BlkKnight

Another one for the scuba ppl that lurk in NSR. . .

I'm looking for a "cheap" (IE below £200) underwater camera + housing for some basic underwater photography.

I probabily won't go that deep with it - circa 10-15 meters.

Any suggestions?

No aversion to second hand kit.

scunnered

iTrader: (1)

There are many camera manufacturers selling waterproof housings for normal cameras. I tried this a couple of years ago, it was a disaster. It leaked and ruined a £250 camera.
Last year I bought a cheap (£80) underwater camera but the pictures were blurry.
For a camera within your budget, have a look at the Sealife Reefmaster mini SL320. (I'm looking at the DC800 for this year)
Its a very basic camera, but it looks much better than the one I had last year.
One tip I'll give you is, whatever camera you choose, make sure you get one with a decent flash or light, as you lose the colour red in only a few feet of water.

BlkKnight

The sealife SL320 looks just good for the money.

Do you think that i'll need an external flash when not going too deep (5-10 meter)

Thanks

ChefDude

you start to lose red after a couple of metres. for anything other than macro you're likely to need an external strobe.

Look at Cameras Underwater: Digital Stills Camera Packages - they have quite a good range.

scunnered

iTrader: (1)

You start losing red below 12 feet I believe. At 5 to 10 metres, you'll definitely need and external flash/strobe. That would cover your budget in itself.

That's a good range of cameras on that site, but they're a bit expensive.
For example, the SL320 can be found up to £40 cheaper elsewhere.

I have a friend who is a pro underwater cameraman. He told me his camera kit is worth over £50K.

BlkKnight

I've seen the DC800 for £270, I might stretch to that. The flash pods can wait another year

Henrik

iTrader: (5)

We used a canon ixus (950, i think) with the canon underwater housing down to 30m in egypt last year and it was fine, it even has a underwater mode for colour balancing.

I'll see if i can dig out some pics from somewhere

Henrik

iTrader: (5)

Here are some pics: http://www.bilar.co.uk/photos/diving/

Some of them are from the "canyon" at 30'ish meters, where-as others are more shallow.

The internal flash was used only. The scorpion fish and the red sea walk man are quite shallow (~3-4m from memory), and there's obviously more light there

BlkKnight

thanks for those

Leslie

When you get it, maybe you could help SS out on whether fish fart or not. Nothing like a bit of real evidence.

Les

ChefDude

they're definitely nonchalent about pooing 'on the fly'

BlkKnight

Pretty sure they do

Otherwise they'd float if the can't fart - bit like dead fish.

ChefDude

So the swim bladder is just a gimmick then?

BlkKnight

shhhh