Help: lost among different models and options

[robcap]

Hi all,
I want to get myself a new camera and housing.
A friend of mine recommended canon powershot 950 (a.k.a. ixus 960)
I went to a couple of stores: they did not have that one, and started showing me 10 other models (which honestly looked the same to me). No need mentioning that those people have no idea about UW photography, therefore their recommendation is based only on the money they can get out of me
I then read carefully a lot of threads here on scubaboard, to have clearer ideas, and now ... I am totally lost.
I also had a look and read the comparison on
Canon Camera Museum | Camera Hall - Digital Compact Cameras
but their UW performance is not mentioned.

There are a few threads comparing SDxxx (870 better than 850), other praising Axxx, other the Gs. I am not familiar with them and they all seem awsome.

now my questions:
1) basic differences (from a UW point of view) between the SD range (eg SD950), the A range (eg A570), and the G range (eg G9)

2) every 6 months (if not sooner) new cameras are launched. Is it just design, or maybe a couple of pixel more, or is there a real technological differences between, say 2006 models (SD 900, G7, A640) and 2008 (SD890 ... funny 900 comes before 890!!, G9, A580)? Can you put some milestones?

Also any reference to websites or online reviews is much appreciated

Thank you all
cheers

 

[alcina]

HI! First, read the Sticky at the top of the UW Photo area ( you can follow the Pink Link in my signature, too). It has a ton of information that has been contributed by our fabulous ScubaBoard members on a whole lot of specific cameras, but more importantly, a ton of information to help you choose which features you should be looking for.

My mini-quickie summary to help narrow things down after you have set a budget and after you have some idea what types of things you want to shoot:
1 - is there a housing readily available?
2 - does it have manual white balance (I don't think at least some of the Ixus/SD range do)?
3 - can I completely control both the aperture and shutter and ISO?

All three of those must get a "yes" tick to make my list.

Most of Canon's A series meet all of those criteria (double check housing availabilty as there are so many A series that they may not ALL have housings).

The number of MP, a big selling point by camera and electronic shops, isn't on the list for me. More megapixels doesn't always mean a better photo or even really much better cropping ability.

A quick look through the Canon area will show you quite a few threads with various models listed - click into those and see what those who are using them are thinking.

Ask specific questions as they pop up, don't overthink the whole thing and have fun shopping!

 

[SFLDiver3445]

That's some great advice from Alcina, so I'd definitely read that sticky and adhere to her quick summary!

Additionally, if you want to get camera/housing/strobe suggestions from some of the Scubaboard frequenters within this forum, I'd first post some sort of a budget, an idea of what type of underwater subjects you would like to photograph and how serious your expectations are about your future underwater photography endeavors. Then, I'd ask anyone posting a suggestion to specifically list the features of the system they're recommending and why they feel as though it meets your needs.

Once you get a few suggestions, then I would use that as the basis to conduct further research.

Keep in mind that it's almost impossible to find one comprehensive site that will tell you specifically what accessories (i.e., arms, housings, lenses, strobes, etc.) are compatible with any given camera/housing, so don't be shy about posting more questions online further down the process, because chances are someone has already researched the very same setup you are considering.

Also, don't rule out the possibility of checking with a specialty underwater photography store, because they can often be a great resource, especially after you've already norrowed down your options to a few choices, because they can tell you if your choice really meets your needs and if everything is compatible. I'm familiar with specialty stores in Australia, but in the US, Reef Photo and Backscatter are great stores.

Good luck to you!

Adrian