Thinking digital

[Inspector#2]

I am tired of film and want to go digital. I'm rather thrifty (OK cheap) and want the most for my money. Is it possible to get a good camera and housing for around $500? If so what brand and where is the best place to buy? What would be the bottom pixtel range I should look for?

Thanks,

Dave

 

[Dee]

Inspector#2 once bubbled...
I am tired of film and want to go digital. I'm rather thrifty (OK cheap) and want the most for my money. Is it possible to get a good camera and housing for around $500? If so what brand and where is the best place to buy? What would be the bottom pixtel range I should look for?

Thanks,

Dave

The word good and cheap don't go together in digital. I think you can get a basic Canon camera and housing for around $700-800 but I'm not current on Canons stuff. Alot will depend on what type results you expect. If you just want snapshots or if you expect to be able to make enlargements for your wall.

An external strobe is a big expense no matter what system you use and unless you want point and shoot quality snapshots, you really do need one.

 

[Travisc]

Cheapest I have seen and might suggest, is a Sony DSCP7 and a MPKP9 housing and this is right at the 500 margin maybe over.

Travis

 

[dsgobie]

Oly4000Z, with the PT010 housing.. I paid $400 for the camera and $165 for the housing... Although I hear that the camera has went down in price a lot.

 

[Inspector#2]

I don't want to make a living taking U/W pictures but would like to have pleasing photos. Where did you buy these?

Thanks for the help,

Dave

 

[diverguy]

I'm looking into this combination as a small UW point and shoot.
The camera is $330-$400 and the housing is $150-$180 so with some luck you can find them both for less than $500.

I have heard Sealife is coming out with new higher resolution DCxxx cameras this year - 3-4 megapixel and around the $500 mark.

/Mike
DiverGuy.com

 

[Dee]

dsgobie once bubbled...
Oly4000Z, with the PT010 housing.. I paid $400 for the camera and $165 for the housing... Although I hear that the camera has went down in price a lot.

Where did get those prices? I've heard of deals like that for the C-4000 but never on the PT-10!

 

[geebee]

Inspector#2 once bubbled...
I am tired of film and want to go digital. I'm rather thrifty (OK cheap) and want the most for my money. Is it possible to get a good camera and housing for around $500? If so what brand and where is the best place to buy? What would be the bottom pixtel range I should look for?

Yes, it is possible. But it will take some work. Go to local Best Buy type stores and look at different brands/styles. Stick with Olympus and Canon that make their own (cheaper) housings. Figure out what you like and need. Go to the several camera review sites to get more info. Then go to pricegrabber.com or mysimon.com to get the web prices and order there.

Minimum 2MB pixel camera, recommended is 3MB for anything bigger than snapshot size. I like Canon products. Their housings seem well built and inexpensive. The Canon A40 gets good reviews, but I have not used it. I have a Canon S30 which is smaller and has more manual controls. It is now down to about $350 online and the housing about $160. It's a great setup and I have a long writeup with samples here:

http://www.scubadiving.com/members/gearreviews.php?s=465

Remember though, you MUST buy a bigger storage card with any camera, about $50. You should buy an extra battery (Canon is $35). And while this setup takes great shots, eventually you will want an external flash which costs more than the camera and housing. And then there's that wide angle addon lens...........

GB

 

[dsgobie]

Dee once bubbled...


Where did get those prices? I've heard of deals like that for the C-4000 but never on the PT-10!

I picked the camera up on base, and the housing out in town. I am stationed in Okinawa, Japan.... And the housings are made here in Japan... So it is MUCH cheaper... I think I've seen them as low as $200 online though...

I like the camera.. It takes good pictures. I need to find a good strobe set up for it.. Any ideas?

 

[dsgobie]

This picture was taken with the Oly4000z and the PT-010 housing.