Good point & shoot camera for underwater photo?

[JDelage]

All,

What cameras do people here like to use when diving? I have a Canon 20D SLR, but I don't think I'm ready to take it diving. I'd love to get a high end P&S, ideally with RAW shooting capabilities.

Thanks,

JD

 

[SCheckman]

I have been using a Canon SD700 with the Canon housing and it takes very good pictures.
http://www.WearMyDiveArt.com

 

[diverdown247]

If you're wary about taking a camera diving, I'd hit Ebay and buy an out-dated camera like the Canon Powershot A80/A90 series and the housing for it as well. You'll discover that you could set that up for just about $250 if you caught the right auction on the camera. The housing was like $160 on Ebay; that particular camera has been going between $50-150 depending on extras and used/n.i.b. condition.

I have an A80 and have used it from time to time in the pool and lakes here in the midwest. It takes descent pics and video clips for taking a cheaper route. Like many cameras, you'll have to toy with the manual settings to figure out what is best for your dive conditions. The photo section of the forum is a good place to find information on just that.

 

[RockyHeap]

I and many other people are loving our Olympus SP-350's, presently $199, and they shoot raw plus have a hot-shoe for external strobe TTL control via a Ikelite housing.

 

[JDelage]

Thanks. I'm not warry about taking a camera down, but I'm not proficient enough to invest in a case for my SLR, strobes, etc.

The photo forum is great but I wanted to ask a general question first, and I couldn't find where it would have fit.

 

[mred]

I have the cannon SD700 and associated housing. the cannon housing does a real good job of bringing the controls outside the housing. As long as you pay attention to proper seal care, you should be fine. I would recommend you get at least a 1 gb card for the camera, as the one it comes with will only hold about 8 pictures.

 

[DiveMaven]

My husband shoots with an older Pentax Optio with a housing and he gets some pretty fabulous shots without a strobe or any extra do dads. I figure he'll use it for a couple of years and eventually want to add strobes and upgrade to a better camera, but for now he's happy and we're enjoying our pictures.

 

[drrich2]

I use a Canon A620 & the matching Canon housing & weight set.

I like it so far. The big issue is whether you're going to want a strobe, and if so one that fires via the camera's hot shoe mechanism. Such desires will lead you towards a camera with a hot shoe (i.e.: Canon G7), & an Ikelite housing, strobe arm & strobe (you can get strobes for an A620 at Ikelite, but it works differently).

Richard.

 

[JDelage]

Thanks all for the reccomendations. I don't want to bother with a strobe at this point. When I get to the point when I've exhausted the P&S, I'll invest in a housing & strobes for my D-SLR.

 

[Matt S.]

I was in a similar position and I chose a Canon s70. It's a good budget UW camera because it shoots raw and in 28mm too. The s60 is the same but in 6MP. The newer s80 is the same, but lacks raw. (boo!)

(The s70 is even fast enough buffering/writing that the raw mode is usable too.)

I could not find a deal on ebay... prices on used s70s seem to be increasing as the camera has a unique combination of features. I ended up getting a refurb unit off Amazon instead. If I spent more time looking I might have found that $125 deal though.

Good luck with whatever you decide.