Bought a new camera setup: Canon T3i + Polaroid Housing

I stopped by Dan's shop the other day and talked to him about getting a new camera for an underwater setup.

I've used a GoPro (both the Hero 1 and Hero 3 Black) before and liked taking pictures and videos with it, but wanted to get something different. IMO, I think the GoPro is great if you decide you want to go spearfishing and film yourself while doing it. Lately, though, I've wanted to go out with the intent to take pictures/videos instead of spearing.

Well, I ended up selling all my guns and bought a Canon T3i with the money. I picked it up on Craigslist for $325 in used (but great) condition. If you're interested, there are some deals for them for ~$430 online.

Here's a link to the camera description on Canon's site if you're interested: Canon U.S.A. : Consumer & Home Office : EOS Rebel T3i 18-55mm IS II Lens Kit

I haven't had a chance to really fool around with the camera yet and I'm a noob when it comes to photography but it should be fun to learn all the stuff that it can do.

This morning I ordered an underwater housing on eBay for $350. The housing is made by Polaroid, but it seems like there are similar housings by a brand called "Meikon." These housings look identical to the Polaroid one I bought but are a little more expensive and ship from Hong Kong (they go for about $450).

Here are some pictures of the housing:

The housing does not have the ability to house any lens other longer than 55mm and I will not be able to attach strobes to it. For $1,000+ in savings over the big-brand housings, I'm fine with that.

All in all the setup ran me $675. Not a bad deal, I don't think. The new GoPro Hero 3+ will run you $400 plus tax, so I spent a little more for a camera with a little bit different of a purpose.

Hopefully I'll be able to figure out how to use it and take some cool shots in the water :thumbsup2:

Quote from Hardline

You can't attach any wide angle lenses to it? Most UW SLR set-ups use 10-20mm lenses unless youre shooting macro stuff.

I should rephrase what I posted. The housing can fit up to a 55mm lens in it.

With that said, I think there would be some picture lost with a 10-20mm lens. I would catch some of the "port" if I took a picture at 15mm.

I could be wrong, though.

Sounds like a good idea.

I have the kit 18-55mm lens... Do you think a 10-20mm would be worth adding to the bag?

Quote from kwtony

I use the same "meikon" (wanna be nikon) housing on my nex5..its a good case and will work well. I like it.

Good to hear. Have you used anything other than an 18-55 in there?

Alright, the housing got here last night. I havent gotten in the water with the camera, but ive tested my camera in it on land and also jumped in my pool with the housing alone. Here are some notes for people considering the housing since I didn't see any solid reviews online:

The build quality is good. It doesn't seem flimsy and I trust it in the water.

There is no way to manually adjust focus while the camera is in the housing.

The zoom wheel does not always match up with the lens: sometimes it jams, sometimes it works- I don't plan on relying on the zoom before entering the water on a dive because I don't trust that it will always be reliable. This is my biggest complaint with the housing.

You can access the main dial- I've seen specs that say you can and specs that say you can't.

There is a small area for the camera's flash to spread in the water but it does not seem very efficient.

There were no leaks in the housing while testing it in my pool.

It looks like you can expand the setup with a tray if you choose to because there are a couple slots for attachments on the underside of the housing. I dont see anything for strobe attachments.

Cant comment on depth capabilities, but the camera has 160' written on it, the manual says 130', and the Internet says both 100' and 120'.

Forgot to add that there isn't vignetting in the housing

Alright, one more update for people that stumble across this thread while looking at these housings online.

Here are some pictures through the housing. I'm not a professional photographer by any means, this is just for you to get an idea of how pics come out while using the housing.

I should add that these are all untouched jpg's.

Originals are 5184 × 3456 but they come out massive on the screen so I uploaded them at 1024 x 682 on Photobucket.

Alright, then they're not untouched by your definition.