Underwater photography...

[kkraczek]

O.K., I'll be heading on a tropical vacation in a couple of months, and want to take some underwater photos. I also live in an area where I (and my family) could potentially take underwater pictures on a regular basis. Given a limited budget, (under $250.00) would it make more sense to purchase an Ewa bag for my Canon, or should I just buy one of the less-expensive underwater cameras? I'm afraid I might be disappointed with the quality of photos from an UW camera, but I'm also a bit nervous about taking my Canon underwater! (Not to mention the work involved)

Any helpful advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Spike]

I have no idea what an Ewa bag is, and I'm not ashamed to tell you that I know extremely little about underwater photography. Hopefully someone else will chime in.

But, I have some questions for you. How far underwater are you talking? How clear is the water? You'll need a good flash pretty quickly, not very far underwater at all. What do you intend to shoot? I honestly don't think $250 will go very far unless a water proof case for your existing camera is all you'll need.

Maybe someone else has some ideas... rent a good underwater slr, buy used...?

Spike

O.K., I'll be heading on a tropical vacation in a couple of months, and want to take some underwater photos. I also live in an area where I (and my family) could potentially take underwater pictures on a regular basis. Given a limited budget, (under $250.00) would it make more sense to purchase an Ewa bag for my Canon, or should I just buy one of the less-expensive underwater cameras? I'm afraid I might be disappointed with the quality of photos from an UW camera, but I'm also a bit nervous about taking my Canon underwater! (Not to mention the work involved)

Any helpful advice would be greatly appreciated!

[another view]

EWA Marine bags look like a pretty good option, I'm thinking about getting one for my Coolpix. I think they're only about half of your budget which seems like alot of money for a plastic bag, but probably the best option. Canon has an underwater hard-shell case that doesn't cost much more than this for the A60 and A70 if you happen to have either one of those.

I have a Pentax "WR" series 35mm point and shoot that I'm thinking about replacing with digital of some sort for kayaking trips, that's how I know about this stuff - not from using any of it yet. In my case (fresh water, only need waterproof to a couple of feet in depth), the WR series cameras, including their new digital, work fine. The instructions say not to submerge them but mine's been fine so far (YMMV...).

Getting into a waterproof housing for an SLR and the port for the lens, underwater flash, etc can add up quickly - the camera housing alone will be over a grand.

[kkraczek]

EWA Marine bags look like a pretty good option, I'm thinking about getting one for my Coolpix. I think they're only about half of your budget which seems like alot of money for a plastic bag, but probably the best option. Canon has an underwater hard-shell case that doesn't cost much more than this for the A60 and A70 if you happen to have either one of those.

I have a Pentax "WR" series 35mm point and shoot that I'm thinking about replacing with digital of some sort for kayaking trips, that's how I know about this stuff - not from using any of it yet. In my case (fresh water, only need waterproof to a couple of feet in depth), the WR series cameras, including their new digital, work fine. The instructions say not to submerge them but mine's been fine so far (YMMV...).

Getting into a waterproof housing for an SLR and the port for the lens, underwater flash, etc can add up quickly - the camera housing alone will be over a grand.

Thanks, I've been going back and forth about this... but I think I probably will get the EWA bag and be done with it. I'd hate to spend money on a camera that is going to give me bad pictures. The only real benefit to that option would be that I could then let the rest of the family use it. BTW, my husband is a kayaker as well, but of course here, it's saltwater. Thanks again!

P.S. Spike, I like the idea of a camera rental... I'm going to look into that as well. Thanks!