Hi all,
Noticed a few common questions that keep cropping up when someone wants to get a new camera. Hopefully this can be a useful guide to point them in the right direction!
Feel free to edit or add any other stuff to make this useful for everyone!
1. What is the best camera to get for u/w photography?
- There is no such thing as the best camera. It depends on what you want, your budget, and your capabilities. Choosing a camera for its features is more important. So what features should you look out for? See point #4.
2. What is the minimum number of megapixels I should get?
- 3MP is good enough for 4R prints, so anywhere between 5-8MP is more than enough for our (non-professional) purposes. In fact, we've had a few magazine covers shot with a Oly C-5050 which is only 5MP. Megapixels are not a very important consideration these days.
3. Must the camera have an underwater mode? What does the u/w mode do?
- No, it's not a must to have an underwater mode. In fact, most of us do not even use that mode! (Correct me if i'm wrong here).
- The u/w mode (depending on camera make/brand) usually changes the white balance to compensate for the blues and greens. otherwise, the effects are pretty insignificant.
4. What features should I look out for when choosing a camera for underwater photography?
(This is based on personal preference/opinion, feel free to add/discuss other factors)
- Ability to have custom white balance, and choose other white balance modes.
- Have PASM modes (Canon terminology). They stand for: Program, Aperture priority, Shutter priority, and Manual. This gives you better control over your shots. Optional, but highly recommended. Still, I've seen the Ixus series perform superbly without these modes, so it really depends on how involved you want to be in taking the shot.
- Uses AA batteries (Personal preference). This is because AA batteries are cheaper than proprietary Li-ion batteries, easily available anywhere, and much easier to borrow/steal from friends. Plus the fact that I don't want to carry 5kg of chargers with me!
- Have reasonably fast start-up time. You don't want to whale shark to swim away while waiting for your camera to power up!
- Have reasonably small shutter lag. If it's really slow, the nudibranch might have crawled out of the frame by the time the camera captures the image.
- Have a large enough LCD screen, 2inches is good enough. This shouldn't really be an issue with the new cameras. Helps you see what you're taking, and review your shots accordingly. However, while big is beautiful, there is a trade-off in higher battery consumption, making it necessary to open the housing more often.
- Have an available housing (usually from the original manufacturer like Canon, Fuji, Oly etc). Many people buy the camera then realise there's no housing! Third party manufacturers cost a bomb, but are known for quality.
#5 How much will it cost me to get a camera + housing?
Most decent cameras are about 500-800, and the housing is anywhere from 270 to 400 from the original manufacturer. 3rd party housings start from 500 and can go into the thousands.
Hope this is useful..maybe we can do one for strobes next! haha
Noticed a few common questions that keep cropping up when someone wants to get a new camera. Hopefully this can be a useful guide to point them in the right direction!
Feel free to edit or add any other stuff to make this useful for everyone!
1. What is the best camera to get for u/w photography?
- There is no such thing as the best camera. It depends on what you want, your budget, and your capabilities. Choosing a camera for its features is more important. So what features should you look out for? See point #4.
2. What is the minimum number of megapixels I should get?
- 3MP is good enough for 4R prints, so anywhere between 5-8MP is more than enough for our (non-professional) purposes. In fact, we've had a few magazine covers shot with a Oly C-5050 which is only 5MP. Megapixels are not a very important consideration these days.
3. Must the camera have an underwater mode? What does the u/w mode do?
- No, it's not a must to have an underwater mode. In fact, most of us do not even use that mode! (Correct me if i'm wrong here).
- The u/w mode (depending on camera make/brand) usually changes the white balance to compensate for the blues and greens. otherwise, the effects are pretty insignificant.
4. What features should I look out for when choosing a camera for underwater photography?
(This is based on personal preference/opinion, feel free to add/discuss other factors)
- Ability to have custom white balance, and choose other white balance modes.
- Have PASM modes (Canon terminology). They stand for: Program, Aperture priority, Shutter priority, and Manual. This gives you better control over your shots. Optional, but highly recommended. Still, I've seen the Ixus series perform superbly without these modes, so it really depends on how involved you want to be in taking the shot.
- Uses AA batteries (Personal preference). This is because AA batteries are cheaper than proprietary Li-ion batteries, easily available anywhere, and much easier to borrow/steal from friends. Plus the fact that I don't want to carry 5kg of chargers with me!
- Have reasonably fast start-up time. You don't want to whale shark to swim away while waiting for your camera to power up!
- Have reasonably small shutter lag. If it's really slow, the nudibranch might have crawled out of the frame by the time the camera captures the image.
- Have a large enough LCD screen, 2inches is good enough. This shouldn't really be an issue with the new cameras. Helps you see what you're taking, and review your shots accordingly. However, while big is beautiful, there is a trade-off in higher battery consumption, making it necessary to open the housing more often.
- Have an available housing (usually from the original manufacturer like Canon, Fuji, Oly etc). Many people buy the camera then realise there's no housing! Third party manufacturers cost a bomb, but are known for quality.
#5 How much will it cost me to get a camera + housing?
Most decent cameras are about 500-800, and the housing is anywhere from 270 to 400 from the original manufacturer. 3rd party housings start from 500 and can go into the thousands.
Hope this is useful..maybe we can do one for strobes next! haha
