Some camera gear at the Digital Shootout

Falcon04 wrote:

kelpdiver wrote:

the liveboards' camera tables these days are half big rigs, half gopros. The compacts are vanishing away. And as you saw, the 4/3 rigs are nearly the same size as a FF - the housing is smaller, but the strobe arms and strobes are no different.

The main variation is in the dome port size. A FE lens can use a 4" dome port. But a rectalinear needs no less than a 6, and most are 8-9.5, so again, no space savings.

You did see thoese $7000 wet lenses from Nauticam that avoid the volume, if not the weight. But money would have to be no object to go there.

That's an interesting observation: the split between large rigs and go pros. Is it a function of the compacts, small mirrorless aren't keeping pace with the FFs? Or is it people separating into stills and video camps?

I think above all else, it's a reflection that the Heros are good enough for a really excellent price for people who want to capture something.   For 8 generations, they've been capturing 4k video, and they're passable for stills for the past 4 or 5.  350-450$ gets you in, and a little over a grand gets you with two good lights and a tray.   But it packs in almost nothing, and is easy to hand from your d-ring in the water.

Perversely, getting good images with compact cameras is actually harder than it is with the larger sensors, aside from the heft.   Focus is slower, colors are worse, IQ is far worse.    I think those who want to go hard at the photography angle want to get past the upper ceiling that the small sensor and so so built in lenses can deliver.