Need help PADI certification AND an underwater camera

[MHannon]

I will be staying at a resort in the Dominican Republic and they have a PADI certification course. How deep will I be diving/certified to dive? I am asking because I definitely want to take underwater pictures and I am also looking to purchase a new digital camera (My old one broke recently). The dive shop probably rents nice underwater cameras with big flashes, I emailed them but they have not responded yet. I could certainly rent one there, but either way I will still be buying a digital camera to take photos out of the water.

I was looking at the Olympus Stylus-Tough 8010. it is 14 megapixels and waterproof to 33 feet. They sell a case that will extend it to 180 feet. Will I be going beyond 33 feet?

Is there a better camera I should be looking at? I like this one because its the same size as a "point and shoot" and waterproof so there is no bulky housing. I can keep it in my pocket and take photos around town and dive in the water and not worry about it.

 

[WarmWaterWuss]

Good luck with your certification. I think it is to 60 feet with OW 1 PADI, but you don't have to go that deep. The better light for photography is shallower. With that said, you will want to get your buoyancy down before you try to do photography too. It is so easy to get zeroed in on a fish and end up rising 20 feet in the water column in seconds if you don't have your skills down. You will have so many tasks just with the diving and buddy skills you don't want to add another task of photography right away. However, you can always snorkel and get lots of pictures, and maybe later in the trip or next trip be able to do some u/w photography.

Try to get a hold of the person who will be doing your certification course and ask some questions of them, it will also give you an idea of how well you will be able to understand their accent. You might even consider taking the referral course where you do the pool work and book work at home and then do the check out dives at your resort. That way you don't have to do as much studying on holiday.
Have fun!

 

[Kingster]

I am in total agreement with WarmWaterWuss on getting your buoyancy skills down pat before taking a camera down over the yrs I have seen an enormous amount of coral destroyed by first time divers/photographers if you have access to a pool set up a hula hoop in the bottom and try to maintain your buoyancy in the hula hoop while holding a 3-5# weight in front of you as if it was a camera as far as your camera goes the Olympus does great w/out a housing in shallow water with lots of sun but the onboard flash lacks the punch to throw enough light to get your colors at depths beyond 10-15 ft. if you're thinking of looking at a housimg for for your Olympus look at Ikelite.com and consider one of their housings with an AF35 Autoflash kit you will pay a little more but if your ever flood the housing and destroy the camera send it back in and if Ikelite finds a flaw with the housing they will replace your camera Olympus will not do this and they DO NOT use stainless steel in their hinge and closure mechanisms so they have rust and breakage issues

 

[mayjong]

skip the camera for now!
concentrate on diving. besides, you see all the good stuff when you DON'T have your camera!
have fun

 

[hul kogan]

I'm also going to agree with everyone above. You more than likely won't feel comfortable bringing along your camera for the first few dives anyway, but if by some chance you do...don't! Get the hang of the underwater environment and then bring the cam along when you are ready.

 

[dcombs44]

+1.

My first OW dive after my cert. was in Cozumel. I was a bit nervous, I didn't get my tank strapped into my BC very well and it fell out. I ended up standing on a part of the reef trying to get my gear back together.

Early on, you'll definitely have more to worry about than taking photos. I also suggest getting comfortable in your gear and getting your buoyancy in order before trying to tote a photo system with you.

 

[jnocerin]

I highly recommend getting your certification prior to a trip. During my first dive, the camera was a real challenge.

 

[NewbieForever]

I highly recommend getting your certification prior to a trip. During my first dive, the camera was a real challenge.

I second that, spend your trip diving not learning to dive. I know a lot of these resorts do real fast certifications to get you your C-card and out the door but thats not the kind of training you want. If they do have good instructors then I wouldnt want to be spending my vacation doing drills. Go into a few local dive shops and interview the instuctors running the classes. Find one you are comfortable with and that you know will work with you and spend the time to get you diving well. Good luck!

 

[NewbieForever]

By the way I also agree get good trim and bouyancy like these guys,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlUjnXBzNlc

then get a camera

 

[snorvich]

If you really want to take GOOD pictures, or later on, you might even want to make GREAT images (there is a difference by the way), then diving skills need to be intuitive. They will not be for quite a while. Work on your diving skills, skip the camera for a while. Photography will task load diving, and you really want to be totally relaxed in the water if you are going to attempt photography.

 

[Namnuta]

I agree with the above posters. Having a camera will just complicate your dive. Work on your skills then bring your camera. Also, get a good enclosure, don't trust those waterproof cameras. I have seen many come back ruined while my enclosure have never leaked once and it has been down to 80+ feet many many times.

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

I took a small underwater camera on my open water certification dives (Negril) as my instructor agreed to takes the pics. I didn't snap a single pic until after I had completed the final task, on the final dive.

I agree with all that the camera would have been an unneeded distraction. Thanks to a great instructor, I completed my open water in 3 days and a got few great pics documenting the process.