Please help with final camera decision- Have researched for 2 weeks prior to posting

[Neuroll]

Thanks a lot Mark I've started to realize that I should start with a basic camera. I still want good video so I think I'm gonna go with a Canon S100. I can get housing and camera for about $650-700. I got the opportunity to see a Panasonic GH2 in action today at work. A videographer was using to film a wedding and it looked unbelievable! On par with the most expensive DSLR's that I see there all the time. Talk about a tease Thanks for all the help everyone.

 

[Mark Derail]

Here in Montreal, the excellent camera store Lozeau.com has become an Ikelite retailer. YAY !!!

I looked with the manager, who is AOW and uses Ike+Nikon D7000 w/dual D161's, and I thought, in a few more years oh yeah !!!
(1250$ x 2, 2500$ housing, plus a D7000 for $$$ and lens for $$$ and 300$ or so for a dome port)

However, he had in store a housing for the Canon G12. Ooh, I want to see that !

700$ housing with a 500$ camera (G12). One D161 strobe is 1250$, all you need now are some arms & joints 150$, and you are set.
Budget 2600$, or 1300$ without the (highly recommended) strobe.

For my next dive trip, March 2012 in Puerto Rico, I'm buying the Canon G12 + Ikelite + 1 strobe.

 

[Mark Derail]

Agree about the Sony Nex5 and 5n. Great options, another example of getting what you pay for.

This weekend I bought the Sony NEX5N for my girlfriend. She isn't tall, so the various viewing angles on the screen is a plus. She also liked it better than the Canon G12, way too many buttons on the G12, you practically don't need a menu anymore.

I'll get her a housing for her camera sometime in 2013, so we will both scuba & shoot. In 2012, going with Ikelite + Canon G12.

Then will wait 3-4 years for the next upgrade to a Nikon D7000 + the full Monty.

 

[Neuroll]

Yeah it's funny cause the more I consider the options I'm realizing I shouldn't cheap out because I'm not going to be happy with mediocre quality equipment. I really want full HD video@60fps so the Sony nex5n is tempting as is the Sony hx9v which is half the price but doesnt have aperture and shutter priority mode. How important is that for video quality? Keeping in mind it does have full manual control.

 

[Mark Derail]

P/S/A/M is just for photo usually. I haven't tried changing aperture/focus/wb while taking videos yet on the Sony NEX5N. (what a bore to type the name)

Sony Nexus would have been better, with the newer model called the Plexus, all the way down to Brutus.

 

[buton]

Take a look at Olympus xz-1 with the Olympus pt-050 housing..it cost me 600, now I need strobe and arms, I might go sea and sea ys 01 and ucls arms and tray ...upgrade in the future to inon wide angle lens and another ys 01 strobe ...

 

[BluewaterPhoto]

These options all have various pros and cons.. depending on your budget, what kind of flexibility you need, and how important macro & wide-angle are, the Canon S100, G12, Oly E-PL2/E-PL3, or Pany GF2 could all be excellent choices - Scott

 

[Neuroll]

Thanks Blue Water, in your professional opinion do you think it's worth the extra money to go micro 4/3's for the better quality or do you think with the right know how I can get decent quality pics with a compact? I will definitely be focusing on video and wide angle so I'm leaning towards a micro 4/3's but have seen great pics from the s100.

 

[Neuroll]

I was able to play with the Sony hx9v and the Sony nex5n at Best Buy today. The hx9v has great video for such a small camera but the build quality seemed on the cheap side. The Nex5n video was not that much better than the hx9v but has more control over the image. The menu was very confusing on the Nex5n but a very crisp image. The hx9v only has goes down to f3.3 is that a major problem for image quality?

 

[Tigerman]

Do keep in mind that video that looks good (or bad) on the cameras built-in screen can look quite different when you get it on a large screen, if you where not able to connect it to a monitor or a tv..