Which Camera for the next step?

[divedadepths]

Hello everybody-
Right now i have an old 7mp sony camera that i had prior to getting in to diving. When i got certified, i simply bought the case, and eventually a sealife strobe. Now i am ready to take it to the next level. I am looking for a camera for better shots, mainly the ability to use WA and macro lenses and RAW formatting. What would you go with and why? Thanks

[AndyT]

The Canon G9 seems to be the camera of choice at the moment - look for some images and threads in the Canon Corner. Unless you want to go all the way and go for a DSLR. What sort of budget do you have?

[divedadepths]

I am probably looking to keep it under 1K. The G9 looks pretty good to fuffill my needs, and the camera and ike housing would be exactly 1K. Then i could use my current strobe until i am ready to upgrade. Is there a Olympus or Nikon comperable to the G9?

[randini]

Closest nikon has is the coolpix P5100, but it does not do raw. Still a good camera though. I have the P5000 and am quite happy with it. I just need to get it a houisng.

Closest Oly is the SP570, which is a mega zoom and I don't know if there's a housing for it (there may be). Kind of dissapointing that they took the Sp line for such a dramatic change from the 350, which was ideal for UW photo.

Another option is the Sea & Sea DX1G (basically a Ricoh GX-100 w/ Sea & Sea tweaks and housing). It will also run a grand.

[H2O Photo Pros]

The G9 in an Ikelite housing is definitely the way to go for a compact system. Although Nikon and Olympus have some nice offerings, the Canon G9 would be your best bet. And with the Ike housing you can get TTL later on if you ad an Ike strobe.

[boccio]

I'm having the same 'problem' and 'till now the suggestions I received make me towards the DX-1G only because I want it to expand with strobes and WA, where G9 (wonderful as 'stand-alone' camera) lacks in WA (also with Ike housing, in any case you suffers in the borders)

[Larry C]

Ike offers a short port that lets you use WA lens. It restricts the zoom, but you don't need excessive zoom underwater. The G9 and the DX-1G seem to be the only point and shoot options currently that offer RAW, full manual settings, hotshoe-all very helpful for underwater shooting. If you want to see the capability of the G9 check out posts by EdDman.

[alcina]

Imho if you want the best possible image quality, you'd be trading down if you went with the Dx instead of the G9. Some people won't notice it and some people won't care. The Dx does a nice job, the G9 files are better - especially in the shadows (and blues to some extent).

Unfortunately there's no one perfect camera out there, but right now, the Canon G9 does have most of the "list"!

[chicoboy]

Id have to go for the G9 as well, for me its the nearest to a dslr as can be, its really got some great functions and settings:D