While I have been diving for years and using a point and lens down to recreational diving depths.  I usually dive in the Caribbean and mostly shoot “waterscapes” and aquatic life.

So here are the questions. 

Besides the housing and strobes, what other pieces of apparatus am I going to need?  I realize that this is going to be a major investment, but don’t want to be spending money foolishly. Please be as specific as you can.

Any thoughts on housings and strobes??

Will I be able to use my existing lens or will I need to get a fixed lens length?

Thanks for any help and ideas,

Eddie

Hey Eddie,

welcome to digideep. You are on the right track with housing and strobes. These are the most essential parts. However, there are plenty of small gadget that may help you to make more interesting pictures or just help you while taking the images.

It would be helpful to know what kind of camera you already have and would you would like to achieve with your underwater photography in order to give you a good advice on the equipment.

best Lars

Hi Lars,
Thanks for getting back to me. 
Right now, I have a point and shoot camera with a single strobe (Sealife DC 600, 24 mm wide angle lens and a Sealife strobe), which has produced some nice shots.  Unfortunately the strobe’s electronic wire to the flash head has been severed, which shouldn’t be a big deal to repair.  My more important concern is that of the lag time between shutter release and flash ignition.  This annoying lag time is further complicated by my diving, which is usually in Cozumel, Mexico.  Cozumel is almost exclusively drift diving.  So when you combine the drifting currents and the lag time of flash igntion, I usually have to crop several or more of pictures.

I have a Canon 5D Mark II that I want to bring “down under”.  This is a 21 megapixel camera, which I would like to use for commercial underwater uses.  I have a Canon 17 -40mm wa lenses, which I would like to incorporate, if possible.  So far, I have reviewed several housings, ranging in price from $1500 usd to over $5, 600. Sebal and Seacam seem to be the higher end housings; Ikelite and Aquatica are the lower end.

Strobes that I have reviewed are the Ikelite, Sea and Sea. The costs have been around $950-$1250 usd.  I am looking to purchase 2 strobes.

I am looking to purchase a dome port vs. a flat port

Some of the strobes are compatible with Canon, others are not.  I may need to purchase a TTL “connector”.

I live in the United States so I would prefer to purchase something within the US, especially for any repair work that would be needed.

I hope this gives you a better insight into my needs and desires.

Any other info is greatly appreciated

Thanks
Eddie