Starter camera recommendations wanted

[ScubaJoy65]

The bottom line is I want a new starter camera for underwater photography. I've been surfing the sites looking for an affordable, quality camera with housing. If the price is right I'd love to get the strobe, too.

I'm in my second season of extremely addictive blue water diving. All of my dives have been in the Atlantic with the exception of two. The starter camera I have takes awful pictures underwater and on the surface. It's not just me. Others have tried it and they get the same results. (Guess you get what you pay for - It's an Intova. Both the housing and camera cost less than $200.)

I keep seeing Olympus FE3010 or FE5010. And I know Canon is good but I'm not sure which model might fit me with that brand. I'm open to suggestions.

I'm sure many of you have opinions about which camera is best. I'd love to hear them.

Thank you,
Joy

 

[RAWalker]

A Fuji F50fd and the Fuji housing to go with it won't cost you much more than your Intova but it is an advanced P&S that rivals the photo quality of the Olympus and Canon models that cost twice as much. It's only real weak spot is the lack of RAW file handling.
It's an older model now but still can be found online.
As for the strobe maybe that should be first on your list. A strobe may even help the picture quality from the Intova.

 

[Interceptor121]

I would recommend a Canon Ixus 85. The housing can even support add on lens and you can get a strobe later on. It does take good pictures in macro and is a small camera to take along for social occasions

 

[Kevrumbo]

Canon Powershot S60 with RAW and manual settings capability, now under $200 including housing on ebay. .