Canon Powershot A520?

[Jamdiver]

Hey all,

I've finally decided to take the plunge so to speak and enter the wonderful world of underwater photography.

I'm looking for a camera with a good mix of manual controls, good image quality and that would give me options in the future in terms of upgradeability (lenses mostly).

Anyway I've done a bit of research on this board and others and it seems that Canon A520 would be a good fit for me.

Note, i'm on a limited budget ~US$400 for camera and housing. I realise that that isn't much but I have a lot of other goodies (dive related) that i'll be purchasing this Christmas!

Opinions guys on the Canon or any other brands in that price range?
BTW I've been a big fan of the Oly 5050, i'd looove if I could get pictures like that out of the cam.

 

[Jamdiver]

Took another look at my budget, $450-500 is probably more accurate.
Perhaps I could step up to an A95 instead....

 

[TheNitroxinator]

I like it. Its small enough to fit in a BCD pocket; I can have it completely out of the way while doing classes, but can still pull it out to take shots during a tour. An added bonus is that I can hand it out to students in the AOW and National Geographic classes, and its not so bulky as to be a major problem to them. It will synch up with an external strobe, but I haven't ever used it that way. You get the required manual settings (white balance, shutter, and aperture). Macro focus wasn't terrific in my opinion, but I'm taking half of the shots of the students so they have something to take back with them from their class. If you're close enough, the internal strobe is good enough, and if its bright enough, manual white balance with the shutter and aperture setttings does the trick. I got mine from Newegg, they're still doing a great deal on the camera plus case. If you're a beginner, I'd say its a pretty good choice. I'm not too sure about the number and quality of add on lenses for it, I don't expect I'll wind up getting any given that I want the camera to fit in my BCD pouch.

 

[alcina]

Those are some nice shots!

I haven't checked camera prices for a while, but I know that a couple of members have the A620 and think it's the bee knees

IMHO these Canon cameras are fantastic for a whole range of uw photo divers!

 

[BigTuna]

Hey all,

I've finally decided to take the plunge so to speak and enter the wonderful world of underwater photography.

I'm looking for a camera with a good mix of manual controls, good image quality and that would give me options in the future in terms of upgradeability (lenses mostly).

Anyway I've done a bit of research on this board and others and it seems that Canon A520 would be a good fit for me.

Note, i'm on a limited budget ~US$400 for camera and housing. I realise that that isn't much but I have a lot of other goodies (dive related) that i'll be purchasing this Christmas!

Opinions guys on the Canon or any other brands in that price range?
BTW I've been a big fan of the Oly 5050, i'd looove if I could get pictures like that out of the cam.

Take a look at this recent thread, which focuses on the Canon A620 and S70. It talks about features of each and which ones different people think are important.

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=115082

 

[Jamdiver]

Those are some nice shots!

I haven't checked camera prices for a while, but I know that a couple of members have the A620 and think it's the bee knees

IMHO these Canon cameras are fantastic for a whole range of uw photo divers!

Are the bee's knees like the cat's pajamas? Hehe .
I'ved used a buddy's A95 u/w before and it felt sort of sluggish in focusing and firing, granted this was a night dive.

Just don't want to repeat the current experience of my slooow fuji A330.
Is there that big a difference between the DIG!C and DIG!C II processors?

Oh, choices, choices..... :06::06:

 

[Spoon]

i personally like the a95, maybe you can get the newer a620? i was in a similar rutt as you several months back but in the end afterv all my researching, i decided to get the a95. good, proven and reliable camera that has not dissapointed me thus far. i know three buds who got the same a95 and they are more than happy with this model. good luck

 

[Jamdiver]

A610/A620 would bring me over my budget unless I could find it used somewhere.

Differences between the A6xx series and the A95 is the new DIGIC II processor which apparently focuses faster, uses less battery life and I believe also has a slower flash recycle time. A6xx series also has 4x optical zoom.

But those differences aren't a big deal to me, as far as I can see the image quality is about the same, which is what matters to me mostly!
Played with a friend's A95 a few hours ago, I was quite impressed.

 

[Spoon]

A610/A620 would bring me over my budget unless I could find it used somewhere.

Differences between the A6xx series and the A95 is the new DIGIC II processor which apparently focuses faster, uses less battery life and I believe also has a slower flash recycle time. A6xx series also has 4x optical zoom.

But those differences aren't a big deal to me, as far as I can see the image quality is about the same, which is what matters to me mostly!
Played with a friend's A95 a few hours ago, I was quite impressed.

a95 is also more user firendly. ive tried the newer DIGIC II cams and i cant tell the difference. you gotta be a pro to notice those minute changes in performance

 

[Jamdiver]

Yup, it seems that with photography it's more down to the user rather than the equipment.... in most cases anyway.
To make matters even more complicated i'm also contemplating the A520:06: :06: ...

Anyway thanks for your input though :05:.