Trying to decide on my first UW camera

Last fall I went diving in Honduras and I found myself really wishing I had a camera to take pictures of all the great stuff I was seeing underwater. Now I have a dive trip to Thailand planned! Thailand is definitely the most exotic place I've ever been and I can't imagine not having a camera underwater with me. We leave in late April.

That said, I've been trying to do some research and figure out what camera system I should buy. I really don't know much about photography other than point-and-click and have never taken pictures under water, but I'd like to learn once I get a camera if there are good reference books or something out there.

What I think I'm looking for is a (hopefully) small camera that is easy to use and can take some nice pictures so that I can keep the memories and show friends what I saw in Thailand. I'm not looking for professional level pictures or some complex large set up that takes lots of time to get ready and figure out. I'm just a recreational diver and want to take some pictures in the water along the way. I would also like to be able to avoid having to get an external flash, if possible, but I'm not sure if that's a bad idea. I'd prefer not to have to lug it around, but if my pictures would be a million times better with one, I'd be willing to get one.

I've read articles, searched through the forums, and been in a dive shop and this seems to be the list of cameras I'm considering:

-Sealife Reefmaster Mini
-Olympus FE 280
-Canon A series with Canon housing (A570 specifically)

At first I was leaning towards the Mini, then the Olympus and now the Canon. I'm just not sure which to go with! I'd be open to other suggestions too.

If anyone could give me any advice and help me decide, that would be great. Any advice on extras to get (UW photo books, batteries, flash?, weights, SD cards, etc.) would also be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much!!

Of those three, I'd go for the Canon. I've seen really nice pictures taken with it. You want a camera that allows full manual control of shutter speed, aperture and preferably white balance. For tropical wide angle pictures, you can probably get away with no flash and manual white balance and take some nice pictures at relatively shallow depth. If you want to get people or animals in the picture, the built in flash will work from very close up but you'll tend to get backscatter if you shoot into blue water. A strobe will really help you get nicer colors on nearby subjects, just as a dive light does when you're not taking pictures. There are some small and simple ones available that won't make your rig too large, but will get you nice pictures of coral, fish and people that don't look blue and dark. Main thing is, whatever you shoot get close to your subject-no more than 4 feet if you can. Learn your camera before you take it underwater, and if you can practice locally or in a swimming pool before you go on your trip, do so. Try a lot of different kinds of pictures. Bring some toys and a model with you and practice pictures at different distances and angles, using as many settings as you can. Then look at your pictures on the computer and compare the quality of the pictures with the EXIF information from your camera and think about what the distance and lighting was on the good ones. That will give you a baseline for taking pictures on your trip. Other than that, underwater shooting is a lot like topside. If you shoot a backlit subject, it will look shadowy and dark. If you shoot into the sun, you'll get lens flare. The light is even more important to your picture underwater. This is where a strobe really helps. You can take a backlit shot, with the surface showing and light your subject with the strobe. On deeper shots, the strobe will allow your camera a faster shutter speed that prevents blurring if your hand or your subject moves a little.
Make sure you have spare batteries for your camera that are fully charged. I use rechargeables and replace and recharge them every day after diving. You'll need either a lot of back-up memory-figure at least 10 gigs for a week of diving-or a laptop or something to download to. Usually the housing comes with weights to make it neutral. Make sure you test your housing before you dive with the camera in it, and follow all the manufacturers recommendations for taking care of it. Only open it in clean well lighted places, and carefully inspect the o-ring and the surface that contacts it for sand, grit, hair and other contamination before you close it.

Whats your budget? How do you rate yourself with a camera? What do you want to do with it? How much control do you want?

Whats your budget? How do you rate yourself with a camera? What do you want to do with it? How much control do you want? The Reef Master is a great company and a good place to start, Sea & Sea a little better camera, but not so much the company! Oly, Canon, autos and SLR's the sky is the limit. Maybe not the budget!

To answer your questions...

I'd like to keep the price of the camera relatively low, just because I don't really know what I'm doing and extra features might be wasted on me. Maybe around $500 for camera + housing for a budget. I would maybe go higher , but there would have to be something really convincing.

I would rate myself beginner with a camera. I know how to use them but don't know anything much about features/modes of shooting. I turn it on, press the button, and take my picture.

I want to be able to take some pictures on my dives, just to remember what I saw. Probably won't spend the whole dive taking pictures and probably won't end up taking a ton of macro pictures of every single thing I see. In addition to the sea life, I'll most likely take a few pictures of the people I'm diving with.

I have no idea how much control I want. Currently, I wouldn't know what to do with extra control, but if I read a book or something explaining all the controls to me, maybe I would be interested in using them.

Reef Master Elite kit! D6000! You will be happy! I also post a tip of the week at my web site Two Tanked Productions HD & SD Underwater Productions and video services and at my MySpace.com/nescher
And I gear it to beginners on up! Good luck!

I agree with Larry. Its hard to beat the Canon "A" series cameras.

You can now get a:

- Canon A570IS with a WP-DC12 for ~$320 US; or a
- Canon A720IS with a WP-DC16 housing for ~$370 US

Or a Canon A640 would be another good option. Any of these 3 cameras will allow you to shoot some pretty amazing pictures using only natural light or the in-camera strobe.

But you have to add strobe to get as good! Now your breaking the budget! All around and simple for his explained will be the Reef Master. Otherwise I am with you! I use Canon and own a few!

I heard somewhere that the Sealife cameras have really bad battery life. Does anyone know if that's true? Or how it compares with the Canon?

STOP ...don't do it ...turn back now ...it's not too late !!

Just kidding. There's a lot to choose from out there. Just choose carefully because if you are anything like the rest of us your first camera will NOT be your last. I started off in the 80's with a Nikonos V (still have it if anyone is interested !!) and then moved up to digital about 4 years ago.

I'm still shooting an Olympus C5050Z in an Ikelite housing with dual Ikelite strobes. Out of date by today's standards but still does a fine job for me.

Depends a great deal on your budget. That said ...if you can afford it, I'd suggest you look into the DSLR models. Greatest flexibility and picture quality.

MJ