Should I get a housing for my old camera?

[scottb27]

I am looking into getting a camera I can take on dives with me. So my obvious 2 options are to buy something not to expensive and send 4-500 on it. Or I have a 16 megapixel sony dsc-wx9 that I have seen the ikelite housing for $260 or so. Should I just buy the housing for this camera or should I get something that I would use for only diving?

 

[Larry C]

After checking the specs on your Sony, you probably should dive something else. Underwater shooting works best with control over shutter speed and aperture. Automatic cameras are programmed for the conditions that are common in atmospheric lighting. Underwater there's less light and a much shallower area of focus and the auto settings on topside point and shoots don't tend to work very well. They either open the aperture too far and give you no depth of field or compensate for lack of light by slowing the shutter and blurring your pictures. If you're only shooting at shallow depth in tropical water with lots of light, it might be OK. I've found anything below about 50 feet or with anything but a sunny day and stunning visibility, I want manual control over my camera.

 

[Rumrunner_1492]

I went with the Canon S100. You will absolutely want something that can shoot in RAW format. Being able to easily adjust the pictures with software is amazing. The S100 is about $400 and is pretty easy to use with lots of options if you want to get more complex.

 

[scottb27]

problem with the s100 is that I need to buy a $400 camera and then a $300 housing, I just dont have $700 right now to spend.

 

[Larry C]

Oops! Accidentally replied to the Scubaboard e-mail update. They'll send me a bad boy notice probably. Here's a copy.
Go to the top of the page and look in the classifieds. There are always at least one or two people trying to move a kit that's outdated to make room for their new upgrade. You can look for any Canon "S" model, most of the older "A" series (e.g. A570, A640) or G9,10,11. Oly SP350's are fully manual and all over the place. Even an older Oly 5050 if you can find one with a housing. They take awesome pictures, but the older models have issues with shutter lag.
Here's a perfect current example:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/classifieds-photography/417671-g12-underwater-housing-wp-dc34.html
The G12 is an awesome camera and the camera alone was $500 new.
Another guy is selling several complete SP-350 kits, some with strobes and ttl converters.

 

[Racer_X]

problem with the s100 is that I need to buy a $400 camera and then a $300 housing, I just dont have $700 right now to spend.

Exact same boat as me. I started off with one of those $35 underwater snorkeling cameras to see how easy it was to manage. With my upcoming trip to Cancun, I wanted to get something a bit better. Unfortunately, the Canon I had was too old to get a housing for it. So I read the boards, read the books, etc., then looked at the results - a $700 setup. Instead, I went with a Canon SD1300IS and a housing. Total out of pocket around $300.

IF I stay serious, it'll be a decent camera for a while. Then perhaps I can upgrade. If not, I've got a good enough set up for the vacation dives and a decent land camera too.