Camera for Scuba

[My2Girls66]

I signed my kids up to take Scuba lessons. The 1st class was last night. I decided to hang out with them and watch the class. Needless to say, I signed myself up! Now, for a camera. My dad has an old Nikon film underwater camera, I could get a housing for a Canon A540 or 560 that I have or buy one of the Olympus ones that can go underwater. I don't plan on diving more than 20-30ft and I don't want to spend a lot for a housing for my D50 and I'm not sure I'd want to carry it underwater anyway Does anyone here dive and maybe can point me in the right direction? Our 1st dives will be off of Gloucester, Mass.- cold- low visibility- but we are hoping to get to the islands sometime next winter to dive in clearer warmer water. Come to think of it- we all like taking pictures so 2-3 cameras maybe needed. Any ideas? I think the film Nikon is a Nikonos something, probably 20 years old.
Thanks

 

[DueyDooDah]

I use the Canon housing for my Powershot S80. It is well built and allows you to use every feature of the camera. You can also purchase the WW-DC1 weight system to provide neutral buoyancy to the camera, making it much easier to handle underwater. The housing requires extreme care in preparation and cleanup, but it is simple and seems as fuss-free as can be expected of a housing. It's rated for recreational depths so when you exceed the 20-30ft depths you are planning, no need to worry. The photos I've taken show no indication that you are shooting through plastic - all images look as if the housing is not there. Although a bit pricey (about $240 for your cameras), I highly recommend Canon's housing lineup.

 

[Alacrity]

I would go with the housing for the A540 or 560. the Canon (and others) housings I have seen have been good and hold up well. They are also rated for depths well beyond where you will probably go and are a good way to get into underwater photography. Another plus, if you can call it that, is that when the housing floods (given enough time it's likely it will) you loose a relatively inexpensive camera and one you can probably replace.

If you really get into it the D50 may be a nice option. If a housing for it is available, though, I think you will find the cost to be substantial. I have toyed with the idea of housing my Rebel XT and have not yet gone that route. I do use a small point and shoot (Sea and Sea DX-8000G. The cameral is a Ricoh Caplio GX8) but find the cost of the housing, strobes and other odds and ends for the Rebel to be a little high.

 

[TinksDH]

If you really get into it the D50 may be a nice option. If a housing for it is available, though, I think you will find the cost to be substantial. I have toyed with the idea of housing my Rebel XT and have not yet gone that route. I do use a small point and shoot (Sea and Sea DX-8000G. The cameral is a Ricoh Caplio GX8) but find the cost of the housing, strobes and other odds and ends for the Rebel to be a little high.

I have a D50 and looked into a housing - I've seen them from $800 to over $1000. Not the kind of thing an "entry level" photographer would probably want to get into! I also have a Powershot A80 and those housings are around $150 or so, which is more affordable. Most of the consumer underwater cameras are good to 30' or so, where the Canon housing is good to 130'. I plan on just snorkling, so I may just pick up a waterproof camera instead of a housing. Olympus makes 4 or so waterproof p&s cameras ranging in price from $200 to $400.

 

[My2Girls66]

Thanks for the input. I think the Canon housing looks like the way to go.

 

[SharonLowe]

When you get below surface depths (think snorkeling) you will need a decent lighting system to get any photos. Even though you plan shallow dives, 20-30 feet below the surface isn't getting much in the way of light to get decent images. So, while the Canon cases are fine if you just want to snorkel, you really need a case that will accept an external strobe to get decent dive shots. Ikelite is well respected; no idea if they make the case (and strobes) for your camera. I would not expect the Olympus cameras to be good at depth nor will the Canons without an external flash. Check out the Sealife brands and Sea and Sea plus google underwater photography to get some ideas of what you need and what is out there.

Underwater photography is much harder than above water photography and you will get far more shots if you have the right equipment.

 

[Alacrity]

It looks like there are two housings for the A540. Canon and Ikelite. I should thing the Ikelite will be a bit more expensive but it is very heavy duty and has a lot of expandability (like the strobes mentioned).

this info is from http://digideep.com by the way. That site lists cameras and housings that are available.

 

[texbob]

I picked up a Sealife Reefmaster Mini about a year ago, and I recently purchased the SL961 Digital Strobe which I have yet to use. As SharonLowe said, lighting is a big issue below the surface so hopefully this strobe will help expand some of my UW photography.

I also picked up a wide angle lens, and the whole setup looks as follows:

For the price and the convenience of no underwater housing, I am extremely pleased with this camera. Even without the strobe, I was able to get some decent shots. My favorites are:

(Of course, these were all at relatively shallow depths. The deeper ones are crying out for a strobe.)

 

[My2Girls66]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone.
At what depth do you start needing flash/a light?
Texbob- the pictures look nice. How deep was that?
Now to pass the test! I'm worried about the clearing ears part.
Amazon has these- they look exactly the same.
SeaLife SL 320 Reef Master Mini Digital Camera by SeaLife
Buy new:$224.90
SeaLife SL321 ECOshot 6MP Digital Camera by SeaLife
Buy new: $184.90
and this.
Canon WP-DC2 Underwater Housing For A540 Digital Camera by Canon
Buy new: $239.95

 

[texbob]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone.
At what depth do you start needing flash/a light?

I think anywhere deeper than 10-15 feet would require a flash. The problem is, the deeper you go, the less colors are visible. Water filters out various parts of the color spectrum with reds being hard to distinguish at the shallower depths. A Flash will bring those colors back.

