searching for 7mp+ to 100m

OceanOpportunity · 15th March 2008, 11:23

Hey guys,

I may be shopping for the impossible here, but here goes...

I'm looking for a digital point and shoot, 7MP or higher, good to 100m (with or without mods to housing). Pricetag for package $1200 max. Does this exist? Any smaller mfg's that I may not be aware of?

I'm hesitant to go DSLR because of the expense, and I'd rather have a really tight package since I shoot 'opportunistically' rather than go out to shoot specifically. On the other end of the spectrum, most of the housings for the point and shoots say they're only good to 180/200 feet...won't cut it for teh depth.

Thanks for any guidance
ML

SkinAndScuba · 15th March 2008, 21:59

Don't know of point and shoot that's good for that depth. I can saY that all Amphibico housings are rated at 100M.

Quote: (Originally Posted by OceanOpportunity)

Hey guys,

I may be shopping for the impossible here, but here goes...

I'm looking for a digital point and shoot, 7MP or higher, good to 100m (with or without mods to housing). Pricetag for package $1200 max. Does this exist? Any smaller mfg's that I may not be aware of?

I'm hesitant to go DSLR because of the expense, and I'd rather have a really tight package since I shoot 'opportunistically' rather than go out to shoot specifically. On the other end of the spectrum, most of the housings for the point and shoots say they're only good to 180/200 feet...won't cut it for teh depth.

Thanks for any guidance
ML

Hoyden · 16th March 2008, 10:14

Quote: (Originally Posted by OceanOpportunity)

Hey guys,

I may be shopping for the impossible here, but here goes...

I'm looking for a digital point and shoot, 7MP or higher, good to 100m (with or without mods to housing). Pricetag for package $1200 max. Does this exist? Any smaller mfg's that I may not be aware of?

ML

I just went through this search. You can get 7+MP to 200' for under $375 (Nikon 14 or 15 and a Fantasea housing), but to get to 300' the price jumps to $2000 for a housing alone (Aquatica makes the least expensive 300' housing that I could find) plus a DSLR camera. I decided that at this point I'd leave my camera on the boat for dives below 200'.

Jackie

paulraymaekers · 16th March 2008, 12:26

Quote: (Originally Posted by OceanOpportunity)

Hey guys,

I may be shopping for the impossible here, but here goes...

I'm looking for a digital point and shoot, 7MP or higher, good to 100m (with or without mods to housing). Pricetag for package $1200 max. Does this exist? Any smaller mfg's that I may not be aware of?

I'm hesitant to go DSLR because of the expense, and I'd rather have a really tight package since I shoot 'opportunistically' rather than go out to shoot specifically. On the other end of the spectrum, most of the housings for the point and shoots say they're only good to 180/200 feet...won't cut it for teh depth.

Thanks for any guidance
ML

I see no reason at all to have 7MP or higher in cheap package for 100m..

2/3 MP will give you exactly the same, perhaps even better result

don't hunt for MP, hunt for good lens, good dome

just my 2c :-)

paul

OceanOpportunity · 16th March 2008, 12:35

I agree with the point of a good lens/dome. For web, manuals, brochures, slides, 2/3MP is definitely ok. My last setup was 3MP in an ikelite housing, and it suited me well at the time.

My reason for the jump in MP's is the requirements for most of the magazines...many of them wont accept anything less than 10MP, unless its a tremendously framed shot. I also do some fine art photography - office displays, galleries, etc - so need the extra to enlarge my images ost 16x20".

Paul, are you aware of any 2/3MP's that can do 100m at a reasonable price? I'm not opposed to 2 different systems...in fact, it'd be less expensive to buy 2 point and shoots than a dSLR!

thanks everyone for the continued input
Mike

paulraymaekers · 16th March 2008, 13:28

Quote: (Originally Posted by OceanOpportunity)

I agree with the point of a good lens/dome. For web, manuals, brochures, slides, 2/3MP is definitely ok. My last setup was 3MP in an ikelite housing, and it suited me well at the time.

My reason for the jump in MP's is the requirements for most of the magazines...many of them wont accept anything less than 10MP, unless its a tremendously framed shot. I also do some fine art photography - office displays, galleries, etc - so need the extra to enlarge my images ost 16x20".

