I know it's been asked before, but.....

[daptonema]

If it was you, what camera would you buy (I know there is a lot of personal preference)
I have been suggested the following 3:

Canon Ixus 800 (or 900)
Olympus sp350
Fuji F30

I know the second 2 have been suggested on the general information thread, but what are the advantages/disadvantages of each? I have noticed the olympus c series cameras (5060 or 7070 etc.) have been discontinued but is it worth trying to find one as they seem to be popular - do they offer improvements ober the sp350?

We want a system that is not too complicated to start with but will develop with our experience (my wife is a keen SLR user on land). It seems that the important points to consider are RAW, manual white balance and manual controls. We have looked over and over but seem to be going round in circles!

A second complication is the make of housing. I was leaning towards an ikelite but someone I just spoke to said that they are bulky and I might be better with an own brand. However, my Sea and sea film camera has just died so my add-ons (strobe, macro lens etc.) are now useless. I don't want this to happen in a couple of years
so if I go with an ikelite and can reuse lenses, strobes etc. that would be a winning feature (if I can't do it with own brand).

Sorry for the rambling, hopefully some of the people on here who have a lot of experience can offer some advice.

 

[alcina]

I would toss the Ixus and the Fuji - they do not have manual controls and those are something I wouldn't be flexible on if I wanted a system to let me grow at all.

If you've decided RAW is another of those features that you must have, and it's wonderful, then the Oly 350 from your list is the one to go with. FWIW I feel the 5050 is better than the others you listed if you are going to go find an older model. They're still around, but don't expect to get a good deal on them

Be aware that RAW can take a while to write. It can be frustrating, but usually uw you aren't rapid shooting anyway and you can use the time to set up a better angle, better composition or wait for the creature to position in the frame again. Everything in photography is a trade off of some sort.

For housings, I think you can add wet mate lenses to both the Oly housing and the Ikelite housing. You've already summed up the differences between them so now you'll have to decide which is more important! I know of divers who are happy with each option, so I don't think you can go too wrong.

You'll need to check with the supplier - try ryan@reefphoto.com - to see if you can use any of your existing bits with a new system...that might help you narrow choices down, too.

 

[alcina]

It looks like there are two 5050 systems for sale, if this makes your list. I know BrantD and he takes good care of his gear.

 

[ianw2]

For housings, I think you can add wet mate lenses to both the Oly housing and the Ikelite housing. You've already summed up the differences between them so now you'll have to decide which is more important! I know of divers who are happy with each option, so I don't think you can go too wrong.

Yes! I can vouch for the fact that the Inon wet mount add-on lens mounts and lenses can be used with the Oly SP-350. The Sea & Sea strobe might be usable, too, if it can operate in slave mode.

After literally hundreds of hours of research and looking at galleries and advice from fine people such as alcine, I chose the Olympus SP-350 and the Olympus PT-030 housing. Th camera can operate in ultra-simple "point and shoot" mode; 3 separate underwater "Scene" modes and various stages of "manual" control with function over-rides up to full manual control. The PT-030 housing has the advantage that is is specifically amde for the camera and allows full access of all functionsm including use of the on-board flash for those of us without a strobe (yet!).

The SP-350 is currently selling at Costco for under $200. The housings can be bought from A2Z Outlet (go to eBay and search for A2Z Outlet then search for PT-030) for under $190. Jim, at A2Z, is a topnotch guy bent on serious service. I ordered two housings Monday afternoon. I paid by PayPal and paid for next day air shipping. The housings were delivered before 10AM on Tuesday! LESS than 24 hours!

Bootom line: this is a great U/W camera system with room to grow from complete novice to rather sophisticated for under $500!

My new set-up (and the three others my dive buddy, my wife and her dive buddy all bought based on my research) will go wet this Sunday at the Avalon Dive Park on Catalina. With any luck, I'll post my first efforts here Sunday evening. Hopefully folks such as alcine won't hurt themselves too badly falling out of their chairs looking at my attempts.

 

[alcina]

Woohoo!!! I can't wait to see your images I'm sure you guys will have a great time!

 

[LiteHedded]

Yes! I can vouch for the fact that the Inon wet mount add-on lens mounts and lenses can be used with the Oly SP-350. The Sea & Sea strobe might be usable, too, if it can operate in slave mode.

After literally hundreds of hours of research and looking at galleries and advice from fine people such as alcine, I chose the Olympus SP-350 and the Olympus PT-030 housing. Th camera can operate in ultra-simple "point and shoot" mode; 3 separate underwater "Scene" modes and various stages of "manual" control with function over-rides up to full manual control. The PT-030 housing has the advantage that is is specifically amde for the camera and allows full access of all functionsm including use of the on-board flash for those of us without a strobe (yet!).

The SP-350 is currently selling at Costco for under $200. The housings can be bought from A2Z Outlet (go to eBay and search for A2Z Outlet then search for PT-030) for under $190. Jim, at A2Z, is a topnotch guy bent on serious service. I ordered two housings Monday afternoon. I paid by PayPal and paid for next day air shipping. The housings were delivered before 10AM on Tuesday! LESS than 24 hours!

Bootom line: this is a great U/W camera system with room to grow from complete novice to rather sophisticated for under $500!

My new set-up (and the three others my dive buddy, my wife and her dive buddy all bought based on my research) will go wet this Sunday at the Avalon Dive Park on Catalina. With any luck, I'll post my first efforts here Sunday evening. Hopefully folks such as alcine won't hurt themselves too badly falling out of their chairs looking at my attempts.

I went with the same setup for all the same reasons
and I can't wait to see your pics either!

 

[daptonema]

Thanks for the comments. I had seen people mention the 5050. why would you recomend it over the sp350?

 

[ianw2]

C5050______________SP350
5 megapixels________8 megapixels

The C5050 has been discontinued far longer than the SP350. Reconditioned and used C5050s are going for more than $300 on eBay. Used C5050 housings are going for more than $300 on eBay.

For $200 less (the cost of a spare or back up SP350), I can buy the SP350 and the Housing from A2Zoutletstore.:11:

To me, the decision was pretty easy. I do, however, understand the head-spinning confusion that goes along with trying to figure out which camera, which housing, what accessories, where to buy, etc. I was very close to saying "To Hell with it!" If it weren’t for the advice and emails from some of the good folks here, I would have my set up sitting in front of me on my desk!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

 

[kapula]

C-5050 has it's reasons for being such a popular camera at it's time. It has excellent optics (far better than sp350) and most propably a bigger ccd (don't have time to check right now but I'm sure gurus over here can correct me if I'm wrong) than sp350. It is old and you can't really shoot video with it but it is most certainly one of the best if not the best point&shoot of it's era. The question remains is that era already ancient history or not. I could add c-8080 the bigbrother of c-5050 to the list but as it's discontinued and huge it's not in the same league as sp350 and other compact point&shooters.

Happy thanksgiving to you aswell! Unfortunately for us europeans it's just another day at work or in my case at home watching stock quotes