camera housings

[SDM20]

Does anyone have any experience with underwater/environmental protection camera housings, how expensive, easy to use, or easy to find they are. Would love to be able to take some cool underwater photos without having to buy those little disposable cameras where have the spool is rubbish anyways.

any feedback would be great

Cheers

Scott

 

[W.Smith]

Does anyone have any experience with underwater/environmental protection camera housings, how expensive, easy to use, or easy to find they are. Would love to be able to take some cool underwater photos without having to buy those little disposable cameras where have the spool is rubbish anyways.

Indeed, Scott, save yourself the trouble, the expense, and the dissappointment from disposable cams or any 'underwater cam' under US$ 2,000 . . .
The photos you see in National Geographic and such are taken with pro dSLR's in special, very expensive underwater housings. Often those are custom built (which triples the price again!). But you're not finished yet: you also need 2 strobes on 18 to 24" 'arms' (also especially designed and built for underwater) to get the light angle as far out of the cam's optical axis as possible. Because on-camera flash underwater creates the same effect as you get when you take a flash photo in a snow storm. Or when you flip up your car's big lights in the fog. Everything turns WHITE! That photo is a guaranteed 'trasher'.
This is because billions of tiny, tiny little pieces of organic material are floating in the water and will reflect the flashlight straight back into your lens like just as many little mirrors . . .

Bottomline: worthwhile underwater photography requires very expensive gear! We're talking thousands here!

 

[SDM20]

hey I've been looking at the Ewa Marine housings and they look like they could do the job for a small digital camera, but was wondering how easy they are to use, like for the controls, and does the excess plastic start getting in the way???

Cheers