Paul, are you aware of any 2/3MP's that can do 100m at a reasonable price? I'm not opposed to 2 different systems...in fact, it'd be less expensive to buy 2 point and shoots than a dSLR!

thanks everyone for the continued input
Mike

hello Mike, don't know any point and shoot for 100m...

actually 100m is normally always metal housing, and so not for point and shoot.. different price range

my advise... save some money and go for a hugyphot :-)

but you know I'm biased :-)

paul

tekdiver170 · 19th March 2008, 17:29

If it makes you feel better just put insurance on it from DAN, it only costs less than $100 a year and covers floods. I did this when I started taking my video camera past the depth rating for the housing. The housing is rated to 150' and I have successfully had it down to 240'. But I don't think I'm going to be taking it much deeper, time for a new housing.

If you think about it I took it nearly 4 ATM deeper than rated, so for a housing rated to 200', well you might just make it to 300'.

Try at your own risk.

OceanOpportunity · 19th March 2008, 17:37

point well taken. Naturally, depth 'rating' is much less than the failure depth for any given housing for any piece of equipment.

My first setup was an older Nikon Coolpix in an Iklite hosuing which, at the time, was rated to 150'. I took it to 225' several times with no leaks, but pressure increase eventually took its toll on the camera and it started to act 'funny' over time. I'm assuming that one of the bigger issues with polycarbonate housings is that this material will 'flex' ever so slightly under pressure, as opposed to an aluminum or composite housing. This flex will cause the issues I mention above.

Has anyone had success with adding a pressurization port to the housing to equalize at depth? For example, if you were to equalize the pressure at 100' of depth, in principle, the housing would then go to 100' past the 'rated' depth without much issue. Naturally you'd need a means to vent on ascent.

I know this has been done by the IMAX guys for shooting very deep...any luck by the rest of the world?

**Gill Envy** · 19th March 2008, 21:24

hey Michael,
I have been using various Cannon SD, digital elphs for quite a while now, currently using the 10mpg SD 900, using internal flash exclusively. it has limits but once you get used to them you can take some very nice shots. I've taken it down below the 130 depth rating without problem...not to 300 ft though. the housing is cheap, the cameras are readily available, the whole package (housing+camera) can be had for less than $500, so depending on your numbers it might be worth thinking of it as disposable. for about $180 you can get the housing and test it yourself. the housings are surprisingly durable for their cost. the only thing i've noticed is that if you do not keep the buttons on the housing clean they will stick at greater depths.

I can certainly relate to wanting a nice camera that is compact and not limited to recreational depths, but that is not a small fortune and is not so cumbersome to deal with that it dominates your dive.

