Photographic Equipment: Advice Needed

cozumel · Feb 19, 2007, 12:52 PM

Never owned a digital camera but want to make first purchase so I need help. I chose this forum due to sheer number of high quality images of recipe ideas, oops, I mean wildlife shots that have been posted.

Budget: Max £100-200 or $200-400 depending whether I buy in the US or UK.

Purpose: For underwater photography

Requirements:

Camera will not need to be waterproof as I will have an enclosure for it.
Will be taking shots from a max distance of around 20m (large seals or maybe whales etc) to maybe only 1 foot away (miniature seahorse the size of your fingernail).
Want a good zoom capability
Visibility will always be good though light reduces the deeper I go and I can't afford a lighting rig at the moment. So the camera needs to be able to cope with low light conditions.
There my be rapid movement in some shots and I need the camera to be take these shots without too much blurring.

At the moment nearly all my memories are stored in my head but now I want to start keeping a record of my dives. I may never be lucky enough to see another miniature seahorse for example. I want to be able to share my experiences fully with family, friends and here with DH members.

Any suggestions please?

Falstaff · Feb 19, 2007, 01:27 PM

the Canon Powershots are great...but Nikons is great as well.

Calinerti · Feb 19, 2007, 01:42 PM

Any canon or nikon DSLR. Doesnt really matter which one you choose, the real difference is going to be made by which lens you use. A lens which performs well in low light situations is going to be expensive. I have a 50mm 1.4 nikkor lens which is great in low light but I paid about $150 for it.

Falstaff · Feb 19, 2007, 04:11 PM

the rebel's work amazingly well and very versatile, but more expensive really, if your not so picky about replacing lenses the options are greater, and still lots of good cameras out there, but it isnt about the camera's eye...its about your eye. My first camera I made myself with a quaker oats container and it worked just fine for what I wanted to do...

~~DudeBoyz~~ · Feb 19, 2007, 04:33 PM

Underwater, I'd go Olympus. Had better luck with their enclosures is all.

Plus, if you do go DSLR, their 4/3rds system has some good lens options and is designed specifically to match lenses to the digital sensor.

Falstaff · Feb 19, 2007, 04:40 PM

yeah..but this Coz does not have much loot...the Oly's that are worth a damn cost quite alot, I prefer a Ziese lens on the cheaper ones.

cozumel · Feb 19, 2007, 04:54 PM

It may sound strange but I've honestly never had a camera that's cost more than the 4 x $10 disposable waterproof ones I bought last year. Ok above water and just below the surface. Soon as you go below 10m they're screwed big time!! But I've managed to take some real nice shots nevertheless.

Anyhow - I'm not going to go down the road and get extra lenses. I'm basically looking for 'point & shoot' model that will be able to most of what I said above to a reasonable quality.

So, is something like this ok? The reason I chose this review is that it shows what is bundled. Is there anything obvious missing from the bundles? (I've got loads of rechargeable batteries)

It has ISO 80-800 capability which I was reading up and hopefully means it can cope with low light although compromises quality.

Including a waterproof case (upto 130ft) it'll set back $400 which is right at the top of my price range. I might go for something a touch lower in price but was just wondering if you'd be able to comment on the functionality (pros/cons) of this model to give me more of an idea. After all I am a total novice in this type of purchase.

Thanks for your time gents. Much appreciated.

~~DudeBoyz~~ · Feb 19, 2007, 05:00 PM

I have an A640. Flash is a problem. It's generated lots of Red-Eye for me so far. Low Light Assist seems to work ok for focusing.

I paid $329 USD for it and if I had it to do over again, I would have just kept using my Olympus C5050 instead.

I would go for something with a stronger flash that is farther away from the lens.

You know what you may want to do? Email the folks at DPReview, Steve's Digicams, etc. - the ones who run the site and do the reviews. I'm thinking they will have very good information and can give you specifics. It's what they do for a living, after all...

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