Canon A 720 IS for Cozumel trip - good choice?

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peteetah

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• Dec 12, 2007

• #1

I am thinking of buying the Canon A 720 IS for my upcoming trip to Cozumel. I am switching to digital, giving up the old Nikonos III. I will be in fairly clear water, not deeper than 40 feet. Most of my pictures will be taken while snorkeling. I would like decent pictures, not like the kind I would get from disposable cameras. However, I am not a professional photographer!

Have worked on buoyancy control, and steadiness on previous trips, and hope to get some better photos than in the past.

Have researched posts, and many say that natural light and white balance control should produce good pictures.(In 40 ft. of water, or less) Other posts say that the Canon housing has a diffuser built in, and that as a package should work quite well.

Am I on the right track? Any suggestions for similar equipment in this budget range?

 

jaybombs25

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• Dec 12, 2007

• #2

A640 may be better

 

diver 85

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• Dec 12, 2007

• #3

peteetah:

I am thinking of buying the Canon A 720 IS for my upcoming trip to Cozumel. I am switching to digital, giving up the old Nikonos III. I will be in fairly clear water, not deeper than 40 feet. Most of my pictures will be taken while snorkeling. I would like decent pictures, not like the kind I would get from disposable cameras. However, I am not a professional photographer!

Have worked on buoyancy control, and steadiness on previous trips, and hope to get some better photos than in the past.

Have researched posts, and many say that natural light and white balance control should produce good pictures.(In 40 ft. of water, or less) Other posts say that the Canon housing has a diffuser built in, and that as a package should work quite well.

Am I on the right track? Any suggestions for similar equipment in this budget range?

Click to expand...

Up to 130 feet & it will be OK---- I bought the A570IS(see some of my pics in my sig below) late spring for Little Cayman & a Flower Gardens trip this past July then brought it to Cozumel last month......Have the Canon UW housing & it takes good pics(no external stobe used).......I used a couple settings & had no problems with regular dives & about 3 nite dives(the video is very easy to shoot also).....BTW, camera & UW case can now be bought for $303 on the internet(free shipping & no tax)......good luck, get back with me if you have any questions...............GEAUX TIGERS........

 

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peteetah

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• Dec 12, 2007

• #4

Jaybombs25: Would the 640 be better because of megapixels, and what about the lack of IS.

 

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f3nikon

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• Dec 13, 2007

• #5

Image Stabilization for camera shake underwater is NOT needed, water has a tendency to dampen or slowdown everything down plus the pull of gravity underwater is not working against your hands in holding the camera still. Plus the fact that the flash will freeze the motion anyway.

The A640 has 4 AA batteries for more and faster flash cycles so less battery changes between dives.

More mega pixels on the A640 @10 the A720 @ 8 plus the A640 has a larger CCD sensor to hold the higher mp.

The disadvantage with the A640 is that it is tough to find, even on ebay.

Both cameras also the A570 will do the job IMO, the A640 is just more geared for U/W use.

And you don't have to be professional photographer to get professional looking images...

 

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peteetah

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• Dec 13, 2007

• #6

Thanks for the HELP! I guess I will go with the Canon A640, unless someone has a better suggestion.

 

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peteetah

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• Dec 13, 2007

• #7

OK, now I'm reading that the Canon 650IS might be the way to go, upgrading the Canon 640. Is this the way to go, or is the 640 still a more durable suggestion. Has the 650IS gone away from being a more useful U/W camera to more of a landlubber camera? Based on above posts, the IS is no longer a factor for me, but going from 10 to 12 megapixels would be!

 

BTravlin

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• Dec 13, 2007

• #8

I just bought the A720 for my Coz trip over Xmas so I hope it does well. I looked at the battery/flash issue but went with the 720 anyway. Amazon has the 640 for $419, the 650 for $349 and the 720 was only $195. This will be my first UW camera so I wanted to stay cheap until I get the hang of it. Also, they say you always flood them eventually so this will be my sacrifice to Poseidon.

 

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f3nikon

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• Dec 13, 2007

• #9

Like I said all those cameras will do the job, but with the A640 selling at $419 (list for $230), I may as well go for the A650...but for a few dollars more why not get a G9! It all depends on how much you want to spend.


This is a good point:

"This will be my first UW camera so I wanted to stay cheap until I get the hang of it. Also, they say you always flood them eventually so this will be my sacrifice to Poseidon."