Stolen! Need new camera. :(

[CompuDude]

Painful story I'd rather not relive anymore than I have to. Suffice to say my SD550, in it's Canon UW housing, with a freshly charged battery and a 1GB SanDisk Ultra II chip, was stolen while preparing for a dive in Mission Bay today. ARGH!

So now I find myself in the market for something new. S80 the best way to go? I loved my SD550, but I'll admit I was starting to get annoyed with the shots I couldn't get. And it looks like Ikelite will get my houseing $$$ this time around... not enough options with the Canon housings.

 

[Jcsgt]

Ouch! I hope you reported the theft!

 

[CompuDude]

Not much point, as it would only accomplish something if I planned to report it to insurance, which, for a camera and shell that can be replaced for $500, is definitely not worth it. So now, I try to decide if I want to cheap out and replace my SD550 (but get the better Ikelite housing this time!) or get the S80, which won't be as good for me on land, but will be tons better underwater. I think. I wish I could have it both ways...

 

[Jeff Toorish]

Ikelite is the way to go.

 

[slammer]

Not much point, as it would only accomplish something if I planned to report it to insurance, which, for a camera and shell that can be replaced for $500, is definitely not worth it. So now, I try to decide if I want to cheap out and replace my SD550 (but get the better Ikelite housing this time!) or get the S80, which won't be as good for me on land, but will be tons better underwater. I think. I wish I could have it both ways...

Keep an eye out on ebay you maybe able to buy your camera back! Sad to hear about your camera though. I'm sure the person who took your camera is gonna get whats comming to them. BAD CARMA...BAD BAD CARMA.

 

[CompuDude]

So... as far as a replacement is concerned, is the S80 still the way to go, or should I just pick up another SD550? Or are there other options that are better still?

 

[Tom Winters]

Cheapest way is SD-550 in the Ikelite housing, unless you need the wider lens of the S80. Bummer on your loss though.

 

[CompuDude]

Cheapest way is SD-550 in the Ikelite housing, unless you need the wider lens of the S80. Bummer on your loss though.

Thanks.

It's not a question of want or even need, so much as I like the extra flexibility. Wide angle lenses seem to be the way to go underwater, to reduce that water column. And the macro coverage is a smidge better, too... 4cm (S80) vs. 5cm (SD550). Add in the extra manual control, which I'll someday figure out (hopefully), and it seems like the S80 is just plain better underwater. For me, the SD550 is probably better on land... but considering I am taking a lot more shots underwater than up here these days, I think I need to give that more weight.

 

[alcina]

How about the A620 instead? Perhaps that would come closer to being something that would work in both?

Which is better on the wide end? That is a good thing underwater as you can get closer to your subjects (not just in macro) with a wider lens...

With the Ike housing, no matter the camera, you can add on lenses so that's a good thing Be prepared for the very large change in size and strangeness of the controls from the Canon to the Ike!

Happy shopping.

 

[Jamdiver]

Just a little note here dpreview has a very useful and complete camera comparison function on it's webpage.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sidebyside.asp

Just a quick comparison on their website shows for example that A620 can focus down to 1 cm in macro mode as opposed to the S80's cm.