WE are currently using a nikonos 5 with a15mm sea & sea lens. I,m aware that ikelite make a housing for the kodak 260. Any ideas on the suitablility of the coolpix 950 with its associated wide angle and fish-eye lens,dose the Canon power shot pro 70 take add on wider angled lenses.Any hints or tips on the suitability of digital photography underwater. The main objective is to take photographs in poor to good visibility offer them to our clients via a T.V screen then print them on demand

-- glenn carter (Surfers-paradise-divers@msn.com.au), April 08, 1999

Answers

The problem I've seen with the underwater housings is that none of them go very deep at all. I think they typically go to 15 feet, which is ok for snorkling maybe? I like diving deeper.

-- benoit (foo@bar.com), April 09, 1999.

The CP950 is kind of an odd form factor for an underwater housing. The camera "stores" in a flat, pocketable shape, but it is intended to be used with half of it rotated 90 degrees, and as far as I know there is no way to "lock" the pivot (the tripod threads are on the shutter release/LCD side which you'd keep vertical). The 950 also relies heavily on the control wheel which would be difficult to couple to the outside of a housing.

Also, if you look at a picture of the wide angle/fisheye attachments, they are pretty bulky, and partially obscure the optical viewfinder. You'd have to frame shots with the LCD, which might be awkward (especially the backlight). Also, the accessory lenses may not have filter threads for attaching to a housing. And the wide angle isn't really wide in the underwater photography sense.

If you like the nikon, the CP700 might be a better bet. It's a standard point/shoot size (no pivot, so the lens faces front). It's not zoomable, but you're not likely to want to zoom underwater anyway.

I don't know much about the DC260, but its retractable/threadless lens housing would be a challenge. It may also move in/out with zooming.

-- Ben Jackson (ben@ben.com), April 11, 1999.

Ikelite quoted me $950 from them (cheaper through a dealer) for a custom made housing for the CP 950. They need the camera for 3 weeks. If there is enough demand the price will come down to about $750 and you won't have to send your camera in. I don't know the shots you are taking, but up here in the northwest, the zoom can be very handy. If your the first to send the camera down to Ikelite, you'll probably have to include the wide-angle lens to get the dome shaped right. If I get the housing, I expect that camera with the wide-angle lens (because of the zoom+macro) will be the most versitile. A friend of mine just got a custom housing from Ikelite for a SRL camera, they did a great job at keeping all of the functions. If you are not going below 30' there are some universal bag type housings.

-- Mark Sexton (sexton@wolfenet.com), April 12, 1999.