Underwater housings for digi cameras

[clive francis]

well i got the Epoque WAL, slightly cheaper, but i am not that impressed with it, if you use it close up, it blurs the edges, giving a time warp effect, i read somewhere that people were using them for close and afar work.

I also bought the DS 50 and again, not that impressed, better to use the built in flash for macro/close up work.

the best buy was my macro lens for £35!!!

i bought some step downs 67 - 55 and a set of close up filters (1, 2, 4) stacked them all up on land and they worked fine, but underwater with 25 - 30% water mag between each one gave unusable zoom, in the end, best thing about digital, you can see instant results, no processing costs or waits the best option was to use the number 1 close up filter.

go check my site: www.the-deep-blue.co.uk for the latest red sea photo's.

in answer to some of the above..........cheap skates! £150 for a housing is bl**dy cheap!

i think 35mm gives good quality photo's but you bin 3 - 4 out of 5 photo's and you have to pay for developing, not with digital, i think this is the best format to learn and practice with and when you have mastered it the new digitals will kick 35mm's ar*e.

there have been no major developments in 35mm for a while, the same can not be said of digital.

you can start quite cheap, chose a housing that fits a lot of cameras: Olympus PT 010, then you can look around (www.jessops.co.uk) for a second hand camera i.e a C20xx
then when you have enough money upgrade to one of the C40xx.
i got my C3040 and case for £570

[JohnK]

Agree with the above comments. Edge blur using WAL with digital is down to not enough zoom. Back off the subject and zoom closer. Also positioning of the strobe is vital when using WAL - its gotta be well in front of the camarea lens in WAL use otherwise the lens itself will block out some of the light.

I got the DS125 - its excellent and cheap from the USA (if the import duty mob dont catch up with me)

[Mdemon]

Quick question - how does being underwater affect digital camera results; I'm guessing there will be problems with the water filtering colour, backscatter off crud and autofocus problems - am I in the right area?  

I have a FujiFinePix 4700 which is good enough for my photographic skills (i.e. none). Being extremely tight, I am toying with the idea of building a case for it, and using it diving.  I reckon I can make the box - had to solve that for making a dive light.  BUT, I don't know how being in a box is going to affect the camera's performance.  Any ideas?

Cheers!

[milkybarkid]

I used a Olympus PT-010 + 3020 (£500 total!) for a week in the Maldives and got pretty good results (photos will be posted soon). I was diving for most of the week with a buddy using standard 35mm and had less problems due to backscatter, not quite sure why but the camera does adjust very well to the lack of light.

The autofocus was also very good - the main problem I had (which is common to the majority of digital cameras) is the delay before the photo is taken (up to 1 sec with mine). This is fine for a stationary target but for a moving target it often means the fish has moved nearer/closer to the lens and so is out of focus.

The effect of the water filtering color was comparable to the 35mm camera - you still either need to be close to the subject or adjust the photo color balance afterwards.

Matt

[JohnK]

Mdemon - the box wont be a problem unless it leaks !!!!!. Backscatter will be a problem if vis is poor - better with a strobe. Also you will need access to the buttons - possible failure point.

Also, if the vis is good, autofocus shouldn`t be a problem - I use the PT010+4040Z setup and no probs - even in Capernwray in crap vis I can get some reasonable reults.

Keep it simple, get close, aim up and most pics should be OK in digital

[Mdemon]

Thanks Kirky,

Yup - leaking would be a BAD thing.  I reckon I may by a cheapo £20 one to start with.  Actually, these give better file sizes for e-mailing, so that may be a good thing too.

I dug up an old waterproof Minolta at 110 I used to use - the button gets squished flat at 8m though.  Unfortunately, with the quality of the pics you get from a 110, I don't think it's really worth resurrecting - best to go digital...


Cheers

[daz]

Well Drifty,

I still think digital video is the way to go in the pornography section but I guess stills can be classed as artistic.  

£149 for a housing for a Canon A40 (ouch !).  Well just between you and me and don't tell anyone else.
http://www.warehouseexpress.co.uk/
Cameras / Canon / Accessories / Waterproof case.
They do the same housing for £99.  It also fits the A10,A20 and A30.

Hope that helps and I know of 2 people who are using these housings and are very pleased with the results.

Cheers,
Daz