Turkey68
Registered
Just getting started in the underwater world. I would like to get a good point and shoot camera. Any suggestions?
Good point and shoot camera.
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Kryssa
Contributor
The big limiting factor here is budget. What do you want to spend?
daz88
Contributor
I would suggest for you to get a few dives in your logbook before geting a camera. It is fun and totally cool to share pix after the dive. Especially with non-divers, coz they don't know how cool it is down there. 
But it is much more difficult to take pictures underwater than it is on land. And if you don't have your diving skills yet, no way your pictures will turn out.
That being said......browse around and look and see what you like. Anything will work, some just easier than others. You just have to learn what your camera will and will not do, and what kind of pictures can you take. Look for a camera that you can set the white blance, and/or one that shoots in RAW mode so you can adjust it after the dive. (or everything just looks blue in the pix) Look at several cameras and make sure they make a underwater housing for the cameras you like, BEFORE you buy the camera. Look at the shutter lag time, some cameras take FOREVER to take the pic once you hit the shutter button. Something with a long battery life is good too. Don't want to be half way through the dive and have your batteries die. (if you're diving in cold water they die faster) Does the camera come with a flash diffuser? can you add one? How is the video quality? with the turn of the dail you're getting some underwater video! So many possbilities. take your time, work on your diving skills, then after ......have fun taking pix
But it is much more difficult to take pictures underwater than it is on land. And if you don't have your diving skills yet, no way your pictures will turn out. That being said......browse around and look and see what you like. Anything will work, some just easier than others. You just have to learn what your camera will and will not do, and what kind of pictures can you take. Look for a camera that you can set the white blance, and/or one that shoots in RAW mode so you can adjust it after the dive. (or everything just looks blue in the pix) Look at several cameras and make sure they make a underwater housing for the cameras you like, BEFORE you buy the camera. Look at the shutter lag time, some cameras take FOREVER to take the pic once you hit the shutter button. Something with a long battery life is good too. Don't want to be half way through the dive and have your batteries die. (if you're diving in cold water they die faster) Does the camera come with a flash diffuser? can you add one? How is the video quality? with the turn of the dail you're getting some underwater video! So many possbilities. take your time, work on your diving skills, then after ......have fun taking pix
Bubbletrubble
Contributor
It's generally a bad idea for a novice diver to be taking an UW camera on dives. I'd recommend getting at least 50 lifetime dives under your belt before messing around with something that's going to decrease your mental bandwidth for staying on top of "mission critical" dive info: monitoring gas supply, tracking NDLs, navigating, maintaining good buoyancy control, keeping tabs on buddy's position, being aware of buddy's status, maintaining situational awareness of things going on in the UW environment, etc.
With regard to good point-and-shoot cameras...
I've had good luck with the Canon brand cameras. I've been using the discontinued Canon A570IS with WP-DC12 housing for several years now. You can purchase a current Canon P&S camera + Canon UW case for under $400. Just make sure that, before you purchase the camera, you verify Canon or Ikelite offers an UW case specific for your camera model. In fact, it's probably a good idea to purchase the camera and UW housing at the same time. As time passes (and the price of the camera drops), I recommend purchasing a used backup camera (same brand/model) on Ebay or Craigslist. Having a fully operational backup camera is worthwhile flood insurance.
With regard to good point-and-shoot cameras...
I've had good luck with the Canon brand cameras. I've been using the discontinued Canon A570IS with WP-DC12 housing for several years now. You can purchase a current Canon P&S camera + Canon UW case for under $400. Just make sure that, before you purchase the camera, you verify Canon or Ikelite offers an UW case specific for your camera model. In fact, it's probably a good idea to purchase the camera and UW housing at the same time. As time passes (and the price of the camera drops), I recommend purchasing a used backup camera (same brand/model) on Ebay or Craigslist. Having a fully operational backup camera is worthwhile flood insurance.
freshorangina
Contributor
Although I don't think you need 50 dives to start using an underwater camera, I do think you should have at least 15-20 and be totally comfortable underwater with all you gear and all procedures (including navigation as you can get distracted when you are taking pics). One thing that is ultimately important is that you have your buoyancy down pat. I would also suggest going somewhere with a sandy bottom the first time you are using a camera underwater. The two segments of the dive population that cause the most reef damage are new divers (who have trouble with buoyancy) and underwater photographers (who can cause damage trying to get in for that good shot). Being both new and a photographer you are the highest likely person to cause coral damage. Please keep this in mind. As far as cameras go, your setup depends a lot of what kinds of dives you are likely to do. The worse your lighting conditions and the deeper your dives, the more you will want an external strobe flash. If you are doing relatively shallow reefs, you can get away with spending a lot less.
ScubaSteve
Wow.....what a DB
Agree on the "get experience" first concept. It is AMAZING at how task loaded an underwater photographer is and task loading on a new diver can be very dangerous. And buoyancy control is critical with photography and not so you can get a better shot. It is critical so you do not shoot to the surface while lining up your shot.
Having said all that, I will say that if I was getting one, it would definitely be a Canon G11 and nothing else. But that is just my suggestion.
Having said all that, I will say that if I was getting one, it would definitely be a Canon G11 and nothing else. But that is just my suggestion.
FWADIVER
Contributor
whats wrong with the g12?
ScubaSteve
Wow.....what a DB
OP
Turkey68
Registered
Thanks for the suggestions. I will get more experience before I start trying to take pictures. I just wanted to start looking at cameras so I would have an idea of what I want / need when the time gets here.
ScubaSteve
Wow.....what a DB
For an amateur photographer and new diver, if a camera is good on land then it will most likely do well underwater. Key to this: ability to use all camera features underwater (relates to housing choice), ability to shoot in RAW (ideal but not required), ability to shoot in full manual and aperture priority modes AND lighting - ideally as in strobes). There are many other things to know about shooting underwater but these are just a couple key points to consider when choosing a camera and housing. Video is very nice to have as well.
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