Camera for new diver -- digital

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Location
Louisiana
# of dives
0 - 24
I would like to hear some opinions regarding some basic, inexpensive*, yet decent [takes better u/w photos than a Kodak disposable...] cameras that would be good for a new diver who just wants to capture some memories. I'm not looking for anything techy/fancy, but flash is a must.

Budget is limited for scuba [have other interests that also suck up $$], plus chances are that all I will ever do is "family" shoots.

What about housings for existing cameras? How reliable are those? If I can find my camera, I have a Nikon Coolpix 5200 (6 or so years old).

* maybe, less than $500 (preferable, in the less than range)

:coffee:
 
I have a SeaLife Reefmaster Mini. It does a great job for a point and shoot, is pretty flexible with multiple settings, and I've added an extension strobe that also adds versitility. For the money (about $250), it meets my needs pretty well.
 
Casey- Besides those dedicated underwater cameras advertized in the dive mags, Olympus, Nikon, Canon and Sony, among a few others offer inexpensive underwater housings for their point and shoot digitals. The beauty of this approach is you're also getting a camera for use topside. My first U-water digital was an Olympus Stylus, and it served me well until I drowned it.

You definitely want a built in flash, but understand that it will only carry a few feet in water, so your shooting range will be limited to less than 6' or so, for flash shots.

Features to look for in choosing are; large viewing screen, decent amount of pixels (more than 5m) macro mode, built-in underwater shooting mode (which is helpful for beginners), and good placement of the controls.

Other features that will help it grow with you include; some degree of manual control overide, and the ability to record in RAW mode, which is helpfull if you get into serious editing.

Decent battery life is very important, since all your shots will be on the internal flash, and you can't replace batteries during a dive. Some of the more compact models have small batteries which die after a fairly small number of shots.

Don't pay extra for lots of zoom range, since 99% of your shots will be at the full wide angle, though you might want it if planning to also use this as a topside travel camera.

You should have no problem finding something suitable for under $300 total, inc. the camera and housing. Don't pay much more, since this is all you need for the basics, and if you get serious, you'll be upgrading anyway. Have fun.

BTW- if you already own a compact digital, check if an inexpensive housing is available, & save some dough.
 
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I would try to pick up a Canon A series camera, many threads on SB about them(do a search here)........nothing more easy to get pretty good pics with and most well under $500 US with case..........
 
You'll find the Ikelite housings that are depth-rated for more than 10 - 20 feet are going to be around the $300 or so range for just the housing. I was looking at them for one of our two Sony Cybershots, for when my wife and I are ready for our cert dives in another couple of months.

Our LDS has the Reef Mini that Guba mentioned for $249, and rental U/W cameras available. I don't know if the rentals are the Reef cameras, but what I think we'll probably do for our cert dives is try one of the rentals (and maybe bother some of the other divers with cameras to shoot a few "back up" photos in case inexperience and/or camera quality doesn't produce decent pictures of our first dives). This way, we can see if we like the quality of the pictures and ease of use before we plop down the bucks for our own camera.

You might check with your LDS and see if they also have rental cameras.
 
I got the reefmaster mini for my anniversary. Just got certified, so I am a newbie too. I took it up to the lake,( low vis murky) took a few pictures(don't have the additional memory card yet) and I can't wait to get into some clear water. It worked fantastic. I would suggest that you pick up the wide angle lens when you get the camera. We are getting ours on Thursday. If you like it, then upgrade options. Get the strobe, then save and get a better camera. But, I think it is a wonderful U/W camera for a beginner! You can see the pictures I took in the photo gallery. They suck(my picture taking skills not the camera) but, hey, it was fun!
 
Casey, regardless of which brand you choose to go with, I would recommend looking into a digital camera with a 3" LCD screen. It makes it so much easier to see what you are shooting underwater... especially if you have eyes like mine :wink: Many camera manufacturers now make (or subcontract) underwater housings for their digital cameras, so there's many more options than there was even just a few years ago.

Personally, I would recommend a Canon SD750 which can be had for ~$175 from newegg.com. The case is another ~$175 on ebay (search for WP-DC14). With this $350 setup you've got a nice ultra-compact camera with a huge screen that takes great pictures both above and below the water. The underwater case packs easily in your luggage or dive bag since the camera is so small. If you choose to, you can add a more powerful external strobe for a couple hundred bucks down the line to give you a bit more versatility.

My brother and I have been diving with similar Canon setup for the last couple years now. Between the two of us we have over 200 dives with the Canons and cases and have had 0 problems so far. For what I look for in a camera... huge screen, beautiful picture quality, handy size, fast on/off and shutter speed, long battery life, very nice movie mode, and a great price, these fit the bill perfectly.
 
You say you're a new diver. How new is new, as in number of dives? I wouldn't recommend any optional equipment before you are really comfortable with what you already have to deal with, in as many different situations as possible. Too often I see people that really aren't ready for that next step jumping off the boat with spearguns or cammeras or scooters, etc... 50 dives seems to be a good starting point for most people. There are plenty of entry level packages out there. Get the experience first, your learning curve on the new equipment will be surprisingly shorter if that's the only thing you have to really think about. Just my opinion from several years of observation. Waves and current seem to be the biggest hurdle for most people. Don't even get me started on the amount of stuff damaged or killed by a new diver and a camera.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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