Advice on underwater camera case

[bluesman]

I bought my wife a canon S100 2 months ago and we are planning a trip to the panama city beach in about a month. She wanted to buy me an underwater camera when we went but i said lets just buy a case for yours. Case will not be used in very deep water as i dont scuba dive, maby 20 feet deep or so around the jetties and the beach. Also any tips on camera settings, seems like i read that there is an underwater mode for the S100 or do i shoot in RAW mode and post process.

[Richard Lane]

I'm a scuba-diver myself, but I haven't done underwater photography, so I can't help you with the settings. The quick guide is that there are hard housings and soft housings and they are rated by depth. Some are camera specific and some of the bags are just based on the size of the camera.

Even though you're only going to snorkel, I would still recommend a housing that is good for at least 33ft (10m) or 1 atmosphere. I believe that most depth ratings are for static pressure (that is the pressure of the camera just sitting there at that depth, without moving it), however once you start swimming and moving your arms around with the camera you will quickly increase the pressure on the housing. Most of the soft camera bag housings would probably be better just at the surface or right below the water.

Here's one specifically for your camera, it's a little pricey though, this one is probably overkill, but it looks nice. They also sell housing weights to help keep the camera down below the water.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/823936-REG/Canon_5481B001_WP_DC43_Waterproof_Case_for.html

Rich

[neuroanatomist]

I also scuba dive, but I haven't been for a few years (since before having kids). That means my underwater photography predates my dSLR years... But I've shot film underwater. The biggest issue is often lack of light - determine how much you're willing to push the ISO up, you may need that at the deeper end of the snorkeling range (I often get down to 25-30' when snorkeling).

As a side note, this is one area where I think the G1 X is a great choice - you're getting nearly an APS-C size sensor and the much better ISO performance that brings, and that camera with the dedicated Canon housing is $1100, compared to several hundred more for a good dSLR housing with the appropriate lens port(s), not including the camera. The new little Sony with the 1" sensor would also be a great underwater camera, in a package the size of the S100. But, I digress...

As for the Underwater scene mode, I'd skip it - the scene modes are JPG only, and I'd recommend shooting RAW to maximize your ability to post-process the images (and push the exposure a little further if needed). However, there's an underwater white balance setting which you can use, and that WB will be stored in the RAW metadata when you pull up the file in your converter.

Here's one specifically for your camera, it's a little pricey though, this one is probably overkill, but it looks nice.

I agree about getting the full housing, not a soft bag. The Canon one is rated to diving depth (130'). Actually, the Canon housings are pretty reasonably priced, as housings go - the Ikelite one for the S100 costs $100 more.

Have a great trip, and let's see some pics from it when you get back!

Here's one I took in Belize a few years ago, snorkeling off Caye Ambergris (I also dove the Blue Hole when I was there ) The subject seems appropriate for me...

[DavidEccleston]

I see a lot of mazing artifacts in that image, Neuro. Perhaps some water got in, and the sensor was damaged.