The best solution (cheapest) is to do as was mentioned above...buy a used Olympus and then buy a housing for it. You could do this for $200 with most of the cost being for the housing.
If you can find a used housing that works you might get everything to $150. There is no solution for $50 that will not ruin your camera.
I took a lot of pictures with an Olympus D-560 Zoom (3 megapixel). The camera eventually kept shorting out the battery so I quit taking pictures. Recently I decided to try to find a used one since I had the housing. I found one easily through Amazon. It was $35. A search will show you that they are still selling new housings for that camera for about $150. If you could find a used housing for the D-560 Zoom that would be the cheapest way that you are going to be able to take pictures underwater.
That will mainly be macro stuff. There is plenty of stuff to take pictures of up here in the PNW. I think you need to just save up a little more.
Saltwater is very unforgiving to electronics!
If you can find a used housing that works you might get everything to $150. There is no solution for $50 that will not ruin your camera.
I took a lot of pictures with an Olympus D-560 Zoom (3 megapixel). The camera eventually kept shorting out the battery so I quit taking pictures. Recently I decided to try to find a used one since I had the housing. I found one easily through Amazon. It was $35. A search will show you that they are still selling new housings for that camera for about $150. If you could find a used housing for the D-560 Zoom that would be the cheapest way that you are going to be able to take pictures underwater.
That will mainly be macro stuff. There is plenty of stuff to take pictures of up here in the PNW. I think you need to just save up a little more.
Saltwater is very unforgiving to electronics!