which camera to buy?

marcc · Oct 16, 2005

Hi, I looking into buying a digital camera for U/W use. My friend has a Canon A80 which takes great stills but the video isn't all that great. Another friend has a Sony DSC-W5 which has very sharp video but the stills pale in comparison to the Canon. Is there a camera out there which has the best of both? Another problem I've seen with the sony is the need for a filter as it does not have auto white balance in video mode.

Would appreciate any comments.

Thanks.

kapula · Oct 16, 2005

If you are looking to snap photos and get some ok video easily I'd say canon is the way to go. They have very easy to use cameras axx series and you can manually adjust the white balance. If you are into filming stuff underwater you need to buy a video camera. I don't think there's any cameras out there which can take decent video. You propably would like to have a camera that doesn't limit the length of video clip aswell. There are loads of good sites that compare cameras. Browse through a few and you get the picture. But bear in mind that you need at least manual white balancing since without that the only way to get decent pictures is to shoot raw and most small compacts don't support that.

Cheers!

Plungebob · Oct 16, 2005

Im looking for a camera myself. I want a good camera for UW pics but I need it to preform on land as well. Im looking at the (SEALIFE500) @ $700us with strobe..............or 8 mp (SEAANDSEA) Cant find price. These are dedicated dive cameras but I think they work well on land

ishbaby · Oct 16, 2005

And your budget is?? then we can go from that. . . .

If you can afford to go beyond $400 then you have a lot of camera options.

You can go for a Canon A620 already and its housing.
Or a Sony T1/W5.

Both have video capabilities but can be really expensive.

I was actually opting to buy a cam with the UW housing and my budget is 15,000 - 20k (pesos) Im deciding between the Canon A510 and the housing which costs $170 for each (Case and cam), and then the Olympus Stylus 300 plus housing would be $250 for both.

I already have a Sony DSC P72 3.2 mp and 3x optical zoom with video feature (with sound) And the camera's pretty good already, although it doesn't have a compatible UW case so im opting to buy a cheap camera that works well UW.

Im not into shooting video underwater as it would take a lot of space plus ample lighting is always important. So it's up to you really what your needs are. Plus if that's gonna be your only camera that you can use for your everyday needs, then go for a cam with good video capabilities.

Cheers!

marcc · Oct 16, 2005

Thanks for the info, kapula.

Cheers!

marcc · Oct 16, 2005

ishbaby:
And your budget is?? then we can go from that. . . .

If you can afford to go beyond $400 then you have a lot of camera options.

You can go for a Canon A620 already and its housing.
Or a Sony T1/W5.

Both have video capabilities but can be really expensive.

I was actually opting to buy a cam with the UW housing and my budget is 15,000 - 20k (pesos) Im deciding between the Canon A510 and the housing which costs $170 for each (Case and cam), and then the Olympus Stylus 300 plus housing would be $250 for both.

I already have a Sony DSC P72 3.2 mp and 3x optical zoom with video feature (with sound) And the camera's pretty good already, although it doesn't have a compatible UW case so im opting to buy a cheap camera that works well UW.

Im not into shooting video underwater as it would take a lot of space plus ample lighting is always important. So it's up to you really what your needs are. Plus if that's gonna be your only camera that you can use for your everyday needs, then go for a cam with good video capabilities.

Cheers!

Probably around $500-$600 max for both cam and housing. Is the Canon A620 better than the Powershot A95?

ishbaby · Oct 16, 2005

you can try comparing both. . . check it out at www.stevesdigicams.com

RiotNrrd · Oct 16, 2005

Here's a list of things you probably want to consider when buying a camera:

1.) Can I manually set the aperture (f-stop)
2.) San I manually set the shutter speed
3.) Can I manually focus
4.) What is the shutter lag time
5.) Megapixel count (more is better, obviously)
6.) Optical zoom range (wider-angle probalby better for U/W)
7.) Macro lens capability
8.) White balance manipulation and/or setting
9.) Ability to shoot RAW format

I bought a Canon S-70, and I like it a lot. It does pretty well on all of the above. The one thing I have been less than thrilled with is the shutter lag - it's about 1/2 - 3/4second. That doesn't sound like much, but when you're shooting, it can feel like an eternity. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to get a short lag unless you spend a lot of money. However, in the canon forum, there has been some discussion on the Canon A610/A620 - apparently, is is very fast (but doesn't have 9, and I think its wide angle is 35mm vs 28mm).

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=115082

Good luck on your shopping!

Riot

Moscuba · Oct 17, 2005

Hi.

I recommend Canon over Nikon due to the image processing; my photos had more color and available contrast to work with than did the Nikon. In fact, we couldn;t even get Photoshop to enhance many of his photos. I have not seen or worked with Olympus.

Moderate yet nice set up:
Canon A85 models on up (verify this) have underwater balance and you can manually configure the light balance with a white card if you want. The Canon housing is fantastic, allows full features of the camera including video, macro, manual modes. It does not have an electronic strobe. I had no problems with a slave strobe going off.

Have fun.

alcina · Oct 22, 2005

Just a note - the Canon A510 and 520 do not allow manual control of aperture etc. This would be a no go for me.

which camera to buy?

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