I am now using a 5 year old Canon Powershot G10 for both above and under water shooting and I love it. Love the ease of use, small size, high quality images, long battery life and the relatively low buy in cost. What I don't like is the low def video's,and v-e-r-y s-l-o-w shutter speed. It's almost impossible to shoot a moving object even on the "sports" setting unless you can time it just right. I've been looking to upgrade to the G15 model but not sure that I want to spend another 1000 bucks ( 500 for camera + 500 for UW housing since the 15 is slightly different size) to just upgrade those two features. I've seen video's and pictures shot from the Cannon 5D and I was amazed at the quality as well as the astronomic price tag. So my questions to the collective are; Is there a camera that is as fast & will produce a very high quality image like the 5D that does not cost over 2 grand and is as portable as the G series? If not should I just keep my G10 and upgrade to the 15? Thanks, Canoli
I suspect Cannon has done a lot of enhancements to the low light shooting in the current G series. Much faster lens and much higher usable ISO should get you better night shots. Go on DP Review and search around, there are a bunch of cameras that are smaller and do very well against the 5D, the mirrorless offerings are much more compact and do an excellent job, but there is a reason the 5D is held in such high esteem, it's good. That being said I have seen photos shot with a number of cameras that are as good.
Autofocus speed and shutter lag are related, but not the same. When you depress the shutter, the camera has to both lock focus and determine the appropriate exposure, then capture an image. Some of the newer small cameras have a phase-detection focus system that can begin to approach SLR levels of speed and accuracy. Most don't. Your exposure and AF settings will determine how laggy your shutter is due to exposure calculation. If it is set to spot, and that spot is the AF point, you will have much lag.
I loved my G10, but it wasn't built for the rigors of field work in Africa; two years after buying it the lens retracting mechanism failed. I now own a Canon SX40 HS (dry season) and a Nikon AW100 (rainy season). An important thing to know about Canons is that they can be hacked! Check out the canon hack development kit (CHKD) : http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK Every model has its own firmware enhancement that you load onto your memory card, lock the card and the software runs, which allows you to change the specs of your camera drastically, turning a compact or point-and-shoot into a far more capable camera. If you don't like it, unlock the card and you're back to stock. I didn't know about it when I had my G10, but it's made my SX40 a lot more versatile. I'd say if your G10 is still functioning fine, try experimenting with CHDK.
If your current underwater housing wont work look into the Nikon P7700, the sensor is a little better than Canon's: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=909225&is=REG&Q=&A=details Or your best bet is to go a little bigger: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/886596-REG/Nikon_27574_1_J2_Mirrorless_Digital.html http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/888272-REG/Nikon_3689_WP_N1_Waterproof_Housing_for.html About the same total price and you get much faster AF since it has phase detect sensors (the same kind of AF used in DSLR's) built into the sensor. They were claiming it's the fastest AF camera period when it came out a year ago.
Depending on how deep you want to go you might want to consider the Olympus TG-2 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/910174-REG/olympus_v104120bu000_tg_2_digital_camera_black.html Here the TG-1 is compared to similar cameras.http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/waterproof-2012/waterproofA3.HTM
Thanks for the responses guys I really appreceate it. I did know about hacking the Cannon's but last time I looked the hacks only worked with the G 9 and the G12 + but for some reason they skipped the G10 line. I'll take a look at that as well as do a bit more reading on the other cameras. Thanks for the links and the suggestions. Canoli Photo taken this past week off the coast of Borneo 60 feet down no external flash:
Cheapest most rugged compact super high definition camera money can buy (IMHO) GoPro Hero 3 Black edition! $399. Waterproof to like 150 feet! The downside is the lack of manual options, but talk about phenomenal results......... Regards Bernd
While it's a great value, the GoPro quality isn't as good as a higher end camera + underwater housing for it. I used a GoPro HD3 Silver edition on a dive trip to Grand Cayman in November. It did pretty well, but you can't get nearly as narrow of a field of view as I wanted. Gotta get super close to whatever you're shooting. Plus, there's no flash support, so you need to have continuous lights when using the GoPro underwater, or do a lot of color correction in post. Also, add $79 for a LCD backpack or else you can't see what you're shooting.
I actually own and use a Go Pro Hero 2. In fact here is a pic of the wife interviewing a shark with it: However for the reasons stated above, it will never be able to take the place of a normal camera. Don't get me wrong I really like it for what it is, but the limitations that it comes with, means that I stll need a "real" camera. Canoli
