Urgent! Sea & Sea Motormarine II-ex

[John Gulliver]

A friend has offered me the following items:
Sea & Sea Motormarine II-ex camera (new 2000)
YS-50TTL strobe (new 1997)
Macro 1:2
Macro 1:3
Wide angle 20mm
Viewfinder
Lens holder
Everything in good condition. Price £500 (which is not much more than a third of what it costs new here in Sweden).
Should I buy?
I'm not much of  a photographer. Will it be too complicated for me?
Grateful for a speedy reply.

[Magi]

<font color='#000080'>Simple to use and you can get some good results. &nbsp;I've got one and even I've managed to get some decent pics. I like the fact that you can change lenses underwater. &nbsp;Go for it.

[Mr T.]

I reckon that's a buy there John! My brand-new (last idive show in Brum) S&amp;S MX-10 with YS-20 flash/strobe unit cost me nigh-on £300, without all the extras you're getting. Good luck.

Oh, and as they say in all the best French movies: &quot;Don't forget to well grease the 'O'-ring!!!&quot;  

[Dundee]

Its a good buy, &nbsp;the wide angle lens alone is circa £200 new.
Does it include the multi-stay arm and tray...the metal bit that holds everything together?

They can be £50-£100 on their own. The camera is easy to use and a couple of rolls should get you through the controls.


However...
You could get a reasonable canon digi and housing for the same moola brand new ;-)

C

[John Gulliver]

Thanks, guys, for the rapid response. I've bought it!
PS It's a personal thing but I'd far rather have a reasonably good optical camera than a digital camera and housing. The picture quality you get from the medium-priced digital cameras available today is nowhere near as good, IMHO. I hope that's doesn't upset anybody.

[Jules]

messed around with my sea nd sea camera and all but given up for uk underwater pictures since the ratio of bad to good was too high, that would be my reason for going digital but I havent got 500 quid! It's ok for Red sea nd places where the viz and light are better

[John Gulliver]

Are we talking about the same camera, Jules, Motor Marine IIEX, or one of the simpler models (MX-5 or MX-10)?

[Jules]

same camera motor marine ex II but I dont have the separate flash etc just the basic camera. it's great for snaps in the red sea but for photos in uk conditions I would need a separate strobe etc (so I am told by others more knowledgable ). I really only want to take snaps but decent ones and I have been really impressed by the ones people take on really small digital cameras with just the built in flash and without separate strobes. I think I just like the idea of being able to dump the crap shots immediately. Anyway it's all arbitary for me becuase I cant afford a decent digital camera and housing right now. I ma sure that since you have bought the complete set up then your results will be better than mine. I look forward to seeing your results and getting some tips from you.

jules

[John Gulliver]

I don't know about tips, Jules, but I will take the camera to the Farnes and St Abbs next week and post some pics afterwards, if I get any that are worth posting.

[Noel Johnson]

Hi Jules,

Stick with the UK photos - some of them can be quite good. You may be too far away from the subject and getting a lot of back scatter, a strobe will sort some of this out as the light source is further away from the lens. The further away the better. If it's any inspiration these were taken on either MX-5 or MX-10 (as I have both) in Plymouth last year:

Dawn (my wonderful wife) on a line in Plymouth