Camera stolen, need replacement

[bradsab]

"Lost" my camera on the last trip, now I'm looking for a new one. I want another compact point & shoot like my old Canon SD500. I'm not taking pics for National Geographic, just sharing what I see with family & friends. I was very satisfied with the SD500, but since I have to replace it, I'd like to get one with HD video and better resolution than the 7MP it had (7MP was fine except for cropped photos). Finally, I'd like a larger screen than my old 2". We'll use the camera topside more than UW.

I was looking at a Canon SD960IS, but I wasn't a fan of the control wheel; seemed like it wouldn't work well with a housing. Also, the 3" screen is a bit deceiving because it's a widescreen, and the actual image displayed is smaller with function icons shown on the sides. Anybody using one of these?

Another model I looked at was the Sony DSC-W290. One thing that I found interesting is it's HD video has an underwater setting like the UW scene mode for stills. Don't know if any other compact has that? Snooping around here on the board, I don't find any fans of Sony cameras, so to me, that's a big negative. And their UW housing has a big honkin' ring around the lens to block the flash (same problem with Ikelite's housings), and I don't want the bulk of an external flash.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[The Great Kazoo]

What about the Olympus 8000? It is waterproof to 30ft (without the housing). And if the housing floods at 100ft the camera will still be ok.
This is a good deal.

http://www.opticaloceansales.com/ol...pus-stylus-t-8000/pt-045-bundle/prod_225.html

 

[bradsab]

That's an interesting set-up. It's a little lacking in some of the specs compared to some other point & shoot cameras, and it doesn't have HD movie capabilities, which I want if I'm going to get something else. I should mention I still have my UW housing for the SD500; only the camera was stolen. If I can't get the improvements over the SD 500 I'm looking for, I can buy another used one on e-bay for under $100. But if I can get everything I'm looking for in a new model, I'd rather put the $100 there.

On this last trip, another diver had the Olympus T8000 WITHOUT the UW housing. Took it down to 65'! It didn't leak, but the buttons would stay in when pushed, so he'd have to move up to around 45' and come back down for his next shot : ) Definately not recommended, but it's a great testimony to the durability of the camera.