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Mid-Summer Underwater Photography Product Roundup
By Jason Heller, August 3, 2010 @ 12:13 PM (EST)
DPG is always striving to keep you all as up to date as possible in the latest happenings of the underwater photo world, but realize that the onslaught of product releases may get a bit overwhelming. Therefore, every few months we will release a product round-up that covers the major product releases of that time period. Below is the first installment, which covers May, June, and July.
By the way, if you're looking to purchase any of these new products, please support DPG by supporting our retail partner, H2O Photo Pros. You can find a link to many of these products throughout the roundup.
The Nauticam NA-550D
The T2i is one of the most popular entry level cameras on the market, and so far this summer we have seen three of the major housing manufacturers, Nauticam, Aquatica, and Sea & Sea, come out with housings for the camera. Nauticam was the first of the three housings to be announced, and also the most expensive. Nauticam continues to grow its housing line with impressive new products with innovative additions to each new model. The NA-550D features the same port locking systems and ergonomic controls as other Nauticam housings, including the piano keys found on the NA-7D, as well as new innovations such as the two stage shutter release.
The Aquatica 550D/ T2i
Aquatica followed up with their own compact and affordable housing for the T2i. The housing looks impressively lightweight and has a more than reasonable price of $1999. The housing has two, now standard, fiber optic bulkheads and access to the pop-up flash button in case you forget to pop it up before your dive.
The Sea & Sea RDX 550D
Sea & Sea has made a point of designing affordable housings for the entry level SLR camera. With their new polycarbonate RDX-550D housing, they have done it again with an ultra impressive price tag of $1,550, rivaling even Ikelite for the cheapest housing on the market (The Ikelite housing retails for $1,400). The housing also fits the Canon T1i and has two fiber optic bulkheads.
The Sony A390 and A290 Entry Level DSLRs
Sony seems to have a habit of producing modest updates to their already existing entry level DSLRs, which is not necessarily a bad thing unless the new models don't fit in the old housings (in the case of Sony cameras, that pretty much only means an Ikelite housing.) The A390 and A290 are more of upgrades to the older A380 and A230 than they are entirely new cameras. The A290 has been upgraded to the 14.2mp sensor of the A3xx series while the A390 has a new grip design. Both housings have a new button lay-out. Only time will tell whether Ikelite decides to put out housings for these models.
The Light and Motion Sola 600 Focus Light
This has been one of the most hyped focus lights ever. We followed the progress of the light for a whole year before it was finally released in late May. It's small size, powerful LED lights that include red lights for shy critters, and factory sealed head that never needs to be opened (even for charging) all have made the Sola 600 the hottest new focus light on the market. Check out the full review from Hergen Spalink for more on how it fared in the ultimate laboratory -- Lembeh Strait.
Buy the Light & Motion Sola 600
The Panasonic DMC-LX5 Compact Camera
While Canon may be the undisputed king of the high end compact cameras, boasting the ultra popular and powerful S90 and G11 models, Panasonic is looking to end its reign with the LX5. Although it was an immensely popular topside compact camera, and a well loved underwater model as well, the LX3 never did overthrow any of the Canon big boys as the top compact.
With the announcement of the LX5, the LX3 successor, its clear Panasonic is not ready to admit defeat. The new LX5 now has a a relatively large 1/1.63 ", 10mp sensor that has been redesigned for improved dynamic range. The lens is now an impressive 24-90mm f2.0-3.3 lens. Additionally, the cameras c ontrol system has been changed to a clickable control wheel, a la the popular GF1. The price is certainly on the high end, at $499.95, but the specs seems to still make it a good value. Can Panasonic pull off an ambitious compact camera coup against Canon?
With the announcement of the LX5, the LX3 successor, its clear Panasonic is not ready to admit defeat. The new LX5 now has a a relatively large 1/1.63 ", 10mp sensor that has been redesigned for improved dynamic range. The lens is now an impressive 24-90mm f2.0-3.3 lens. Additionally, the cameras c ontrol system has been changed to a clickable control wheel, a la the popular GF1. The price is certainly on the high end, at $499.95, but the specs seems to still make it a good value. Can Panasonic pull off an ambitious compact camera coup against Canon?
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