Alex wrote:
> I am considering to attend diving school this summer. The first
> though I had was: I want to take pictures and don't want to spend a
> lot of money buying underwater gear. I know that ewa marine makes
> SLR camera housing for underwater photography. They have a
> generic house that goes up to 60 feet deep for about $150-200 @
> BHPhoto. Does anybody used something like this? Is it good
> enough to house my PZ-1P and a FA28-70 F4? I intend to go no
> much deep (20-40 feet). So, can I trust this kind of equipment?
Hi Alex,
Sounds like you'll be having some fun this summer -- good luck! What kind
of diving will you be doing mostly? It's been a long time (15 years?) since
I've been scuba diving, and my diving has been in Northern California,
primarily off sandy beaches and rocky coastlines rather than off of boats.
I mention this because it will influence your choice of gear. I always
needed something that could withstand hard accidental contact with sharp
rocks, sea urchin spines, dorsal spines of fish, and so forth. Thus,
flexible housings like those of Ewa Marine would not have been a good choice
as they might tear or puncture easily. Another thing to consider is this --
if you put on a pair of neoprene gloves (a must-have in Northern California
waters) and a facemask, how well will you be able to manipulate the controls
of your camera? I suspect you'd have a hard time pressing the controls and
seeing through the viewfinder of your PZ-1P in a flexible Ewa housing.
Finally, I always followed the rule of never bringing anything into the
water that I'd be upset about leaving there. I lost a small boat motor
entering through the surf off Carmel, and a weight belt (and almost a tank
and regulator) coming back in through rough surf in Fort Bragg. If an
unexpected situation comes up, how bad would you feel about losing a PZ-1P
and an FA28-70/4? Yikes!!
I'd suggest an alternative for underwater photography. First, you might
want to take a look at the Ikelite line of camera cases. B&H carries a few,
and your local dive shop may carry some as well. They're thick plexiglas
with o-ring seals, they have large external controls which are easy to
manipulate with gloved hands, and they have big square rangefinder sites on
the outside of the cases to facilitate framing your subjects while wearing a
facemask. I've still got an Ikelite case and a 110 camera in the bottom of
my dive bag -- it actually takes pretty reasonable 4 x 6 snapshots. Second,
instead of your PZ-1P, consider using a 35-mm single-use camera. Ikelite
makes a case for these disposable cameras, and one version has a diopter on
a moveable pivot at the front of the case to allow you to take close-up
macro shots.
Hope this helps. Good luck with the diving!
Bill Peifer
Rochester, NY
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