I'm lost.

[ocrmaster]

I agree Gilligans pics are awesome.

But look at the visibility and subjects ... WOW! ... cheater.

 

[Henryville]

Gotta second the Oly option. I shoot a 5060 with case for about$800. GF shoots a Stylus 500 with case for under $400. Big diff in pics but I have seen real photogos with crappy cameras shoot some awsome shots. Look for Gilligans sticky about UW cameras. Real photog with a crap camera can take some awsome shots, he proves it.

You are so right about that. I look at my beginner pics with the 8080 compared to, say, CalypsoNick's, and it's like having prescription lenses versus not. The good photographers like Nick are proof of how well you can do, and they will tell you it's like any craft - all about practicing to achieve mastery of your tools.

Of course, it doesn't hurt to have sharp tools...

 

[Jamdiver]

chaseh, i very strongly agree with the above so check and shop very carefully, i think you would be SO SO much happier with oly or canon, yes you may pay a bit more, or you can pay a little here and a little there untill you spend way more then you would have if you had got what you want in the first place

I would also second jim's view here.
Think for the pns market one cannot really go wrong with Canon or Olympus.
Manual controls, good image quality, snappy operation and a good price point.

 

[Chaseh]

well, that's another consideration, while me environment may be to some decent depth, it will be tropical. This isn't intended for the Chesapeake or the Jersey Shore if that matters.

A similar variety of choices is why I haven't bought the HDTV yet. Too many choices, too many opinions.

I've received quite a few private msgs too. Some that say Sealife will suit me fine for now, some that say they will selfdestruct.

I'm toying with getting something before my Roatan trip in June, yet also thinking that trip might be a good opportunity to speak in person with some photographers.

Hmph.

 

[Gilligan]

Gotta second the Oly option. I shoot a 5060 with case for about$800. GF shoots a Stylus 500 with case for under $400. Big diff in pics but I have seen real photogos with crappy cameras shoot some awsome shots. Look for Gilligans sticky about UW cameras. Real photog with a crap camera can take some awsome shots, he proves it.

I guess that's a compliment to me and an insult to my Oly C4000Z

 

[Chaseh]

well Gilligan, you're definitely part of the inspiration to take photos, and to soon goto Bali!

Do you think I can get away with a sealife for a couple of years?

Rig size is a major concern of mine, but obviously for you with the bigger units, not one for you.

 

[Gilligan]

I agree Gilligans pics are awesome.

But look at the visibility and subjects ... WOW! ... cheater.

I can't help the visibility and the critters that live here on Maui and Photoshop ain't cheatin, well maybe a little :mooner:

 

[Gilligan]

well Gilligan, you're definitely part of the inspiration to take photos, and to soon goto Bali!

Do you think I can get away with a sealife for a couple of years?

Rig size is a major concern of mine, but obviously for you with the bigger units, not one for you.

NO.
Take the advice in this thread and get an Olympus or Canon P&S.
Another advantage of the Ikelite housing is there is an adapter for it that allows for the Inon 67mm threaded wide angle and close-up lenses.
The Ikelite housing is not that much more for some of the P&S cameras but it is bulkier.

Yes, my unit is bigger but I have rigged it so that it is weightless underwater and I can operate the camera with one hand. You can't have small and still have add-on lenses and a strobe unless you want to keep lenses in your BCD. I don't care for that idea.

 

[Gilligan]

I'm toying with getting something before my Roatan trip in June, yet also thinking that trip might be a good opportunity to speak in person with some photographers.

Regardless of which camera you decide on YOU MUST learn that camera inside and out BEFORE your trip or you will not get good results with it.
Roatan is not the place to learn to use the camera.
Roatan is the place to take great photos of a wide variety of marine life.

 

[Bbarnes]

I have to say that I love my DC500. My husband is a physician and his entire office walls are covered with pictures that I have taken either with my DC310 or 500. That being said, my husband loves his Oly 5060. We have cropped and blown up prints to about 20 by 24 or so, plus lots of 8x10 and 11x14s. After each trip I pick my favorite shots and print 8x10s to put in my portfolio notebook. I was in charge of a luncheon the other day and did a beach barbeque theme and needed a little color for the walls so I grabbed my notebook and some tape and hung them around the room. Everyone thought that I had spent a lot of time clipping pictures out of National Geographic! While I would never say that they were that quality, I would definitely say that they were good enough to impress my friends.