Purchasing a camera for diving?

[nicelife2010]

Hi, there. Was wondring what kind of camera do u use when diving? Anyone ever use this Canon PowerShot D10 12.1-Megapixel Waterproof Digital Camera? Wanna find the proper camera for diving. It is not neccessary to be perfect, but it should be suitable for diving. Kinda love this cacon camera. Is it the right one?

[Puffer Fish]

Ah, no. unless you are just doing very shallow water, that is not the camera to use.

The best Point and Shoot camera's for actual diving have the following:

1. You can get an actual underwater case for it.

2. It has a nice zoom that goes fairly wide

3. Has a macro that goes really close.

4. Can shoot raw.... or can do white balance underwater very easily.

5. Is something you can afford.

6. Can do both still and HD video.

The best small cameras for that are:

1. The canon S90 (now S95). Would be nice if it had a wider, wide angle... but has the rest. The S95 adds HD video

2. The Panasonic LX3 (now the LX5)....The LX3 has everything except the zoom size, which could be larger... the LX5 is almost perfect... if there is a case for it.

[overkillphil]

Find the regular camera you like and get an Ikelite housing for it. I did this for my wife, and she LOVES it!!

[sam1]

I agree with the previous posters. My first UW camera was a Canon that I already owned, for which I bought a Canon underwater housing. It was a good place for me to start, but after two years I bought a SeaLife DC600, and the external strobe made a WORLD of difference (no more blue-tinted photos). Now, three years later, I have replaced the DC600 with another Canon (G11), which will shoot RAW, with an external strobe. [I agree with Puffer Fish that the Canon S90 is also a great camera.]

[nicelife2010]

thanks for all your inputs

[herman]

I will add this to Puffers list. It must have the ability to go full manual, you can adjust both F-stop and shutter speed independantly. Auto modes just do not work well underwater and a manual mode is a must if you want anything more than fair shots. To go along with the manual mode, I also want one that has a histogram function as well. It provides you real time feedback on your photos that the LCD screen can not do.

[Zaixon]

I use the Cannon SD880IS it's a little old but all i did was get the underwater housing for it. It's still 10 MP and shoots great video too. Its has a setting for underwater mode and a few others to enhance picture quality. If I didnt already have the camera i would have gotten a similar model they sell today at stores which is like 14MP or somethin like that. But anyways I have not had any problems with it and it takes great pictures.

[Dyno Bill]

To be honest after having done all the still photos and burning all that darned film etc, if I was to start over again I would definitely go with a digital video set up. The big advantage to me would be you could have the ability to share a dive with someone that wasn't a diver and for me still photos seem to live in a book on a shelf that most folks don't or seldom get out to enjoy. Just my 2 cents

[AndyMtl]

Just one warning about the Canon D10: when they say it is waterproof until 30 feet, it is not a joke. I brought mine down to 60 feet (stupid me!) and it stopped working.

[PatW]

It depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If you want a camera that will take photos at shallow depths, well OK.

But to get decent photos you want:

1) A camera that has the Manual option. This allows you to choose your shutter speed and f stop.
2) A camera that lets you focus close enough to do decent macro work.
3) A camera with RAW capability. White balance is critical underwater. RAW allows you to change white balance without penalty in post processing. This is really important.
4) You want a camera that goes pretty wide. The wider the better. The thing about underwater photography is the closer you get to things, the less water to get in the way and make the image less sharp.
5) You will almost certainly want a strobe. Without a strobe, you will not get the colors if you are at any depth at all.
6) A short shutter lag. Trying to take photos of small fast moving fish like damsel fish can be nearly impossible with much lag.
7) A camera that you can get decent housings for.

If you compare my list to Pufferfish, you will see that we are in broad agreement.

The Canon S90 and the Canon G11 both fit the bill here. The S90 is less expensive and slightly less capable. Ikelite can fit up a housing and strobe for the S90 at a pretty reasonable price.