S80 for diving?

[plato]

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has used the Canon S80 for diving yet, and as a diver, what are the pros and cons of the canon S80 vs an Olympus model like 7070 or 8080?

I am looking for a camera that has manual functions (ie set shutter and aperture) and can take reasonably good pictures underwater. In addition, it should be pocket-sized so that I can carry it around for land photography on days when I don't want the weight of my dslr.

 

[Tsangstudios]

Yo S80 will not be suitable for some reasons.

1 bat life.
2 heat of cam cause fogging quite easily even with silica.
3 If body is same design as earlier s series some function not accesible under water.
4 borrow katies 7070 it is not a bad cam, she has housing for it too. Check it out for yourself.

 

[plato]

Actually I did use the 7070 for the pool shoot the other day and it was quite ok, except that I wasn't used to the shutter release being so sensitive and kept misfiring. I am considering it but I also want to check out the alternatives.

I was just wondering how the S80 would compare because as you know I won't be diving as often as I used to, and I find the 7070 a bit big to carry around. At that kind of size, I might as well carry my slr around. The S80 on the other hand is a lot smaller and lighter, so as a handy pocket camera on land, it would be perfect. Just wondering if the battery life and fogging issue has improved since the S40 which I used to have.

 

[Tsangstudios]

Actually I did use the 7070 for the pool shoot the other day and it was quite ok, except that I wasn't used to the shutter release being so sensitive and kept misfiring. I am considering it but I also want to check out the alternatives.

I was just wondering how the S80 would compare because as you know I won't be diving as often as I used to, and I find the 7070 a bit big to carry around. At that kind of size, I might as well carry my slr around. The S80 on the other hand is a lot smaller and lighter, so as a handy pocket camera on land, it would be perfect. Just wondering if the battery life and fogging issue has improved since the S40 which I used to have.

I guess the s80 will do fine then cause like you say its meant more for walkaround for land so should not really matter how well it performs underwater. (it will be reasonable )

 

[cat64fish]

I've been looking for a suitable replacement for my Canon S50. Some problems I found with the S50 (which I guess would tranlate to the S80) are:

1. Short battery life (have not found a way to overcome)
2. Proprietary rechargeable battery (thus dependent on availability of electrical supply)
3. Tendency to fog up (but then again, many other camera housing have this problem)
4. In-built flash causes shadow (can be overcome with external strobe)
5. Not able to turn camera on or off once in housing

The S80 uses the same battery, and has overall similar design to S50. In addition, what I don't like about the S80 are:

1. The "function" disk is in a funny position (on the side, instead of top)
2. The buttons on the housing are small and spaced quite close together (making gloved use a bit difficult for us big-finered people).
3. It does not take RAW images (not sure how important this is, though)

Alternatives I have looked at are:

Canon A620 - almost similar stats (7meg instead of 8), uses 4 AA batteries, has on-off button on housing. Obviously different design and shape.

And today, in Digital Life, I saw the new Olympus SP310 / 350, which is very similar in shape to the A620, except that it uses 2 AA batteries and can take RAW images. So will be looking at those as well. Hope this helps.

Jeff

 

[yinghaw]

I was using the S80 last month on my Tulamben trip.

1. I didn't have any problem with the battery life, cos I turned the camera off when I wasn't shooting. Yes it can be done. And I had enuf time to recharge the battery between dives. I took average about 40 shots per dive.
2. I think all of the function can be accessible with the camera inside the housing.

 

[plato]

I was using the S80 last month on my Tulamben trip.

1. I didn't have any problem with the battery life, cos I turned the camera off when I wasn't shooting. Yes it can be done. And I had enuf time to recharge the battery between dives. I took average about 40 shots per dive.
2. I think all of the function can be accessible with the camera inside the housing.

Hi yinghaw,

So you can turn the camera on and off without taking it out of the housing? That would be great cos' I couldn't do so with my S40 previously. The battery life appears to be the same though. The thing that impressed me about the Olympus cameras (5050, 5060, 7070, etc) was that the batteries can last for up to 2 dives before dying. But I think the Olympus cameras are too big to carry around on land so I guess I'll still lean towards getting the S80.

Thanks for your feedback!

 

[yinghaw]

Hi yinghaw,

So you can turn the camera on and off without taking it out of the housing? That would be great cos' I couldn't do so with my S40 previously. The battery life appears to be the same though. The thing that impressed me about the Olympus cameras (5050, 5060, 7070, etc) was that the batteries can last for up to 2 dives before dying. But I think the Olympus cameras are too big to carry around on land so I guess I'll still lean towards getting the S80.

Thanks for your feedback!

You're most welcome.

For sure you can turn off and on the power while you're diving. Just press the "Function" button for more than 5sec, and it'll shut off. I have used the camera for 2 consecutive dives without charging, maybe can do 3 but I didn't want to take the risk. I was reviewing the photos after every dive and the battery was still ok.

Play a bit with the camera at the shop n see if you'll like it's user interface. I am also very new to this camera. I quite happy with it.

 

[cat64fish]

Woo hoo !! Learn something new everyday

 

[plato]

You're most welcome.

For sure you can turn off and on the power while you're diving. Just press the "Function" button for more than 5sec, and it'll shut off. I have used the camera for 2 consecutive dives without charging, maybe can do 3 but I didn't want to take the risk. I was reviewing the photos after every dive and the battery was still ok.

