I agree completely with everything above. Basically, it's going to boil down to your budget and how involved you want to be with underwater photography. If you don't want to spend a lot of money and are happy with just taking some photos to show family and friends, documenting the underwater world, I would go with a point-and-shoot. However, if you really want to be an "underwater photographer" and take photos like Mike Vietch or "Gilligan" above (check out their websites), you are going to need manual control of your camera and strobes. Regardless of what you choose, the most important thing is to learn YOUR camera and take lots of photos. Just my two cents, from one rank amateur to another.
