Underwater Housing for 30D or 5D

Just a question for you guys....

I am in the midst of planning a trip where I'll be doing some snorkeling, and I'd love to be able to take some pictures underwater. I have looked up some underwater housing for the 5D and 30D, but they cost MORE than the camera.

Do any of you know where I could rent this in Canada?

FWIW, one of the places at our destination has underwater nikons for rent. But this is only one place....and it's a nikon :p

Thanks in advance for your help!

-Kirk


P.S. If any of you have done some underwater photography, I'd be interested to hear about your experience!

bumpity bump

Have you thought about using a P&S and getting a water case for it? The underwater housing for the Canon P&S's run about $160 and they are VERY high quality. This can be a great way to go if you already have a decent P&S already.

My wife teaches Infant Aquatic Surivial and had used a Canon S230 with the Canon underwater housing for almost 6 years when the S230 CCD gave out (replaced with a SD800IS by Canon for FREE). She is not a photographer and has no concept or intentions of taking proper care of the camera. Granted this is a fresh water situation, but trust me, the chlorine is not your friend either.

That's a good thought.... Thank you for replying!

I have considered using my old elph (S400), but it's only 4mp, and the battery dies really really quickly. Additionally, there are no manual controls on it. Sometimes, it shuts down for no reason or has trouble reading the CF card. So it's not really reliable enough for underwater use.

KAS,

I forgot about this local Craigslist listing I saw a couple of weeks ago. 20D, lens, underwater housing, strobe, batteries, the whole enchilada..... The guy is here in Tucson. May be worth a shot at contacting him.

Good luck....


Edit: Forgot the link..... http://tucson.craigsli​st.org/pho/641837472.h​tml

Thanks for the link!

The only problem is, I don't have $900 to spend on that, and he'll only sell as an entire kit. I don't really need a 20D or 17-85. Plus, I really just want to rent the housing.

This is tough to find....I've been scouring the web!

thanks again
Kirk

you won't find a cheap housing for a 5D so don't waste any time looking

really your best bet is to buy a new P&S (such as a G9 or ixus) and get a case for it - canon make some quite decent cases for their P&S cameras quite cheaply.

I'm a scuba diver and I was going top keep one of my 5D's for underwater use when I bought my 1ds's until I saw how much a case + strobes were.

KAS wrote in post #5374886
bumpity bump

The best housing maybe?
http://www.splwaterhou​sings.com/

The other option is to get a waterproof p&s which may be cheaper than buying a new p&s plus housing. Given that you are only going to be snorkeling, the depth restrictions of around 10 meters on most of them won't come into play and they are much smaller and easier to use than an slr in a housing.

Thank you all for the replies!

I may look into a P&S if it's not too much cash. I understand that Pentax makes an underwater camera.

Those SPL housings look pretty slick...but that price! Yikes!

I would deinetly look at a n underwater P&S over buying a P&S and then buying a housing for it.
Pentax and Olympus make underwater cameras. I picked up an olympus SW 850 yesterday for work http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …tylus_850_SW_Di​gital.html

I'm a bit too cautious with my 5D and so would only recommend something like this

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steveathome wrote in post #5395741
I'm a bit too cautious with my 5D and so would only recommend something like this

Now THAT I can agree with!

pworm14 wrote in post #5375751
KAS,

I forgot about this local Craigslist listing I saw a couple of weeks ago. 20D, lens, underwater housing, strobe, batteries, the whole enchilada..... The guy is here in Tucson. May be worth a shot at contacting him.

Good luck....


Edit: Forgot the link..... http://tucson.craigsli​st.org/pho/641837472.h​tml

Just thought you might want to know that this very same scam add is on the eastern shore of maryland page even though the guy is supposedly in the UK for school. Clicky. Apparently some other folks in the US have replied to his adds

how about THIS
("THIS" is a link to be clicked on)