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Anyone have some waterproof camera recommendations?

chrono1081

chrono1081

macrumors G3
Original poster
Jan 26, 2008
8,941
6,719
Isla Nublar
Hi guys,

I have a Canon 5DII but I don't feel like getting into thousands of dollars for an underwater housing. I'm going on a trip to Hawaii in a few days and wanted to get a compact underwater camera so I can get pictures of sea turtles. I don't mind spending a few hundred dollars.

Anyone have any suggestions on one that you've used and liked?
 
chrono1081 said:
Hi guys,

I have a Canon 5DII but I don't feel like getting into thousands of dollars for an underwater housing. I'm going on a trip to Hawaii in a few days and wanted to get a compact underwater camera so I can get pictures of sea turtles. I don't mind spending a few hundred dollars.

Anyone have any suggestions on one that you've used and liked?
Click to expand...

Have you looked at EWA Marine cases? They have been recommended to me but I haven't tried them. As long as you have good insurance there shouldn't be much to worry about and the 5D will take far better pictures than a cheap compact.
 
Diving or snorkeling? If diving - it ain't going to be cheap - I'd suggest something like a Canon S95 in the canon housing. Get a red filter for it and it should give some good results.
 
All of the offerings are pretty much crap. since you don't mind spending money, why not rent a housing and get GOOD pictures for your trip? Hawaii isn't cheap so you don't want to blow it. I bought the crappy Canon waterproof camera for Puerto Rico and wished I had rented a housing for my 7D.
 
WRP said:
All of the offerings are pretty much crap.
Click to expand...

A good compact in housing (circa £500 for camera and housing - but - you can normally pick up good deals on housed compacts on eBay from people trading up) will give pretty impressive results in the right hands. The advantage a DSLR gives are flash control, shooting speed and the ability to use really good wide lenses - although bear in mind a housed DSLR can easily produce crap results underwater if you don't practice a bit first.

The principles are the same in both cases...

1. Stay shallow (unless you have strobes etc). 2. Use the widest angle you can and get close to the subject - then get even closer! 3. White balance if you can... and the rest is detail...

Also - if I'm a beginner, I would rather flood a secondhand compact than a 5D... (It happens! :eek:)
 
jeremy h said:
A good compact in housing (circa £500 for camera and housing - but - you can normally pick up good deals on housed compacts on eBay from people trading up) will give pretty impressive results in the right hands. The advantage a DSLR gives are flash control, shooting speed and the ability to use really good wide lenses - although bear in mind a housed DSLR can easily produce crap results underwater if you don't practice a bit first.

The principles are the same in both cases...

1. Stay shallow (unless you have strobes etc). 2. Use the widest angle you can and get close to the subject - then get even closer! 3. White balance if you can... and the rest is detail...

Also - if I'm a beginner, I would rather flood a secondhand compact than a 5D... (It happens! :eek:)
Click to expand...

I tried my hand underwater in January. I definitely didn't go the cheap route with an Ikelite setup and an old Nikon D70. I was really happy to get two photos out of the trip. I will definitely be practicing more - I had a lot of blurry and/or over exposed shots.

I agree with all of the above. I was shooting with a 16mm lens and the turtle is about two feet from the camera. The flash pulled out the color in the flippers. I need to knockdown the background a bit but otherwise I'm really happy with the performance.

Recently I picked up a refurb Nikon AW100 for about $220. It is rated for 10m so it would be ideal if you are snorkeling or doing shallow dives. It is also a good camera to have topside on the boat as you don't have to worry about it getting wet.

600
 
The other great thing about the modern point and shoots is a lot of them have some very spiffy video modes. If you want to record your dive - a video (with a red filter) can be much more rewarding than trying to take decent still shots especially if you're new to it all.

The Go Pro's are a neat little video system if you haven't got anything yet and just want to record what you've seen.
 
Thanks so much for all the advice guys :) Sadly I won't be able to shop around as much as I had hoped.

This was a spur of the moment trip so I won't get a chance to grab a Ewa marine bag in time. I forgot all about those :/

I stopped at Best Buy today (its all we have where I live) since I won't get a camera shipped to me in time and found an Olympus TG610 and a Fuji XP50 point and shoot. I generally like Olympus cameras so I may go with that one. I'm still researching online.
 
chrono1081 said:
Thanks so much for all the advice guys :) Sadly I won't be able to shop around as much as I had hoped.

This was a spur of the moment trip so I won't get a chance to grab a Ewa marine bag in time. I forgot all about those :/

I stopped at Best Buy today (its all we have where I live) since I won't get a camera shipped to me in time and found an Olympus TG610 and a Fuji XP50 point and shoot. I generally like Olympus cameras so I may go with that one. I'm still researching online.
Click to expand...

I don't have any personal experience with it, but it doesn't seem that Fuji has a very good track record with their waterproof point-and-shoots. The past two models both have less than 3 star ratings on Amazon. The XP50 doesn't have any reviews on there yet. I was in the market a year ago and really wanted to like the current Fuji at the time due to the awesomely low price, but I was scared away by the reviews that said it would leak in the first couple times under water and then Fuji wouldn't stand by their warranty since they say it doesn't cover water damage.
 
chrono1081 said:
I'm going on a trip to Hawaii in a few days and wanted to get a compact underwater camera so I can get pictures of sea turtles. I don't mind spending a few hundred dollars.
Click to expand...

