will limit your choices. You might look at the Reefmaster cameras. EBAY usually has some for sale. If at all possible, get one with the external strobe. You will need to get very close to your subject when shooting underwater...2 to 3 feet away. I used one for a year and printed some 8 x 10's that turned out OK...not great...but I was learning and I was pleased with the results at the time. Post processing will help the end result as well. I'm sure others will have recommendations for you to consider. You've come to the right place.

 

Sample image from the DC250...like I said, not great, but the camera was in my budget at the time:

[james 0]

A 6 megapixel camera will put out the required pixels for 8 x 10 printing. All it takes is 3,000 pixels x 2,400 to make an 8x10 at 300DPI.

 

300DPI is the maximum that even the professional print shop photo equipment uses.

 

I'd recommend looking at Canon A series cameras, Olympus C series, and the Coolpix. All of these have affordable starter housings and the cameras also have manual control for when you grow to use it.

 

Cheers

James

[DuncanKunz 0]

I'm a newbie myself. I rented a 35mm film camera for a dive trip and sweated it out, not knowing if any of my pictures had turned out. They did, but were pretty monochromatic blue and green. Of course, I didn't know until I came back to Arizona from Belize and had the film developed, at which point it was too late to do anything about it except curse.

 

My wife and I recently got a SeaLife dc500 digital UW camera (5 mp) and I'm hoping that my next dive (Cozumel, early November) will give me better results. In any event, I'm taking my laptop, so If I screw up the first day, I'll have time to check out the pix, and try and fix the problem.

 

I have an old Nikon CP990 3.3 Mp camera and have made some good 8 X 10 shots with it. I think that -- since I'm just an amateur -- if I can get a good full-frame picture at maximum definition with a 5 Mp camera, it'll work quite nicely as an 8 X 10.

 

Of course, I'm not going to be selling it to National Geographic, but how many people on this forum plan on such?

[ce4jesus 1]

SeaLife dc500 digital UW camera comes with a housing for just under $500 on Ebay. You might also find a used DX3000G (3.2 version) from Sea and SEa in your price range. The power of digital for learning is unmatched and after spending $100 developing film from a couple of days of diving the price is also unmatched.

[Painted Frogfish 0]

Is that $3-400 just for the camera?

I suggest a second hand Canon S60 or S70 with 6 and 7 megapixels. Should be more than enough for 8 x 10 prints. Bear in mind you'll have to pay maybe another couple of hundred for the housing.

Once you get more experienced you get buy Inon adapter kits for it with external lenses and strobes, and that will set you back another maybe $1500. The strobes and fisheye lenses are the expensive things, not the camera!

[Gordium7 0]

I had a DC200 camera intially -- I hesitate to recommend anything along that line. It was very frustrating to use (fogging & battery "greed") and the conditions had to be just right (or at least pretty good) to get any kind of a decent shot out of it. It took photos UW, but that is all I could say for it. It was "old" technology when I bought it, but it ensured I got bit by the UW photography bug.

 

For one possible low cost, good quality solution check out the Sony W5 (~$300) along with the Sony MarinePak (~$160) for it. I upgraded to it this summer and the difference in photo quality & shot flexibility & ease-of-use is staggering. One can start with just point and shoot but can easily (painlessly?) get into manual (or other exotica) mode shots if desired. I got some fanstastic shots with it on my Belize trip a couple of weeks ago, and won the live-aboard's photo contest for the week against some very heavy competition.

 

I did however also buy an external Sunpak G-Flash strobe (based on my DC200 experience) that would cost an additional sum (~ $150), but you *could* defer such a purchase for a bit. After my dive trip last month, I am also adding a fiber optic sync cable, but that is pure icing on the cake -- ensuring complete reliability of the slave flash firing under all possible conditions.

 

There are plenty of other very good digital cameras from the big manufacturers, that combined with the manufacturer's UW enclosure, take some very fine pictures. You can find more recommendations by browsing through these forums.

[ce4jesus 1]

Gordium7,

Does that sunpak accept a fiber optic cable? I thought it was fired through sensors wirelessly. I've heard that wireless firing of flashes is highly unreliable. What has been your experience?