Any Suggestions?

[psinyc]

I am looking to buy as good an underwater digital camera as I can get for approximately $500 (give or take a few $$$). I know there probably aren't much out there for that price.

Idealy, I want the camera to be and/or for:
1 digital
2 compact as possible
3 as good picture quality as possible for price (ie: megapixels)
4 easy to use

For me, diving will be my primary activity, but I want to able to pull out the camera and snap some shots at will. Any suggestions? Thanks everyone in advance!

 

[Dee]

psinyc once bubbled...
I am looking to buy as good an underwater digital camera as I can get for approximately $500 (give or take a few $$$). I know there probably aren't much out there for that price.

Idealy, I want the camera to be and/or for:
1 digital
2 compact as possible
3 as good picture quality as possible for price (ie: megapixels)
4 easy to use

For me, diving will be my primary activity, but I want to able to pull out the camera and snap some shots at will. Any suggestions? Thanks everyone in advance!

I hate to sound like a broken record but the Olympus C-4040 fits all your criteria, except maybe price. But it can be found online for a little more than $500.

1. It's a 4 megapixel
2. Oly PT-010 housing, it can be used one-handed.
3. I've made excellent 11x14 prints from mine.
4. It's very easy to use, with a gentle learning curve. One thing I really like is it has a custom setting that allows me to set those settings for underwater use, then I can go back to regular settings for topside use.

A good beginning link...

Steve's digicam C-4040 review
Check out Steve's whole site for great digital info.

If you go through this Underwater Photography forum listings, you'll find alot of information about digital cameras.

 

[psinyc]

thanks Dee. Does anyone have any pics with this camera, or any pics in general. Would love to see them.

 

[Dee]

psinyc once bubbled...
thanks Dee. Does anyone have any pics with this camera, or any pics in general. Would love to see them.

My photos ~~ The Roatan, Macro and Twin Lakes albums were all taken with my C-4040/PT-010

Jeff is the inspiratione behind alot of Oly users
Jeff Farris photos

 

[buff]

Great photos, Dee.

But I think that level of digital sophistication(the Olympus) is going to be out of psinyc's price range.

I don't know, but I am willing to bet, the housing would cost almost twice the price of the camera.

I would have gone digital instead of getting my MXIIEX but the cost of the housings are outrageous. The dig. cameras are fairly cheap. But a complete setup is not going to be $500.00 for anything that has is digital and capable of taking quality photos.

 

[psinyc]

wow, those photos were really clear ... great, especially the Roatan 2002 pics.

As a general question, how much more can I expect to pay for the housing? Also, Dee, under your equipment pics, was that the housing for the 4040?

I currently own a Sony Mavica CD-300 digital camera, but I don't think it has a housing unit available for it (didn't see it on Sony's site)? Plus the camera is a little big because it uses minidisks as storage instead of mem cards.

Thanks everyone.

 

[Dee]

buff once bubbled...
But I think that level of digital sophistication(the Olympus) is going to be out of psinyc's price range.

I don't know, but I am willing to bet, the housing would cost almost twice the price of the camera....

psinyc once bubbled...
As a general question, how much more can I expect to pay for the housing? Also, Dee, under your equipment pics, was that the housing for the 4040?

Buff.... the PT-010 housing cost less than half the camera! $290 at Underwater Digital. I understood the question as $500 +/- for the camera, not housing included. I've seen C-4040 online for as little as $525 and with the Oly housing, a basic set-up would only be $815...not bad!

psinyc...yes, that's a picture of my Oly rig.

One thing I really like about this set-up is the excellent pictures that rank beginners can get with it. I'm proof of that! Yes, I have photography u/wexperience with film cameras but not with a digital. It's a whole new ballgame as far as equipmet is concerned. The Oly C-xxxx series of cameras are not considered sophisticated at all, but entry level point and shoot digital equivilents.

 

[psinyc]

thanks for the info. If I can't find a housing for the Sony Mavica CD-300 (which I don't think there is one), I'm going to look into the Olympus C-4040 + housing. Thanks.

 

[Dee]

psinyc once bubbled...
thanks for the info. If I can't find a housing for the Sony Mavica CD-300 (which I don't think there is one), I'm going to look into the Olympus C-4040 + housing. Thanks.

I found 3 housings for your Sony Mavica CD300. Go here to see what I found. The Ikelite is the only one I'm familiar with.

 

[psinyc]

great search, thanks. I'm going to look into those