Going on vacation soon, Sealife Mini II or Intova IC-12?

[300winmag]

My GF and I are headed to Playa Del Carmen April 20th and I need to choose a decent camera. We will be doing a lot of underground rivers and cenotes as well as a wreck dive.
I have never used anything but a disposable underwater camera before so I would like it to be user friendly. I think I should wait for the Mini(hope it arrives before I leave) or should I take the chance on the IC-12?

 

[300winmag]

100 views and no reply??? Help a brother out!!!

 

[NJDiverMark]

I was the first person in the country to get the mini 2. Its a nice little cam. Don't expect professional pics to come from it for $200 but its a nice starter. Buttons are nicely spaced and pics are decent.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/sealife-station/375256-thanks-scuba-connection.html

 

[300winmag]

hows the flash? decent enough? Thinking I might get the Hero Cam instead and just take screen captures when I like the picture. Much more usable.

 

[NJDiverMark]

Haven't used the flash due to low Viz but its a nice cam.

 

[WetBoy101]

I have the Intova IC 12 and I am very happy with it. There are many others on SB that have shared their positive feedback on many other threads here. You may be getting very little feedback because you asked for a comparison. I doubt many people own the mini and the Intova so you're only going to hear responses about one or the other!! These were taken with the IC 12.

 

[NJDiverMark]

Plus the mini literally came out a week or so ago. Not many people have or have tried them yet.

 

[300winmag]

Ya it's just bad timing, I like to read reviews and play a bit before I buy anything but the time crunch is killing me lol

 

[FuzzyNutz]

I'm also going on a dive trip soon (ScubaBoard Invasion!!) and would like to get a camera. I'm looking for something similiar to the OP's request. A cheap all in one package that will get me by with something to look at afterwards. I'd like to stay under 500 total, and so far I somewhat narrowed it down to the Intova IC-12 and the Nikon L24. Are there any suggestions for other cameras to look at? Is there a 'scubaboard favorite' that fits this category? Any special pro's/con's for any particular camera? Sorry for the small hijack 300winmag, but I'm sure you'd also appreciate the feedback

WetBoy101, those are great looking photos! My expectations of the IC-12 weren't all that high, but those have definately proved my thoughts wrong! I would be extremely happy to have pictures come out that detailed and colorful, especially comming from a camera that won't break the bank! Were they taken with a strobe? I won't be able to afford a camera + strobe before the trip, and I was wondering if shining a flashlight on the subject would produce a better photo, any thoughts on this?

Edit: Wetboy, assuming your photos were taken with a strobe, do you have any without it? I'd like to get an idea of what the IC-12 is like with no added lighting.

 

[WetBoy101]

PansSiren - The first one was on the roof of an overhang ( I won't dare say cave, cavern or lava tube ) with a strobe on low or off!? The other two were taken using Intova's screw-on wet lens red filter. (about $36.00) I started using it for all of my daytime shots. It's a no brain-er for bringing back some lost color since you can't shoot raw. The other advantage of the filter over the strobe (besides cost) is it allowed me to take several shots without scaring off my subject!!