Tell me if you're on vacation or working as a photographer. If you're going on vacation a pocket waterproof point and shoot may be the best option. It is so much easier to go have fun when you're not carrying around a backpack full of fragile equipment.

We use an Olympus brand point and shoot water proof crush proof camera for water based vacation photos. With a small camera we do not have to worry about leaving camera gear on the beach or pool deck to get stolen. Of course the lens is limited compared to a SLR but it is likely that you'll find less items to mess with the better while your airtime is limited.

The cheap Fuji we picked up at Costco last year and returned, was so noisy the camera zoom noise was picked up on the videos it took.

What I can say is a negative is the amount of time a GPS fix takes but that is probably the same for any camera with a built in GPS.

No matter how good your camera is you will be at the whim of any weather at all churning up the water and silt.
 
glutenenvy said:
Tell me if you're on vacation or working as a photographer. If you're going on vacation a pocket waterproof point and shoot may be the best option. It is so much easier to go have fun when you're not carrying around a backpack full of fragile equipment.
Click to expand...

No hardcore photography for me on this trip ;) I'm bringing my 5D2 and ONE lens. I can't decide between my 24-70 or 16-35. I shoot mainly with my 16-35 but I have a feeling the 24-70 may be my better all around option.

That camera will only come out a few times, most of the time I'll be doing fun stuff and want a point and shoot to carry around. I have one, somewhere, but its not water proof.

Sadly my options appear to be limited. The Olympus I went to buy at Best Buy today was gone, so I'm hoping I can nab one at the Best Buy a few towns over before Tuesday 0_0.
 
chrono1081 said:
No hardcore photography for me on this trip ;) I'm bringing my 5D2 and ONE lens. I can't decide between my 24-70 or 16-35. I shoot mainly with my 16-35 but I have a feeling the 24-70 may be my better all around option.

That camera will only come out a few times, most of the time I'll be doing fun stuff and want a point and shoot to carry around. I have one, somewhere, but its not water proof.

Sadly my options appear to be limited. The Olympus I went to buy at Best Buy today was gone, so I'm hoping I can nab one at the Best Buy a few towns over before Tuesday 0_0.
Click to expand...

Hawaii... you'll want the wide angle.
 
glutenenvy said:
Tell me if you're on vacation or working as a photographer. If you're going on vacation a pocket waterproof point and shoot may be the best option. It is so much easier to go have fun when you're not carrying around a backpack full of fragile equipment.

We use an Olympus brand point and shoot water proof crush proof camera for water based vacation photos. With a small camera we do not have to worry about leaving camera gear on the beach or pool deck to get stolen. Of course the lens is limited compared to a SLR but it is likely that you'll find less items to mess with the better while your airtime is limited.

The cheap Fuji we picked up at Costco last year and returned, was so noisy the camera zoom noise was picked up on the videos it took.

What I can say is a negative is the amount of time a GPS fix takes but that is probably the same for any camera with a built in GPS.

No matter how good your camera is you will be at the whim of any weather at all churning up the water and silt.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the advice guys :)

I found a waterproof olympus at Best Buy that seems good. I tested it and it worked so I guess thats a good sign :p The pics seem pretty decent too which is good because its the only option within 150 miles of where I live ;P

I'll let everyone know how it works out incase someone else is in a similar situation. Its an Olympus TG-610.
 
Nikon Aw100 is the way to go.. I had the Panosonic, canon and Pentax.. the Nikon is Rugged waterproof and takes decent point n shoot pics! Costco has them in stock and for a great price! Comes in 3 colors... I have the Orange and Black ! Great pocket camera and tough as well! Hope this helps! My wife has the NEW SONY TX series waterproof good but not as rugged as the Nikon!
 
chrono1081 said:
Hi guys,

I have a Canon 5DII but I don't feel like getting into thousands of dollars for an underwater housing. I'm going on a trip to Hawaii in a few days and wanted to get a compact underwater camera so I can get pictures of sea turtles. I don't mind spending a few hundred dollars.

Anyone have any suggestions on one that you've used and liked?
Click to expand...

Most dive shops rent decent cameras for a few bucks a day.

Paul
 
I had a shock & waterproof olympus point & shoot that came in the field with me every summer for four years. It was very durable, and ended up with all kinds of dents and scratches but still worked. It survived rain, blowing sand, freezing temperatures, being dropped out of a helicopter, and being accidentally dropped more times than I can remember. The photo quality was pretty bad, but it did the job. I'm having trouble adjusting to an SLR since I'm pretty rough with my gear.

Hope your new camera works well!
 
I have a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX10. It's waterproof, shockproof, freezeproof and shockproof.

Sensor: 16MP backside illuminated CMOS sensor
Lens: Carl Zeiss 4.43-17.7 (25-100mm equiv.) F3.5-4.3

It's a great little camera which take wonderful low light night shots. I haven't dunked it in water yet but I've washed it under a tap it its fine.

It also has great macro compatibility as it can take shots as close at 1 cm.

The only thing is that it uses a touchscreen, but if your fine with that I had no problem with it. Uses both SD and Memory Stick Pro Duo cards.

waterproof-shockproof-digital-camera-sony-cybershot-dsc-tx10.jpg
 
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