15th March 2008, 11:23	#1 (permalink)
OceanOpportunity for a world of water Current Rebreather/s: Other CCR Dolphin Home Build Other Rebreather/s: Not Bought Yet Inspiration Classic Other CCR Dolphin Home Build Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Providence, RI USA Posts: 479	searching for 7mp+ to 100m Hey guys, I may be shopping for the impossible here, but here goes... I'm looking for a digital point and shoot, 7MP or higher, good to 100m (with or without mods to housing). Pricetag for package $1200 max. Does this exist? Any smaller mfg's that I may not be aware of? I'm hesitant to go DSLR because of the expense, and I'd rather have a really tight package since I shoot 'opportunistically' rather than go out to shoot specifically. On the other end of the spectrum, most of the housings for the point and shoots say they're only good to 180/200 feet...won't cut it for teh depth. Thanks for any guidance ML __________________ Michael Lombardi Oceans of Opportunity www.oceanopportunity.com Elected Director, Society for Human Performance in Extreme Environments MN'07, The Explorers Club Project Manager, Diving a Dream
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15th March 2008, 21:59	#2 (permalink)
SkinAndScuba New Member Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Optima Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: South Africa Three Rivers Posts: 39	Re: searching for 7mp+ to 100m Don't know of point and shoot that's good for that depth. I can saY that all Amphibico housings are rated at 100M. Quote: (Originally Posted by OceanOpportunity) Hey guys, I may be shopping for the impossible here, but here goes... I'm looking for a digital point and shoot, 7MP or higher, good to 100m (with or without mods to housing). Pricetag for package $1200 max. Does this exist? Any smaller mfg's that I may not be aware of? I'm hesitant to go DSLR because of the expense, and I'd rather have a really tight package since I shoot 'opportunistically' rather than go out to shoot specifically. On the other end of the spectrum, most of the housings for the point and shoots say they're only good to 180/200 feet...won't cut it for teh depth. Thanks for any guidance ML __________________ Kenneth Wessels #19799 Skin & Scuba The only South African Optima diver 2007/01-2008/07, and to my knowledge the only Africa Optima diver.
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16th March 2008, 10:14	#3 (permalink)
Hoyden New Member Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Rockville, MD Posts: 7	Re: searching for 7mp+ to 100m Quote: (Originally Posted by OceanOpportunity) Hey guys, I may be shopping for the impossible here, but here goes... I'm looking for a digital point and shoot, 7MP or higher, good to 100m (with or without mods to housing). Pricetag for package $1200 max. Does this exist? Any smaller mfg's that I may not be aware of? ML I just went through this search. You can get 7+MP to 200' for under $375 (Nikon 14 or 15 and a Fantasea housing), but to get to 300' the price jumps to $2000 for a housing alone (Aquatica makes the least expensive 300' housing that I could find) plus a DSLR camera. I decided that at this point I'd leave my camera on the boat for dives below 200'. Jackie
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16th March 2008, 12:26	#4 (permalink)
paulraymaekers rEvo's daddy Current Rebreather/s: rEvo Other CCR Home Build Other Rebreather/s: rEvo Other CCR Home Build Join Date: May 2005 Location: belgium Posts: 1,384	Re: searching for 7mp+ to 100m Quote: (Originally Posted by OceanOpportunity) Hey guys, I may be shopping for the impossible here, but here goes... I'm looking for a digital point and shoot, 7MP or higher, good to 100m (with or without mods to housing). Pricetag for package $1200 max. Does this exist? Any smaller mfg's that I may not be aware of? I'm hesitant to go DSLR because of the expense, and I'd rather have a really tight package since I shoot 'opportunistically' rather than go out to shoot specifically. On the other end of the spectrum, most of the housings for the point and shoots say they're only good to 180/200 feet...won't cut it for teh depth. Thanks for any guidance ML I see no reason at all to have 7MP or higher in cheap package for 100m.. 2/3 MP will give you exactly the same, perhaps even better result don't hunt for MP, hunt for good lens, good dome just my 2c :-) paul __________________ www.rEvo-rebreathers.com .... the earth is flat, Elvis is alive, and radial scrubbers give longer dwell time than axials...
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16th March 2008, 12:35	#5 (permalink)
OceanOpportunity for a world of water Current Rebreather/s: Other CCR Dolphin Home Build Other Rebreather/s: Not Bought Yet Inspiration Classic Other CCR Dolphin Home Build Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Providence, RI USA Posts: 479	Re: searching for 7mp+ to 100m I agree with the point of a good lens/dome. For web, manuals, brochures, slides, 2/3MP is definitely ok. My last setup was 3MP in an ikelite housing, and it suited me well at the time. My reason for the jump in MP's is the requirements for most of the magazines...many of them wont accept anything less than 10MP, unless its a tremendously framed shot. I also do some fine art photography - office displays, galleries, etc - so need the extra to enlarge my images ost 16x20". Paul, are you aware of any 2/3MP's that can do 100m at a reasonable price? I'm not opposed to 2 different systems...in fact, it'd be less expensive to buy 2 point and shoots than a dSLR! thanks everyone for the continued input Mike __________________ Michael Lombardi Oceans of Opportunity www.oceanopportunity.com Elected Director, Society for Human Performance in Extreme Environments MN'07, The Explorers Club Project Manager, Diving a Dream Last edited by OceanOpportunity : 16th March 2008 at 12:48.
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16th March 2008, 13:28	#6 (permalink)
paulraymaekers rEvo's daddy Current Rebreather/s: rEvo Other CCR Home Build Other Rebreather/s: rEvo Other CCR Home Build Join Date: May 2005 Location: belgium Posts: 1,384	Re: searching for 7mp+ to 100m Quote: (Originally Posted by OceanOpportunity) I agree with the point of a good lens/dome. For web, manuals, brochures, slides, 2/3MP is definitely ok. My last setup was 3MP in an ikelite housing, and it suited me well at the time. My reason for the jump in MP's is the requirements for most of the magazines...many of them wont accept anything less than 10MP, unless its a tremendously framed shot. I also do some fine art photography - office displays, galleries, etc - so need the extra to enlarge my images ost 16x20". Paul, are you aware of any 2/3MP's that can do 100m at a reasonable price? I'm not opposed to 2 different systems...in fact, it'd be less expensive to buy 2 point and shoots than a dSLR! thanks everyone for the continued input Mike hello Mike, don't know any point and shoot for 100m... actually 100m is normally always metal housing, and so not for point and shoot.. different price range my advise... save some money and go for a hugyphot :-) but you know I'm biased :-) paul __________________ www.rEvo-rebreathers.com .... the earth is flat, Elvis is alive, and radial scrubbers give longer dwell time than axials...
(Online)