Also, an internal flash is no good because it will cause particles in water to reflect right back to the lens. A strobe mounted on an arm prevents this "backscatter" because the angle of the light keeps the reflection away from the lens.

Texbob- the pictures look nice. How deep was that?

Those were probably about 30-40 feet.

Amazon has these- they look exactly the same.
SeaLife SL 320 Reef Master Mini Digital Camera by SeaLife
Buy new:$224.90
SeaLife SL321 ECOshot 6MP Digital Camera by SeaLife
Buy new: $184.90
and this.
Canon WP-DC2 Underwater Housing For A540 Digital Camera by Canon
Buy new: $239.95

I can't speak for the Canon/Underwater housing combo but the Mini and Eco shot differ by their depth ratings. The Mini will work to the limits of your recreational diving depth (130 feet) while the Ecoshot is only rated for 75 feet. I am not all that experienced of a diver but I have routinely been to 75-90 feet on recent trips to Cozumel.

 

[DueyDooDah]

...I can't speak for the Canon/Underwater housing combo but the Mini and Eco shot differ by their depth ratings. The Mini will work to the limits of your recreational diving depth (130 feet) while the Ecoshot is only rated for 75 feet...

The Canon housings go to 130ft also. Also, there is a diffuser for the housings that help reduce the back scatter phenomenom from the internal flash. They work quite well.

 

[My2Girls66]

Did you use a flash in those photos? Amazon has a flash unit for $169 for that camera.
Thanks.

 

[texbob]

No, none of those photos were with flash.

 

[My2Girls66]

I just bought a Sealife ECOShot SL321 from Adorama- arrived today and we booked a trip to Providenciales for the end of April so I'll be able to try it out. I don't know if we'll be certified to scuba by then but we will be snorkeling. I am also going to see what kind of shape my dad's Nikonos-V is in before we go.

 

[AZ JazzyJ]

The Canon housings go to 130ft also. Also, there is a diffuser for the housings that help reduce the back scatter phenomenom from the internal flash. They work quite well.

Is the 130 ft. limit a sea level measurement or does it take into consideration the difference in pressure at altitude?

I didn't used to pay much attention to the altitude specs on camera housings but it really came into play during a dive trip at Yellowstone Lake where the surface is 7,732 feet above sea level at the surface. We had a housing failure during the trip (we were diving at 90 feet inside an underwater lava tube). When we went back to the manufacturer they denied the claim because the specs were for sea level. This probably would not come into play for the original poster who is shooting an open water class but it makes a big difference when you are out with some divers from National Geographic and wanting to shoot some pictures inside a semi-active volcano vent. Oh and in case anyone is wondering, you need some serious lighting at 90 feet inside a lava tube and your dive time is limited to around 14 minutes at that depth and that altitude without decompression stops being required.

 

[My2Girls66]

90' down in a lava tube?
I think 30-40' tops in clear blue Caribbean water will suit me just fine
Out of curiosity- I know you need different training for altitude diving but what is the effect of high altitudes underwater? At 90' down in a lake at 7700ft altitude- much more pressure than 90' down at sea level?

 

[SharonLowe]

The Canon housings go to 130ft also. Also, there is a diffuser for the housings that help reduce the back scatter phenomenom from the internal flash. They work quite well.

Yes, but they don't allow an external flash to be mounted. For diving, best to go with Ikelite housings which do allow an external flash. The internal flash with diffuser is really only good for shallow depths.

 

[AZ JazzyJ]

90' down in a lava tube?
I think 30-40' tops in clear blue Caribbean water will suit me just fine
Out of curiosity- I know you need different training for altitude diving but what is the effect of high altitudes underwater? At 90' down in a lake at 7700ft altitude- much more pressure than 90' down at sea level?

Yellowstone Lake is an interesting place. At the surface the water temperature is 37 degrees. At 40 feet the water temperature is 50 degrees. At 90 feet the water temperature is 82 degrees. It is thermally fed from the bottom through underwater geysers and old lava tubes. At the surface you want to be in a dry suit but at depth you want to start peeling off layers of wet suit due to the heat. It's an awesome experience but not something that the average diver would undertake. Diving in tubes is very similar to cave diving. It requires very specific training and equipment. We all wear ropes and harnesses and have redundant systems (air, safety) to make sure no one gets hurt. There are also people who manage the ropes and account for everyone's movements. In that sense it is similar to ice diving (cutting a hole in the ice and diving in fresh water lakes). It is definitely not for the faint of heart or claustrophobic. Cave and ice diving are as much psychological dives as they are physical.

Diving at altitude is an interesting experience too. Altitude reduces the amount of time that you can be under due to the differences of air pressure and tank pressure and the levels of nitrogen. As you know the air we breathe is made up of roughly 70 percent nitrogen. The body can only deal with so much nitrogen then it starts to accumulate and can cause decompression sickness. At altitude the gases are compressed and the body gets a larger dosage of nitrogen meaning it saturates the body quicker and therefore can cause decompression sickness sooner than at sea level. If you've taken a scuba diving class you probably were told not to fly after you have dived. The reason for this is that the altitude and the pressurization of the plane impacts the body's ability to deal with the excess nitrogen and you could get decompression sickness. This is magnified if you dive at altitude. Wow, I feel like Bill Nye the Science Guy. The biggest thing to remember is that as you go up in altitude your dive time reduces.