DSLR worth it?

[GLOC]

Originally Posted by Cussy

A couple of the drawbacks of DSLRs have also not been mentioned: 1). I miss being able to do video - and in certain circumstances you can get a better video than you can a still, and 2). With live view on the back you can get your camera into places you simply can't with a DSLR - I know DSLRs are beginning to appear with LiveView.

Rob

Rob, I have found that the post-view is pretty good for making up for this lack. I took several shots of a moray out in the Red Sea that I didn't want to get too close to as he kept coming out as soon as I did and didn't look happy with me! I was using a 10-20mm Sigma lens and wanted to fill the frame shooting up into the moray so had to put the camera on the sand seab, take a shot, then review it and move the camera or adjusted the strobes accordingly. I took around 40 shots but I admit having a live view would have been very beneficial but in this case I wouldn't be able to view the screen due to the coral and moray being in the way

Also agree on the glass front. I have just had some 12x16 prints made from the Scapa and Red Sea trips which have gone up in Scapa Scuba and Vobster. Prints that I would not have been able to do on the Oly5050 I used to have due to noise. However I do miss the f1.8 on the Oly5050, I only have f4 on the 10-20 Sigma meaning I have to shoot at a higher ISO to handhold, even with strobes as they don't cover the background.

[Cussy]

Originally Posted by GLOC

Rob, I have found that the post-view is pretty good for making up for this lack.

Gareth
Fair point, I do similar at times. But not everyone likes shooting without seeing what they will get. One big advantage of live view is being able to get under things like turtles on the bottom and being able to compose the shot looking up at the animal. Personally though I don't look at Live view on the new DSLRs and think "I must have that." I think my photography has moved forward by being forced to look through the view finder; I've become a photographer as opposed to a snapper.

Whacky,
Have you got enough to think about yet? I think the bottom line is there are pros and cons that only you can decide whether a DSLR is right for you. I remember seeing someone with a combined SLR and Nikonos setup once. Maybe the best option is to have a dSLR/F31fd combination!! Maria's point about flexibility is also a damn good one, but you have to trade this off with tools that are much better for the individual jobs. I find that putting on the macro or fisheye lenses sharpens the mind into what I want to capture. Yes, there are times you miss things, but if you miss it you just have to keep diving until you see it again!!
Rob

[Jules]

This is an excelelnt discussion and I am presently in the dilemma of when to buy a DSLR and which one to buy. Given my history as a serial camera drowner I do not intend t otake the SLR anywhere wet if and when I buy one. I just don't trust myself.

I have played around with RAW and although i like the results it's frustrating the time taken to write to the card on my compacts (both the 7070 and 5050 are slow in this respect). If DSLRs buffer then it wont cause a problem. It was also frustrating for a while since the photosoft ware i had did n't do RAW (paintshop pro) I have a newer version now so I ought to see if it can handle it.

My sister has an earlier Canon EOS 350 I think it is so i was looking at the EOS400D becuase she might be persuaded to let me borrow her lenses to try out but if I don't own any lenses i should perhaps not be too swayed by this and look at other makes. At this point my eyes glaze over. I bought my first 5050 because TIMING said they were good and he was right, and I still love these cameras for the type of photography i do (snaps with ambition to be good snaps) in available light.

The video function is also really handy on compacts. Great for fast moving subjects like sea lions etc. Phil my BF has a sea and sea 750 and the video off that is stunning! It's a small compact. The still photos I took of the sea lions were just pants.

I shudder at the thought of introducing £2k plus worth of kit to sea water.... I try to have an attitude of not taking anything of too much value underwater. As it is with compacts you can bear to live with it when you keep on drowning them and buy everyone else's when they upgrade!

PS two of my drownings were operator error due to said operator putting housing together in low light or in a hurry and not checking so you have to fastideous or rich!

[GLOC]

I remember reading on Wetpixel saying that it wasn't a case of "If you flood a housing" more a case of "when you flood the housing".

[Neil M]

Originally Posted by GLOC

I remember reading on Wetpixel saying that it wasn't a case of "If you flood a housing" more a case of "when you flood the housing".

apperently I suffer from OCD when it comes to camera o-rings!! but then I do love my 350d.....

I have it fully insured, but I dont want to have to claim if I can avoid it....

edit - I went from a motor marine 2 to a sony p10... then when the mm2 packed in finally (after about 8 years), I went to a dSLR as at the time (as I do now) felt that this suited my diving style and my desire to get the best pics poss....

[ChristianG]

Originally Posted by Neil M

apperently I suffer from OCD when it comes to camera o-rings!! but then I do love my 350d.....

Either here

How do I look after my new housing?

or a more readable version can be found here:

O Rings and General Gear Care - Digigreen