Inexpensive camera recommendation

[Eddie G]

I bought the Sea life dc500 on ebay and will try it in a dive, but the few
indoor test pictures were very grainy when viewed on the computer screen. I
have NOT tried printing them.

Anyway, if the underwater pics do not come out too good I will be selling
this camera on ebay. What cameras would you recommend for around $500 US,
should I be in the market for a new camera?

Thanks!

Eddie G

[Dan Bracuk]

"Eddie G" <mickeddie@(removeme)comcast.net> pounded away at his
keyboard resulting in:

:I bought the Sea life dc500 on ebay and will try it in a dive, but the few
:indoor test pictures were very grainy when viewed on the computer screen. I
:have NOT tried printing them.
:
:Anyway, if the underwater pics do not come out too good I will be selling
:this camera on ebay. What cameras would you recommend for around $500 US,
:should I be in the market for a new camera?


There have been two very recent threads on this topic. If you look at
the google groups version of this ng,
http://groups.google.ca/group/rec.scuba/topics?hl=en, they will quite
visible.

Dan Bracuk
If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.

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[s***@aol.com]

Post by Eddie G
I bought the Sea life dc500 on ebay and will try it in a dive, but the few
indoor test pictures were very grainy when viewed on the computer screen. �I
have NOT tried printing them.
Anyway, if the underwater pics do not come out too good I will be selling
this camera on ebay. �What cameras would you recommend for around $500 US,
should I be in the market for a new camera?
Thanks!
Eddie G

i'm happy with my canon powershot a95 with appropriate UW housing.
Camera and housing, bought separately online, totalled around $500.

Shawn
Belize 4/07
Curacao 1/07

[soxmax]

Post by Eddie G
I bought the Sea life dc500 on ebay and will try it in a dive, but the few
indoor test pictures were very grainy when viewed on the computer screen. I
have NOT tried printing them.
Anyway, if the underwater pics do not come out too good I will be selling
this camera on ebay. What cameras would you recommend for around $500 US,
should I be in the market for a new camera?
Thanks!
Eddie G

I bout the FujiFilm Finepix F30 and associated case for about $480
(use CNET.com $260 for the camera). The photos are certainly not
professional but the camera takes great surface shots and has an
underwater setting. It also fits comfortably in my front pocket when
it is not in the underwater case. It was worth $480 to me. Some of the
shots are 80 feet unterwater coming out of the belly of the Rhone in
Tortola.

http://soxmax.myphotoalbum.com

Best Regards,
Derek

[Adam Helberg]

Post by soxmax

Post by Eddie G
I bought the Sea life dc500 on ebay and will try it in a dive, but the few
indoor test pictures were very grainy when viewed on the computer screen. I
have NOT tried printing them.
Anyway, if the underwater pics do not come out too good I will be selling
this camera on ebay. What cameras would you recommend for around $500 US,
should I be in the market for a new camera?
Thanks!
Eddie G

I bout the FujiFilm Finepix F30 and associated case for about $480
(use CNET.com $260 for the camera). The photos are certainly not
professional but the camera takes great surface shots and has an
underwater setting. It also fits comfortably in my front pocket when
it is not in the underwater case. It was worth $480 to me. Some of the
shots are 80 feet unterwater coming out of the belly of the Rhone in
Tortola.
http://soxmax.myphotoalbum.com
Best Regards,
Derek

That's what I bought as well and it takes decent photos and is very compact. I have
not figured out a way to mount an external flash on the housing though.

Adam

[VK]

Post by Eddie G
I bought the Sea life dc500 on ebay and will try it in a dive, but the few
indoor test pictures were very grainy when viewed on the computer screen. I
have NOT tried printing them.

What settings - mainly ISO - did you use? You shouldnt have a lot of
grain unless using a high ISO... and even then, Noise Ninja does a
good job of getting rid of the noise.

Post by Eddie G
Anyway, if the underwater pics do not come out too good I will be selling
this camera on ebay. What cameras would you recommend for around $500 US,
should I be in the market for a new camera?

Fuji E900 is, to me, the best of the P&S lot. I was going to buy that
till I ended up housing my DSLR. I find RAW to be invaluable for
underwater work, as you can gets results equal to that of a DSLR in
quite a few situations - I have had photos taken with a humble Canon
S70 make magazine covers and double page spreads. The S70, however,
is discontinued and has a painful shutter lag, something the Fuji
doesnt.

