New Digital Camera + Housing Required..

Hi,

I had been using the Nikon CoolPix 5200 and Nikon Housing, which I loved but unfortunately I had to give it up....

I am now looking for a new digital non-slr camera and housing, can anyone help me?? The main purpose is for diving, so I am looking for something that has a good housing...

I was looking at the Nikon P3 or P4 but i cannot seem to find a housing to fit it (im Uk based)??

I have used both the sony cybershot and canon before, i thing i prefered the cannon...

and are the olympus any good??

Can anyone point me the right direction please???

Thanks to all in advance for any help

I would look at the Canon S80 and the Fuji E900 and their respective brand housings or the Ikelite housing.

The drawback to the Canon S80 is that it does not have RAW capability.

The Ikelite housing for either will allow you to add 67mm wet mount wide-angle and close-up lenses if you get the optional adapter.

Yup...maybe look at Oly 350 too.

Check out the pink link some more ideas...

In all honesty, I like my E900/Ike system better than most of the P&S Nikons. They don't have enough control. An E900/Ike will run around $600US.

That being said, Fantasea will have a new housing out for the P3 & P4 in a couple of weeks. Lots of accessories.

New Coolpix P3/P4 housing

MSRP is $200, my price will be $170.

Jack

I'll chime in. The suggestions above are all good.

S80's are getting hard to find. It has everything but RAW and a hot shoe.

The E900 is a great option, but it does lack an autofocus assist illuminator. That won't matter underwater, but if you take pictures at parties, it would.

Check Ike's website. They have a housing for the Canon A630 and A640 coming out. They take 4 AA batteries, so flash recycle will be in line with the E900. But... while the housing should accept 67mm lenses, it might not take the Inon AD mount.

I use an Olympus SP-310 (7MP sister camera to the SP-350. Similar, but without a flash hot shoe). My housing is the Olympus PT-030. The camera is generally good. It's not as fast as the Canons, but is probably faster than your Coolpix 5200. The menu system is intuititve. Using Manual or AE is very easy. You can dial down the flash output, but I'd advise using a rechargeable lithium CRV-3 if you plan to use flash. I used a wide angle lens and focusing was fine. If you plan to do macro, use a strobe with a modeling light. The Olympus housing is pretty well designed. It's got room for a moisture muncher. My only real concern is that some of the buttons are very close together. If you dive with mits, it would be tricky. 1GB xD type H (the faster ones) cards cost about $40 now. You can find them under $35 sometimes at Outpost.

None of the Canons have RAW format anymore. Canon seems to have removed this feature from all but their SLR cameras. Lighting and color balance is so hard to get right underwater and RAW is usfull if you want to correct it in post processing. Take a good look at the Oly sp350. Also think about what kind of strobe you want BEFORE you buy a housing.

Thanks for the guidance guys... great info page alcina.. thanks a lot for all the info....

Well i've had a read and a search around... and my thoughts & budget is leading me to a Olympus SP350 + Olypmus housing...

Thanks once again.....

Check out the Fuji F30... I think it's my next camera.

Ikelite has a housing for the P3 & P4 listed on their website

you can get an Inon Mount Base and add a Macro, Wide Angel, and Fisheye to your Canon S80, using the standard Canon housing $175