Digital SLR's W/ Housings?

[Atlaua]

So I'm getting a little irritated with the quality of pics from my point and shoot underwater.

I'm thinking of upgrading to a nice digital SLR. Thing is, I don't want to have to get a second mortgage for a housing. Most of the point & shoot makers are selling decent priced housings for the cameras but I'm not seeing any in the SLR world.

Does anyone know of a digital SLR that has a housing available from the manufacturer? I refuse to pay Ikelite prices.

James

[Atlaua]

Since I posted this, I've done quite a bit of research.

Turns out that yes, there is one DSLR that has a manufacturers housing: the Olympus E-330.

Down side is that the cost of the housing is right up there with Ikelite and other 3rd party housings, so it's not really a benifit.

So I narrowed down the list to 3 (and then 4):

Olympus E-330
Nikon D80
Cannon Rebel XTi

While I was sweating these, I read about the new Sony entry so I added it to the list.

What it came down to is that:

1. The Nikon is the fastest
2. The Sony has the most features
3. The Cannon is the best all around in features vs. speed. vs. price.

But in the end I went with the Oly. Why? It is one of 2 SLR's on the planet that allows you to use the LCD to take pictures instead of the viewfinder. This camera had every wizbang feature I wanted AND the live view feature.

What it didn't have was megapixels. All of the others are 10.2 while the Oly is 7.5. Finally I decided that 7.5 would produce prints big enough to hang on the wall, I went with the options I want, biggest being not needing to look through a viewfinder underwater.

Wish me luck with my new camera. I'll be keeping the point and shoot until I can afford a housing, port, and strobes for the new toy.

James

[nauifins73]

Good Luck with your new camera!! Jerred has the Canon but hasn't gotten it wet yet.

Waiting to see some photos.

[O'Malley]

I was facing a similar decision a few weeks back and ultimatley went w/ the Nikon D80 and Ikelite housing. It was a tough choice...the Oly has certainly been receiving rave reviews.

Have fun and I'm looking forward to your shots w/ the set-up...

[DeepDiverBob]

I find myself in the same situation now. Kind of funny, I had my mind set on either the D80 or the Rebel XTi, then I remembered the post on here, and went back to see whcih cameras everybody was contemplating. I found this review, but it doesnt really steer me one way or the other yet.

http://www.dcviews.com/reviews/Canon-Rebel-XTi-Nikon-D80/Canon-Rebel-XTi-Nikon-D80-review.htm

Since this thread was started a while ago, have you guys been able to dive with the cameras? I know James has, I saw him almost lose it in Lake Michigan.

[Gluehuffer]

Just to mention my kind of set up. I use an Oly 5060 (no longer made - nice UW camera) in an Ike housing. If I was going to get a new one I would go with the Oly SP-550UZ w/ an Oly housing and an Inon strobe. Also Inon wide lens. The advantage there is you get RAW (the only thing I shoot in now) and you can do AVI video if you want. The other advantage is you don't have to switch lenses. The really bad thing is all of the camera manufacturers except Oly have chosen to not do RAW in a point and shoot. Big bummer. Check out some of the stuff I did with the point and shoot at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/gluehuffer/indonesiadivingjpgs
I shot most of them w/o a strobe in auto mode and adjusted the white balance post dive in Photoshop (really easy). I like the set up as I can shoot macro and wide on the same dive if I need to. Check out www.jackandsuedrafahl.com (http://www.jackandsuedrafahl.com)
I took a class with them and got a lot of hints that really helped with my point and shoot. Sorry for the long post. Let me know if you want any more info.

[O'Malley]

Since this thread was started a while ago, have you guys been able to dive with the cameras?


I've taken my Nikon D80 (with Ikelite housing and DS125 strobe) on a couple trips. The first, however, was a complete wash...my strobe shorted out on the first dive and I was not shooting RAW. I returned from Cayman Brac last month where the strobe worked flawlessly and shot RAW; I've attached the link to Flickr for some of my photos (best viewed as slideshow to match resolution). This is my first SLR and I am really pleased with the ease of use, functionality. I've been shooting Aperture mode to this point...have'nt yet gone full manual. 99% of the photos in the link were taken with the kit lens, an 18-55mm. A guy I was diving with had the same set-up except that he was shooting a 60mm macro lens...very nice and on my list of must have's. A friend of mine has the Canon Rebel XTi and has raved about it's performance; I have'nt yet, however, seen his UW shots...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8629859@N02/sets/72157600298089275/

[nauifins73]

Great photos - I recognized the location of several of your shots. We went to Brac for our very 1st dive trip. It was great. I have several Nikons and was thinking I need a new one. I am leaning towards the D80. My son has the Canon Rebel and it does take some great shots.

[DeepDiverBob]

I have decided to not get anything new, just get a housing for the Canon D20 I have now, and start building from that.