Vandit

[Sheldon]

Post by Eddie G
I bought the Sea life dc500 on ebay and will try it in a dive, but the few
indoor test pictures were very grainy when viewed on the computer screen.
I have NOT tried printing them.
Anyway, if the underwater pics do not come out too good I will be selling
this camera on ebay. What cameras would you recommend for around $500 US,
should I be in the market for a new camera?
Thanks!
Eddie G

I picked up an Olympus FE-230 with the separate underwater housing (good to
100'). Not bad, and out of the housing the camera is very small and easy to
carry around. Under $500 for both. Unfortunately many of the inexpensive
point and shoot cameras adjust the ISO automatically for you. If the scene
gets dark the ISO goes up and you get noise. The problem is finding a
camera that's easy to use with lots of manual settings but also has a
reasonably priced underwater housing.

[Dan Bracuk]

"Sheldon" <***@XXXXXXXXsopris.net> pounded away at his keyboard
resulting in:
:I picked up an Olympus FE-230 with the separate underwater housing (good to
:100'). Not bad, and out of the housing the camera is very small and easy to
:carry around. Under $500 for both. Unfortunately many of the inexpensive
:point and shoot cameras adjust the ISO automatically for you. If the scene
:gets dark the ISO goes up and you get noise. The problem is finding a
:camera that's easy to use with lots of manual settings but also has a
:reasonably priced underwater housing.
:

Hate to break it to you, but a bigger problem is people overanalyzing
simple things. You can take a lot of nice underwater pics with point
and shoot, well, I can anyway.

Dan Bracuk
If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.

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[-hh]

Post by Dan Bracuk
:I picked up an Olympus FE-230 with the separate underwater housing (good to
:100'). Not bad, and out of the housing the camera is very small and easy to
:carry around. Under $500 for both. Unfortunately many of the inexpensive
:point and shoot cameras adjust the ISO automatically for you. If the scene
:gets dark the ISO goes up and you get noise. The problem is finding a
:camera that's easy to use with lots of manual settings but also has a
:reasonably priced underwater housing.
Hate to break it to you, but a bigger problem is people overanalyzing
simple things. You can take a lot of nice underwater pics with point
and shoot, well, I can anyway.

There's trade-offs in simplicity as well as cost as to what kind of
image quality can be gleaned out of any system. Sometimes, simple is
all you need.

If your standards for image quality are high, then the old car racing
adage applies:

"Speed costs money. How fast can you afford to go?"


...and of course, sometimes you find that your options are to get
creative when a piece of hardware fails (here, leaving you without any
strobe):

<Loading Image...>



-hh

[bob crownfield]

Post by -hh

Post by Dan Bracuk
:I picked up an Olympus FE-230 with the separate underwater housing (good to
:100'). Not bad, and out of the housing the camera is very small and easy to
:carry around. Under $500 for both. Unfortunately many of the inexpensive
:point and shoot cameras adjust the ISO automatically for you. If the scene
:gets dark the ISO goes up and you get noise. The problem is finding a
:camera that's easy to use with lots of manual settings but also has a
:reasonably priced underwater housing.
Hate to break it to you, but a bigger problem is people overanalyzing
simple things. You can take a lot of nice underwater pics with point
and shoot, well, I can anyway.

There's trade-offs in simplicity as well as cost as to what kind of
image quality can be gleaned out of any system. Sometimes, simple is
all you need.
If your standards for image quality are high, then the old car racing
"Speed costs money. How fast can you afford to go?"
...and of course, sometimes you find that your options are to get
creative when a piece of hardware fails (here, leaving you without any
<http://www.huntzinger.com/photo/old/356in2b.jpg>

I love that shot!
most people can not see it, much less capture it.

Post by -hh
-hh

[-hh]

Post by bob crownfield

Post by -hh
<http://www.huntzinger.com/photo/old/356in2b.jpg>

I love that shot!
most people can not see it, much less capture it.

Thanks, Bob.

It is ironic that it took a failed strobe to force shooting with just
natural light to "open the eye" to see that one.

If you like 'streamling light' UW images there's a famous photo by
Cathy Church taken in a Cavern on Grand Cayman. I don't see any
examples online, so it might be a "buy the book" to find it.


-hh