Play a bit with the camera at the shop n see if you'll like it's user interface. I am also very new to this camera. I quite happy with it.

Good to see that Canon has all these albeit undocumented features for the camera. I remember this problem with my S40. I used to have to leave it on (set to auto shutdown after 3min) prior to my first dive. Then to save battery, I'd dive with the lcd turned off until I saw something I wanted to shoot. Very troublesome. But the camera was quite old by then so the battery only lasted about 20-30 min.

 

[yinghaw]

It was in the UW Housing User Manual. The only problem I encounter is the fogging. Can't really blame the camera, took too many shots in 1 particular dive.

 

[Tsangstudios]

It was in the UW Housing User Manual. The only problem I encounter is the fogging. Can't really blame the camera, took too many shots in 1 particular dive.

Fogging sucks, when I had a s40 a few years back I actually managed to get right up to black tip face resting againts the current at sipadan after numerous attempts cause he kept moving away. And when I snapped the friging cam fogged sheesh..

 

[yinghaw]

Fogging sucks, when I had a s40 a few years back I actually managed to get right up to black tip face resting againts the current at sipadan after numerous attempts cause he kept moving away. And when I snapped the friging cam fogged sheesh..

Haha! That really spoils everything doesn't it?

By the way, does anyone knows where to get the weights for UW housing? Under water, the camera was a bit positive bouyant, I'd like it to be a bit negative, I think the camera is more stable that way. It was also recommended by Canon.

 

[brittlestars]

Hi guys, I'm a newbie to UW photography. I have some questions after reading this thread:

- What causes housing to fog? Same reasons as fogging on our masks?
- How do we overcome or reduce this fogging problem?
- Also, is fogging particularly adverse in certain brands' housing?

Hope someone can help me out, thanks in advance!

 

[brittlestars]

And today, in Digital Life, I saw the new Olympus SP310 / 350, which is very similar in shape to the A620, except that it uses 2 AA batteries and can take RAW images. So will be looking at those as well. Hope this helps.

Jeff

Hi Jeff, I'm kinda leaning towards SP-310/350 because of its longer battery duration (brochure says >500 shots using supplied lithium batt!) and RAW format capability. I haven't used RAW format before but it really interest me enough to consider that capability in my next DC for UW usage.

But do you think it using RAW format during UW usage would render longer shutter lag and shorten battery duration?

 

[plato]

Fogging is caused by the moist air in the housing condensing on the housing. The camera heats up the air inside while the colder water outside causes the air inside to condense.

Most pple I know put a silica gel pack into the housing to absorb the moisture so the chance of fogging is minimised. Also I try to leave my camera inside the housing with the silica gel pack at least 30min before the dive so that it has time to absorb the moisture. I also try to avoid opening the housing once I'm out at sea to prevent moisture from getting in.

Hi guys, I'm a newbie to UW photography. I have some questions after reading this thread:

- What causes housing to fog? Same reasons as fogging on our masks?
- How do we overcome or reduce this fogging problem?
- Also, is fogging particularly adverse in certain brands' housing?

Hope someone can help me out, thanks in advance!

 

[yinghaw]

For me, I always turn the camera off when not shooting, it'll keep the camera body temperature cool or not heated up too much. Unless you're constantly taking picture during diving, if that's the case, you should be happy to see so many things already lah . ... hehehehe

 

[brittlestars]

Fogging is caused by the moist air in the housing condensing on the housing. The camera heats up the air inside while the colder water outside causes the air inside to condense.

Most pple I know put a silica gel pack into the housing to absorb the moisture so the chance of fogging is minimised. Also I try to leave my camera inside the housing with the silica gel pack at least 30min before the dive so that it has time to absorb the moisture. I also try to avoid opening the housing once I'm out at sea to prevent moisture from getting in.

Thanks plato for your post!

One question - If I intend to place a silica pack in my next UW housing, is there anything I should look out for in UW housing when shopping for it? eg. extra space in UW housing, etc? Where do you place the silica pack in the UW housing?

 

[cat64fish]

Hi Jeff, I'm kinda leaning towards SP-310/350 because of its longer battery duration (brochure says >500 shots using supplied lithium batt!) and RAW format capability. I haven't used RAW format before but it really interest me enough to consider that capability in my next DC for UW usage.

But do you think it using RAW format during UW usage would render longer shutter lag and shorten battery duration?

Hi brittlestars,

Sorry I didn't see your post till now. I had a look at the SP350 and it is certainly a sleek camera!! Big viewer too. However, I read reviews that didn't give it very high ratings compared to the Canon A620. The shutter lag (time between pressing the shutter release button and the image being taken) was recorded at 9/10 of a sec, comapred to 2/10 for the A620. And battery life (when using rechargeables) sucked. In a test of 100 images, the tester had to change batteries 3 times.

However, it does take RAW, which the newer Canon cameras don't use anymore.

So, the upshot is, I am re-evaluating my thoughts on the SP350. Maybe I'll just live on bread and water for the rest of my life and get a housing for my D70

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Jeff

 

[brittlestars]

Hi brittlestars,

In a test of 100 images, the tester had to change batteries 3 times.

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Jeff

Hmm, I'm a little confused. SP-310/350 brochure says they can take up to 510 shots with its supplied CR-V3 battery on a single charge! Wonder how true this is...