Advice needed on camera purchase

[Heg]

Hi Everyone
Hubby and I have decide to invest in a camera for taking underwater piccies. However, we will also need to use the camera for taking shots on dry land. As we have never owned an 'underwater' camera before, we are looking for advice on what brand/model is the best buy for us to start out. (even advice ion which camera NOT to buy would be very well received)

We will be looking at upgrading as we can afford to, but want something fairly reasonably priced to start out with (no more than NZD $800)
Also, not anything too large. We simply want to take good quality piccies for our personal enjoyment .
We realise that there are hundreds of options but you can't go past personal recommendation.
Thanks in advance

 

[Tigerman]

I might give you some input on how to limit the options for a start. This is my personal opinions and experiences wiht digital cameras, so take them as such;

1. Get a camera that can shoot RAW or can me modified to shoot RAW (CHDK mod works well with a lot of cameras CHDK - CHDK Wiki). RAW mode makes it "easier" to make color adjustments to pictures.
2. If you get a small compact camera, limit the megapixels as smaller cameras with too many megapixels often suffer from noise which makes the extra megapixels worthles. 6-7 megapixels on a small compact camera is plenty. If you want 10mpx or more you should get a camera like the Canon PowerShot G7 or better..
3. Make sure the camera can use the built-in flash when in a underwater housing. If it cant, youre looking at a noticeable expence.
4. Even if you might not currently shoot pictures in full manual mode, I suggest you look into a camera that can shoot half or full manual.

 

[Heg]

Thanks Tigerman
That's exactly the sort of guidance we are looking for. Keep 'em coming.....

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Well I admit to a bias here totally personal preference.
I bought a Sony Cybershot 5.1 Pixil (DSC P93) under advice from an Electronic Technician with nothing to gain by his advice.
I was able to get some decent shots on my first dive with it. I have a 2 gig memory stick and it takes double A rechargable batteries. With newly charged batteries I can do two dives without changing anything on the boat.

I use manual mode more than Auto Focus and do not have a strobe. I find the strobe makes it too cumbersome. I don't want to limit my dive to the viewfinder. This one in housing slips into a dive rite pocket attached to the cummerbun of my BC. I have a lanyard attached to a retractor on my BC. It is out of the way on entry and exit or if I just want to dive but always there if I see something cool.

I'm not into makeup even on my pics... what you see is what you get. Enhancement programs are for air environment. I find some people enhance their shots so they don't reflect the environment anymore. My bias her.

I have also got some decent video and in good viz quite a distance away!

I like the system so well I bought another one on ebay so I have a completely redundant camera and housing.

I just take pics to enjoy on the days I can't dive and share with family and friends that don't/can't dive. You can look at some of my shots here taken with the system I don't claim or want to be a fantastic photographer. For me is is about getting reasonable shots at reasonable cost without limiting my freedom during the dive.

I have a Sea & Sea film camera with strobe that I seldom use because I find the setup too awkward to carry for shore dives and underwater.

That's my experience for what it's worth. Good luck

 

[Aussie scuba chick]

I have a Canon IXUS 60 brought for dry land use ($350). When I got into diving I brought its underwater camera housing for around $300. It's a great compact camera. Unfortunately, it's a bit dated now (sigh), but I can wholeheartedly recommend the compact camera + underwater housing setup. Good luck!

 

[gert7to3]

Look toward OZ and check out alcina's stickie:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/un...tting-started-dslr-maybe-look-here-first.html

After that I would suggest confining your choices to cameras which can shoot RAw files; have a hot shoe; and have housings which can accept wet mount wide angle lenses.

 

[henryp]

Perhaps our Digital Camera Buying Guide will be useful.

 

[ClemensC]

Hi folks,

I bought my first point and shoot underwater camera this year and was very surprised of the good quality of the photos.

Here are some examples:

US$230 Casio Z77 + EWC-11 (3m) is the camera I used
US$324 Casio Z80 + EWC-130 (40m) alternative for divers

I have created a website with tips for this particular camera (but should be similar for other casio models).
Getting started in underwater photography

Full-size photos and videos can be found here

Cheers
Clemens

 

[jkling17]

Something like the Canon 570 would do the trick very nicely - you can do full manual and more importantly - manual white balance. See my pages in my sig for a lot of tips and tricks so you don't have to make all your own mistakes. I personally like the Fuji F30 or F31fd but these are discontinued now. Fuji does make newer ones also but the new batch isn't quite as good as the old ones. Check out the excellent and objective camera reviews on dpreview.com.

Make sure that whatever camera you pick has a housing available from the manufacturer - otherwise you'll spent a LOT of money on a housing from Ikelite - and this money is better spent in other areas - like attachable lenses from Inon. There seem to be fewer housings available from the manufacturers now than there were even just last year - so please be careful to build your short list of cameras accordingly. You should have several choices between a camera and housing that will total about $300 (well - here in the US anyway - perhaps more where you are).

I'd stick to Canon, Fuji, or Olympus. These are all excellent manufacturers with quality features and lenses. I'm not saying that Casio, Nikon etc isn't good - but you really don't need to make things more complicated for yourself than necessary - these brands are tried and true and it's also easier for all of us to HELP you afterwards with specific advice. Ideally, you just want a good compact digicam with 6 MP. But, any new camera these days is likely to be 8. It's unfortunate that many people buy into the "more is better" idea when it comes to MP - so the manufacturers accommodate this - my 6 MP Fuji is superior to nearly all newer 8 MP models today.

I would stay away from Sea&Sea etc - you said you want to use it on land etc - so a good digicam will do the trick from any of the major manufacturers. And this way - if your housing does flood, you are only out $150-200 and won't be heart-broken.