Panasonic TS1 & Pentax W80 Added
DPReview has added to their underwater camera reviews. I'm glad to see the Pansonic added.
The winner? A tie between the Canon D10 and Panasonic TS1.
My Little Review:
I have used both cameras quite extensively and find them both to be great performers.
I prefer the Canon D10 for 4 reasons:
1) Flash performance is better. The larger flash and position contribute to above average performance.
2) The Canon menu system, I'm just used to it.
3) The 33 feet depth rating. I live around some deep water and get down there sometimes.
4) It's cheaper (before you add the accessory kit).
*Side Note: Dear Canon, why on earth do I have to pay $149 CAD to change the color of my Canon D10?
You should provide retailers with a display stand with the different colors and charge about $30 each for them. Retailers would get a margin booster and I wouldn't have to feel I'm wasting money for colors I don't want.
Thanks!
I prefer the Panasonic TS1 for 2 reasons:
1) The HD video. It's very decent quality.
2) The slim design. It's a lot more convenient than the D10. I do like the moveable wrist strap on the D10. I'd still prefer it to be slimmer though.
Read More: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q209waterproofgroup/
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15 Comments
It sounds like a ebay business potential, buy accessory kits and resell the colors individually. I wonder if someone is already doing this.
I’m not a underwater photographer, so I just have a question. With underwater flash, how much gets reflected by the water back toward the camera? I was just curious as to how much of a problem it is, if it is even a problem at all.
I would think that a camera with the best possible high ISO performance is desirable for underwater photography, since light falls off rapidly as depth increases. A underwater version of micro 4/3 might be really nice for this.
back scatter is a significant problem with underwater flash photography, though it varies with the amount of particulate debris in the water. that’s why diving strobes are on like 4 foot bendable arms, to get them WAY off axis and reduce as much back scatter as possible. the water itself doesn’t bounce the flash back since there is no change in medium like there is flashing a light from the surface at water.
You are also correct about ISO performance, I just wish SLR cases didn’t cost as much as the camera itself, I have a G9 and underwater case that I use only occassionally because the image quality just isn’t what I’m used to.
Thanks,
I had a couple of underwater housings, one by Ikelite that came with a used Nikon N90S that I bought. It was a big, heavy, and clunky device that looked more like a Rube Goldberg Invention than anything else. I sold it off, since I only wanted the camera and a whole bag of Nikkor lenses that were with it. The owner had taken the housing all over the world with him diving and taking photographs.
I’m retired, and just too old to even consider taking up diving as a hobby. I’m also concerned about the safety, after a unusually talanted young engineer that I worked with went diving for the first time in deep water of Puget Sound, and got “Rapture of the Deep” or something like it. He headed straight down in 600 ft water and no one could catch him. He was never seen again. He had practice essions in shallow water before going to the deep water, but who knows what actually happened. It certainly shocked many dozens of people who liked him and worked with him.
2 days and only 8 comments. more rumors or direct print buttons please.
I doubt is there a big enough market, I would like to buy some body design like nikon s10