Canon A95 for beginner??

[jtheale]

I am interested in purchasing a camera setup for casual underwater photography. I dont need anything to elaborate and am on a budget... I've read that the Canon A85 appears to be a good choice for beginners and some info on the A95 indicating the same. Can anyone recommend either or suggest an alternative in that price range? Thanks!!

 

[Tom Winters]

They're both good. I use an A70 now underwater - I view it as a disposable. For years, I used Nikonos cameras - II's and V's for superwide-angle and macro. This digital stuff is unreal.
Don't get too hung up on getting the latest in camera - you can find really cheap A60's 2 megapixel)and A70's (3.2 megapixel) out there now that are terrific underwater. And, when you flood it or get it wet - not "if" - "when", it's no great loss. Not like when you see bubbles coming out of the back of a Nikonos V when you 100' deep in Fiji.

 

[hermosadive]

All the Canon Powershots are pretty much the same feature-wise. There's no reason you will find one more difficult to use over the other. The A70 is discontinued, but you still can find them. I saw a bunch at a Best Buy but they were bundled with a photo printer. The problem with purchasing an A70 will be when you flood it (eventually everyone will go through this), you will find it difficult to locate a replacement camera and the housing won't work with the other models..A75, A80, etc.

Get the most recent model you can afford. If the housing supports multiple models, even better.

All my photo friends have puchased this book and like it. I haven't had a chance to look at it my self, but you may find it useful once you buy your camera http://www.oceanearthpictures.oneocean.com/

 

[Tom Winters]

I like the Canons but it sure would have been nice if one or two housings fit the whole product line. The way it is now, new camera = new housing. Hermosadive is right about the A70 being discontinued - hell, in a year, the A95 will be old toast too. Finding replacements should not be that big a deal though, as long as eBay sticks around.
My wife has some junky old Breshnev-era Soviet POS camera that I had never heard of - it sure wan't exported to the Western bloc in any quantities like some of the East German cameras were. So just for research, I punched it into eBay, and they had 6 of them listed.
The other option is to find a setup that you like, keep your eyes open, and buy a couple more of the cameras when they go into the remainder bin.

 

[jtheale]

Thanks for the info.. however your responses raise one more question... I see where canon makes a line of housings for their cameras... and as Tom indicated eventually you will get a leak... is it work investing in a little more expensive case say from Ikelite or someone else???? or are the odds of flooding pretty much the same even with a more expensive case?

 

[Tom Winters]

I just take the view that they all flood sooner or later - adjust your budget accordingly to afford what you can lose.

 

[ChrisA]

Thanks for the info.. however your responses raise one more question... I see where canon makes a line of housings for their cameras... and as Tom indicated eventually you will get a leak... is it work investing in a little more expensive case say from Ikelite or someone else???? or are the odds of flooding pretty much the same even with a more expensive case?

Cameras flood mostly due to human error. Sand in the o-ring or a hair falls into
the seal and is not noticed. Paying more for a housing does not prvent this.
But let's say it did. With the price of the Ikelite you could flood and replace the
Canon camera and still be money ahaed