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Ikelite has a combo package this year. It is a Nikon L6 and housing and supposed to be in the 500 range.
good first camera
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KazooDiver
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You might want to look at this thread in the photography section of this board...lots of great info!
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=156914
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=156914
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For simplicity and ease of use you can't beat the Casio Exilim Z-1000. It's a 10 megapixel camera with outstanding quality. Small, easy to use, and produces some of the most vibrant color ranges I've seen yet.
I've been through three cameras ... Fuji F10, Olympus SP-350, and the Exilim Z-1000 ... and liked the results from all of them. But I think the Exilim provides the best overall color quality of the three.
Other things I like about it ... tiny size (the housing is less than 2/3rds the size of the Olympus housing ... long battery life (can easily get two or three dives out of a single battery charge ... and although the internal flash is reasonably strong (my only knock on the Fuji was a weak flash), the way the diffuser is set up reduces the "hot spot" you get with most cameras.
I got my entire setup (camera, housing, and 2 GB SD card) for $519 at B&H Video ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
I've been through three cameras ... Fuji F10, Olympus SP-350, and the Exilim Z-1000 ... and liked the results from all of them. But I think the Exilim provides the best overall color quality of the three.
Other things I like about it ... tiny size (the housing is less than 2/3rds the size of the Olympus housing ... long battery life (can easily get two or three dives out of a single battery charge ... and although the internal flash is reasonably strong (my only knock on the Fuji was a weak flash), the way the diffuser is set up reduces the "hot spot" you get with most cameras.
I got my entire setup (camera, housing, and 2 GB SD card) for $519 at B&H Video ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
jpsexton
Contributor
The approach I took was to look on Leisurepro and found the housings that they had on closeout. I then took that list and shopped for cameras on ebay. I wound up finding an Olympus D-580 that was a new open box return for a song and then ordered the housing from Leisurepro. Total cost was way under your budget. I can't wait to try it out this weekend! 
altitudemike
Contributor
Sealife DPC 550 is awesome.
Does it have to be Digital I spent $9 bucks on a 35mm Camera with housing up to 100' but then there isn't any flash and you have to buy film for it. I bought 2 so I can take up to 60 pics in one dive. Haven't gotten the film back yet to see how they turned out but will post some when I get them back tomorrow.
I spent $9 bucks on a 35mm Camera with housing up to 100' but then there isn't any flash and you have to buy film for it. I bought 2 so I can take up to 60 pics in one dive. Haven't gotten the film back yet to see how they turned out but will post some when I get them back tomorrow. 
Better late than never to move this to the UW Photo area
carolrose
Contributor
If you already have a digital camera you use on land, check for housing for that on ebay. I was all set to buy a canon setup for around 400, and then checked ebay for housing for my Nikon, and got lucky and found a Nikon made housing for under 100 that's good to 130'. I just received it last night, and it looks awesome. It's made specifically for the model of camera that I have, so I'm not too worried about leaks etc unless I screw something up. Best of all, I get to try out u/w photography and figure out what type of setup I might like in the future without investing a ton of money to get started.
There are some many to choose from. For example canon a series has excellent cameras as does the g series. You propably could easily find camera/housing combo with your budjet. Just make sure that the housing has a circular lense if at some point you decide to want to have an add on lense. As someone already mentioned you get better prices for second hand cameras. They can still be in good shape and all that. Now since no-one has mentioned olympus c-8080 yet I'll give it a go
As a disclaimer I have to say that I own one. It's discontinued though but has excellent optics, you can use sync cord with your strobe to get ttl working u/w if and when you decide to get a strobe. If you buy olympus pt-023 housing it has excellent diffuster to use internal flash with (although I very seldom used it). Camera is propably one of the top compact cameras built having a big ccd and good optics. You might be able to find one to fit your price range. If you go for the ikelite housing which is bit more pricy you can't use internal flash but you can use add on lenses. For pt-023 there are no wetmount lenses but you can chance the dome (if you happen to find one anymore) and fit a macro or wide angle add on lense inside (not sure if those are worth the price tag though).
Anyway now I've been giving a shout out to my camera Let's see what else is there.
Oh one more thing c-8080 can shoot raw but saves pictures so slow it's practically inusable. sp-350 can also do raw and can propably save the pictures fast aswell. Have fun browsing the cameras!
As a disclaimer I have to say that I own one. It's discontinued though but has excellent optics, you can use sync cord with your strobe to get ttl working u/w if and when you decide to get a strobe. If you buy olympus pt-023 housing it has excellent diffuster to use internal flash with (although I very seldom used it). Camera is propably one of the top compact cameras built having a big ccd and good optics. You might be able to find one to fit your price range. If you go for the ikelite housing which is bit more pricy you can't use internal flash but you can use add on lenses. For pt-023 there are no wetmount lenses but you can chance the dome (if you happen to find one anymore) and fit a macro or wide angle add on lense inside (not sure if those are worth the price tag though).
Anyway now I've been giving a shout out to my camera
Let's see what else is there.Oh one more thing c-8080 can shoot raw but saves pictures so slow it's practically inusable. sp-350 can also do raw and can propably save the pictures fast aswell. Have fun browsing the cameras!
ronski101
Contributor
Changed from a Sealife DC500 (1.5 dive battery life & long shutter lag) to a Casio 1050 and am very happy with the results. Small, easy to navigate software, easy to manipulate buttons on housing, great pictures and movies at Little Cayman in Aug. at least double battery life, 10.1 Meg Pixel. All for under $500 with Casio housing.
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