For underwater photography about 5 feet deep in streams, what is the best equipment?

Camera underwater bag, underwater case or underwater camera (clearly the underwater camera is not as good as conventional camera as for functionality or available lenses)?
I want to fully utilize my Canon EF L series lenses for underwater shoot.

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4 Responses to “For underwater photography about 5 feet deep in streams, what is the best equipment?”

  1. Martin Spooner says:
    August 5, 2011 at 6:05 am

    Cheap, underwater, toy camera. And a very, very bright underwater light.

    Ebay.

    Added – You have L series lenses but don’t know how to approach underwater photography? Clueless wonder. Buy or hire the appropriate underwater housing. And a very, very bright underwater light.

  2. deep blue2 says:
    August 5, 2011 at 7:01 am

    What quality do you want?

    Cheap underwater cameras will probably have poorer image quality – light falls off rapidly underwater & cheap cameras crank the ISO up leading to a lot of noise.

    What camera have you got at the moment? Is there a rigid case for it? A Ewa Marine flexible pouch will be ok at those sort of depths, and will be cheaper than a rigid case. A rigid case will give you more options if you haven’t enough light & want to add a separate strobe.

    It all depends on budget & how often you’re going to use it to justify the money spent.

    If you buy a rigid or flexible housing, do try it our first WITHOUT the camera – check for leaks around the seals. Make sure that the seals are sand/grit/hair free or you’ll get leaks. O rings in rigid housings need a touch of silicone grease too.

    Edit: If you are planning to do a lot of this & want to use your Canon lenses then you will need a DSLR housing – but they’re not cheap and they may not even be one made for your camera body.
    I had a housing for my D300 & it cost £2000 – that’s housing ONLY. Ports (which are lens dependent) are extra & cost around £250-£500, and strobes will cost around £1000.

  3. setaian says:
    August 5, 2011 at 7:47 am

    I guess it depends on how far you want to take it. I think the Canon Powershot D10 is rated to 10 meters and for $400 it’s quite a cheap option. A lot of underwater cases cost that much.
    You can also rent underwater kit which might be worth looking at.

  4. Lightsmith says:
    August 5, 2011 at 8:39 am

    If you want something more than a disposable camera, check out the GoPro for both stills and HD video… “Shockproof, Bombproof, Waterproof to 180’ / 60m”

    Here are two of the testimonials they have posted on their site:
    “…packs more power than most professional cameras on the market today.”
    The New York Times

    “When I saw the footage from the GoPro on our big screens at Skywalker Ranch, I was amazed…”
    Producer Rick McCallum, Lucasfilm, Ltd.

    http://gopro.com/videos/surf/
    http://gopro.com/cameras/hd-surf-hero-camera/

    It is really reasonably priced.
    HERO® Cameras

    * $299.99 HD Helmet HERO
    * $299.99 HD Motorsports HERO
    * $269.99 HD Surf HERO
    * $259.99 HD HERO Naked
    * $179.99 HD HERO 960
    * $99.99 SD HERO 170

    I also found some deals online:
    http://www.savingsheadquarters.com/coupon/GoPro

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