I've recently been researching cameras for the same purpose as you, UCf. First camera for u/w use, and first digital camera for me too, so I want to kill two birds with one purchase. Like you I don't see myself ever wanting or needing anything more than something that will take half-decent u/w snapshots. I recognize that with a relatively small budget I must compromise a bit on image quality. I intend to start off using only the camera's built-in flash simply because camera + housing + strobe is more than I can afford all at once. The slave strobe is a "someday, maybe" thing. I also want this camera to be capable of producing good images on land. I've set my budget at under $350 (street price) for the camera, under $200 for the housing (unfortunately that eliminates Ikelite housings; so be it).
Olympus and Canon are making some very good quality, small cameras in this price range, with available housings that fit the budget described above. For example, take a look at the Olympus Stylus 400 and the Canon S400. There is a current thread here that features some first-timer S400 pics taken with just the built-in flash. Nikon has the Coolpix 4300, and the Fantasea CP-4 housing for it sounds very promising.
I've been looking at 4 megapixel cameras. 3 megapixel cameras are even less expensive. For example, the Fantasea CP-4 housing also fits the Nikon 885, which is less expensive than the CP4300.
I think it pays to do as much research as you can. There are quite a few threads here that are helpful. See what a search for "S400" turns up, for example. There is a ton of info online. Steves-digicams.com has very thorough reviews. If you're thinking about a specific camera, the listing for it at newegg.com will include links to several different sources featuring reviews.
Decide what your priorities are. Personally I'm placing as much emphasis on dry land performance as I am on u/w performance because, frankly, the camera I get will see a lot more use on land than it ever will u/w. This is why I'm less interested in the Sealife digital cameras; they have more robust housings, but I understand from reading another thread here that they use Vivitar cameras (2 or 3 megapixels depending on the model) which would not equal the dry land performance of the cameras mentioned above.
I also suggest that you do online research and then go to a store to handle these cameras in person. I've found that, for me, the smallest are not necessarily the easiest to hold and use.
Sorry for the length of this. And in case you're wondering, I'm still undecided!
Rick
ScubaRon