19th March 2008, 17:29	#7 (permalink)
tekdiver170 New Member Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Vision Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 87	Re: searching for 7mp+ to 100m If it makes you feel better just put insurance on it from DAN, it only costs less than $100 a year and covers floods. I did this when I started taking my video camera past the depth rating for the housing. The housing is rated to 150' and I have successfully had it down to 240'. But I don't think I'm going to be taking it much deeper, time for a new housing. If you think about it I took it nearly 4 ATM deeper than rated, so for a housing rated to 200', well you might just make it to 300'. Try at your own risk. __________________ Diving is my therapy... keeps the voices in my head from getting louder. Good thing rebreathers have no bubbles, now I can hear them again. - Chris Liles www.oahuscubadiving.com www.hawaiitechnicaldivers.com
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19th March 2008, 17:37	#8 (permalink)
OceanOpportunity for a world of water Current Rebreather/s: Other CCR Dolphin Home Build Other Rebreather/s: Not Bought Yet Inspiration Classic Other CCR Dolphin Home Build Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Providence, RI USA Posts: 479	Re: searching for 7mp+ to 100m point well taken. Naturally, depth 'rating' is much less than the failure depth for any given housing for any piece of equipment. My first setup was an older Nikon Coolpix in an Iklite hosuing which, at the time, was rated to 150'. I took it to 225' several times with no leaks, but pressure increase eventually took its toll on the camera and it started to act 'funny' over time. I'm assuming that one of the bigger issues with polycarbonate housings is that this material will 'flex' ever so slightly under pressure, as opposed to an aluminum or composite housing. This flex will cause the issues I mention above. Has anyone had success with adding a pressurization port to the housing to equalize at depth? For example, if you were to equalize the pressure at 100' of depth, in principle, the housing would then go to 100' past the 'rated' depth without much issue. Naturally you'd need a means to vent on ascent. I know this has been done by the IMAX guys for shooting very deep...any luck by the rest of the world? __________________ Michael Lombardi Oceans of Opportunity www.oceanopportunity.com Elected Director, Society for Human Performance in Extreme Environments MN'07, The Explorers Club Project Manager, Diving a Dream
(Offline)

19th March 2008, 21:24	#9 (permalink)
Gill Envy Shearwater Copis Diver Current Rebreather/s: Other CCR Other Rebreather/s: Evolution Other CCR Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: seattle Posts: 1,253	Re: searching for 7mp+ to 100m hey Michael, I have been using various Cannon SD, digital elphs for quite a while now, currently using the 10mpg SD 900, using internal flash exclusively. it has limits but once you get used to them you can take some very nice shots. I've taken it down below the 130 depth rating without problem...not to 300 ft though. the housing is cheap, the cameras are readily available, the whole package (housing+camera) can be had for less than $500, so depending on your numbers it might be worth thinking of it as disposable. for about $180 you can get the housing and test it yourself. the housings are surprisingly durable for their cost. the only thing i've noticed is that if you do not keep the buttons on the housing clean they will stick at greater depths. I can certainly relate to wanting a nice camera that is compact and not limited to recreational depths, but that is not a small fortune and is not so cumbersome to deal with that it dominates your dive. __________________ Gill Envy ...Because I wasn't born with gills! ><(°>><(°>><(°>><(°>><(°>><(°>><(°>><(°>
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