Need to buy a HD camcorder with Housing asap?

[adybaines]

Hi to all

Need to decide which HD camcorder to buy Sony HDR-SR8E, CX6 or Panasonic's HDC-SD5 or any others you recommend?

I need to buy it in the next 2 weeks before i fly to california....

only drawback is i also need an available underwater housing to go with it.... as i am cage diving with great white sharks in mexico and want to capture it all in HD...

The new Panasonic's HDC-SD5 seems to be the best..... but i cant find an underwater housing so im stuck? - anyone know if there is one available? or who to ask?

So what is the Sony HDR-SR8E like??

there is an Ikelite underwater housing for the Sony HDR-SR8E........ its another £700 ontop of the £900 camera though!!

and also the CX6 is that new/better than the SD5.... guess its to new for a housing yet?

saw a review says AVCHD compression is more aggresive than HDV and picture quality is worse.... is this noticable/across all models or just sonys??

can you buy something like the hyper drive and download all the HDD video from the sonys without a pc while on holiday incase it gets corrupt in the camera... i see it works with SD cards another plus for the SD5 - if it only had a housing i would be sorted!

many thanks for helping me get my decison made....

Bryan

 

[H2O Photo Pros]

One of the first things to look at when buying a camcorder for underwater use is to take a look at available housings. The Sony SR8 has several housings available for it, including popular manufacturers such as Seatool, Amphibico and Ikelite. The Panasonic is a different issue. The Sony SR series has been quite popular with divers and produces a very nice image. With a trip upcoming, availability is a primary concern for you...Guadalupe is awesome (I assume thats where you are going) and theres no way I would head down there without a camera.