What would you say is the best point and shoot digital camera for macro shots?
On a recent dive holiday, I rented an Olympus and was surprised with the quality of the shots I got! (I forgot the model number and am waiting to hear from the dive shop...) And I didn't use a strobe! My old canon powershot never took photos this good...
Before I look into buying one like what I rented, I thought I'd see if there are any other recommendations for cameras with better than average macro settings.
Thanks!
I've had great macro experiences with a number of different cameras ... Fuji F10 (since replaced by several more recent models), Olympus SP350 (gives you a lot more options than most point-n-shoot cameras), Casio Exilim Z-1000 (ultra simple, very compact, and great for really close-in shots), and Canon A620 (good general-purpose camera, but not quite up to the quality output I got with some of the other cameras).
I currently own a Canon G10, which is a higher-quality camera than any of the above.
Housings ... I really like the Fuji housings as they're pretty bullet-proof, and the only one I've owned that comes with a dual o-ring seal. I had some issues with a sticking shutter button on the Olympus housing ... at which point I found out how poor Olympus customer service can be. It was a frustration that eventually led me to sell the camera (and toss the housing) even though I was otherwise satisfied with the product. The Casio turned out to be a workhorse ... both camera and housing. I had this one longer than any of the others, and took over 10,000 underwater shots with this setup. It held up very well, and remains my "backup" camera. The Canon didn't last so long. The housing developed sticky buttons that, it turns out, are due to the fact that the housing "warps" over time and they get out of alignment ... so applying silicone grease isn't going fix the problem. Something about the quality of Canon housings worries me ... I've known more people flood Canon housings than all other models combined. I don't pretend to know why ... only that of the people I know who have owned them, far too many have had issues.
My recommendation for someone looking for a small, simple, inexpensive camera and housing would be to look at Fuji and Casio ... from my own experiences, those were the two models that gave me the best use. And both will give you very nice results.
The caveat is this ... they are both outstanding at macro ... but that's about all that they're good at. For wide-angle stuff, you really do want a higher-end camera and at least one strobe.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
