cameras

[raveon1]

what kind of cameras do you all use? i am looking into buying one. i was looking at a sealife dc200 digital camera that is rated to 200'. have any of you guys tried this camera? i was wondering how good this one is. the other camera i like is a minolta dimage x or xi wth a housing. any words of wisdom? thanks...

raveon

[scubert]

I have an Olympus 4040 with the Olympus housing PT-10. This camera has been discontinued but the new version 5050 is out with a housing available online. The Oly's are big favorites on the Rodales Scuba board, and deservedly so, they are easy to use, have a fast lens (1.8f) and a hot flash, so you don't NEED an exterior strobe. If you plan on printing pics of your shots you might want to go with a higher # of megapixels, You can easily print 8x10's with a 4mp camera.

The housings are only available online because Olympus doesn't import them into the US. Ikelite also makes a housing for these cameras but it costs at least twice as much.

[Colin]

I use a variety of imaging systems, from a Nikonos V for general photo shoots, and when I'm shooting for publication or a job, I use a Nikon N-90s inside an Ikelite housing with an old Ikelite 150 strobe, sometimes in conjuction with a Nikonos SB-105 strobe for fill. The Nik V can accommodate various lenses which have better optics and designs than the Sea&Sea versions used with their MotorMarine series. I've used the 15mm, 20mm, 28 and 35mm lenses with this outfit and have gotten good results. However, nothing can compare with the image quality I get from a housed camera and multi-strobe setup. The lenses used for the N-90s include the 20mm wide angle, 28-85 zoom (not used very often) and the 60mm macro lens, which can be used as a normal lens as well as a macro lens.
I've used digital in the past, but I prefer the fine grain structure and ease and quality of enlargements with film.

[raveon1]

some questions about digital cameras.... you want more mega pix, right? this only effects the quaility of the photo if the pic is made bigger. i f you go and have your photos developed instead of printing them out on your printer does the amount of mega pixs affect the quality of the picture? i am new to underwater and digital camers.

[Colin]

Yes, as you get higher in the mega pixel range, the image has to be sharper and the colors more defined, since there are more bits of information written to the memory card. As you start to enlarge the image on a printer, let's say, the more pixels you have to work with, the better the image will appear once enlarged.
If all you want to do is shoot for publication via e-mail or on a website, some of the smaller (2-3 mega pixel) cameras will work fine for the casual shooter. Once you get into the 4+ mega pixel range, the images will definitely appear better, since again, there is more information contained in the image. But the downside is the file sizes become huge, especially when uploading to a website or downloading from a website.
With film, there is the advantage of better enlargements (I'm speaking of prints 16 x 20) over digital photos. Current "consumer priced" digital cameras can't match the image quality of film...yet. Unless you have the $$$ to invest in some of the 10-12 megapixel pro cameras from Nikon.

[FreediveWI]

I have a couple of 35mm underwater cameras that are just sitting in my basement gathering dust since I bought my Olympus C505-z camera and PT-015 housing set up. I can shoot stills, videos, panoramics, and record sound with it. I have printed 8x10's and posted more online images than I can even count. I have also taken my Cf card to Walgreen's to have them print out a hole roll of 4x6's that rival any of my film cameras.

It's been a while since I have blown up anything past 18x20, but those were done with a film camera. Most everything else is 8x10's and web applications.

I also use the video function to work on my monofin technique and to record soem of the fish that i have speared- WHILE I spear them. 8)

The cash that I dropped on my digital set-up was the best money that I have ever spent.

Jon

[dfreeman]

I use a Sony DSC-F707 digital camera with 5 megapixel capability and a 5X optical lens. This camera has the ability of doing macro and wide angle pictures without a configuration change. In this way you can take a wide variety of picturews on the same dive.

I use an Amphibico Surveyor 707 housing with this camera. This is a great housing, even though I have had some problems with the electronics. Amphibico stands by their products so I can not complain.

Hope to post my pictures in the near future.

Doug

[LKunze]

I have a Sony DSC-P5 camera which is 3.2MP and the Sony MPK-P5 housing which is good down to about 130 feet. It's a decent basic affordable digital rig. I got the whole rig for under $700. I've had it a little over a year now and haven't had any problems. The only downside is the Sony battery packs which give you about an hours time with the display screen active. I'd prefer that it used standard AA or AAA batteries instead. I ended up buying an extra battery pack which wasn't cheap, like $50 I think.
Here is a link to some of the pictures I've taken with this rig.

[FreediveWI]

Irfanview is a free program that is simple to use and allows you to add color to your underwater photos- especially if you don't use a strobe while freediving. ;D

[FreediveWI]

The "after" photo.

Jon