Hi there-
I have this camera and have used it without strobe and with the Inon D2000 since June 05. Pretty good camera but it has limited accessories - really not any in the way of add on lenses. However, it does a great job underwater. Do not use the A mode. When I dove Cozumel last summer without the strobe, I used the Underwater Scene mode with flash set to Auto. I got some excellant shallow shots with great color (less than 20' deep) and some good shots down to 70' deep although they still had too much blue (but this can be remedied afterward in Photoshop). When I dove the Bahamas over Christmas, I used the shutter priorty mode and manual mode which controlled my strobe. This gave me much better results. Here's a link to my Bahamas photos with this camera and strobe:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/whitneyb789/album?.dir=ddda&.src=ph&store=&prod
Here's a link to my NC wreck dive trip (100' deep) - same camera, no strobe:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/whitn.../pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/whitneyb789/my_photos
Without an external strobe, you should have no problem just using the Underwater Scence setting, just don't expect magazine quality images. They will be completely fine for digital sharing. The M setting is best if you have a strobe where the A520 flash controls the strobe output or you just manually set the strobe to the light meter reading from the camera. However, everyone has different experiences and I highly suggest you play with the other priortiy settings as well as the Manual setting topside to see the cameras potential. In the M setting you can control the output of the flash - low, med, and high - and you might find this very useful if you understand how the shutter speed and f/stop relationship works.
I try to always take several shots of the same subject with different camera settings as this gets you a better chance to get that next to purfect image. Set the camera to its highest resolution, keep medium sharpness (default setting), and try to shoot scenes without too much contrast such as BOTH sand and rock together. Get in close to the subject or stay far away. Shoot up and out. Get a diver in the distance for scale and depth. And just have fun!!
The A520 is not a bad camera - just lacks attachments and is slow on the recharge. You have to be a patient photographer with this camera which I think makes for a better diver. It did me! Some say you shouldn't take photos until you have perfect buoyancy. Taking photos, and being realllllllllllllllllll conscious of what my body was doing in order to remain in place to take the picture, accelerated my diving skills.
Good luck to you!
