Underwater cameras...

[NigerHadiza]

Okay everyone. It looks like I will definately be heading down to Okinawa for Golden Week here in Japan and I should probably buy an underwater digital. I don't want to spend a fortune, but I also want nice quality. I have been looking on ebay. Can anyone give me a good name of a camera that is great for beginners but also pretty good in price?

 

[mjh]

Not to be tackey but if you are willing to share your budget people can give you more help.

 

[devolution365]

I've been looking for an underwater camera recently as well. I really enjoy photography, but wanted something simple to use underwater since I'm fairly new to scuba and want the ability to just point and shoot (at least for now). I found out from another thread on this forum that there are some amazing deals on eBay for Olympus cameras. For some reason you can get the feature set of $400US -$500US Nikon digital camera for $150US or so for an Olympus. I've owned Olympus in the past and have found their cameras to generally be of good quality.

Olympus also makes their own underwater housings for many of their cameras, and they (Olympus themselves!) sell them on eBay (scuffed/dented boxes, but the camera itself is fine). Or, other sources sell them new, and they are much cheaper than the Ikelite housings sold for other cameras. The housings look well designed, allow access to every button on the camera, and generally get good reviews.

Here's what I just picked up: an Olympus C-5000 for $175 and the Olympus PT-019 housing for $69. Shipping to me (US) was $12 and $15, making the entire purchase about $280. That's amazing for any digital camera setup, but the features you get on this camera are outstanding! 5MP, 3x Optical zoom, and the ability to go from full Auto mode to full manual or Aperature/Shutter speed priorty... It's definitely a camera you can grow into.

You may be able to find something even cheaper if you don't want the manual mode. Also keep in mind that digital cameras with as few as 2 megapixels are fine for people who don't intend to get big prints made to hang on the wall or crop their photos alot before printing.

 

[RonFrank]

Okay everyone. It looks like I will definately be heading down to Okinawa for Golden Week here in Japan and I should probably buy an underwater digital. I don't want to spend a fortune, but I also want nice quality. I have been looking on ebay. Can anyone give me a good name of a camera that is great for beginners but also pretty good in price?

Budget?

Any use other than UW photograhy?

Is quality more important than size?

What sized prints do you want to be able to make?

A couple I'd look at right now in the bargin price catagory and bang for the buck are the soon to be discontinued Canon S70 (which I use, you can look at my results in my gallary) and the Oly C7070. IMO the C7070 is likely going to be a bit better due to better optics. However both go wide (27mm/28mm), both are capable of very good quality prints, and as both are being discontinued, both are a bargin right now.

The major difference is going to be camera size. The S70 is small, but not tiny, and the Oly is a lot bigger.

 

[RonFrank]

For some reason you can get the feature set of $400US -$500US Nikon digital camera for $150US or so for an Olympus.

Also keep in mind that digital cameras with as few as 2 megapixels are fine for people who don't intend to get big prints made to hang on the wall or crop their photos alot before printing.

You purchased a camera that is discontinued (or will be shortly) and is replaced by the Stylus 600. As for OLY being so much less expensive vs. other manufactures, that's not true. One can pick up the Nikon 5200 (which was the Oly 500 competition) for under $200 as this camera is also being discontinued, and has been replaced by new models. Both of these camera's where released in 2004, which makes them old in Digital years.

Keep in mind that like Dogs, digital years are about 7 years for every one real year...WoofWoof!

2mpix camera are rather pointless and have not been produced since 2003 for the most part. I'd not suggest a 2 megapixel camera for anything. 7-8mpix camera's are now the standard. As one can pick up a good quality 5mpix camera for under $200 I'm not sure why anyone would consider a 2mpix camera that has been out of date for years, and is really only good for web viewing and prints 4x6 or smaller.

 

[NigerHadiza]

Has anyone ever used the Olympus C60? There are some pretty good deals on ebay for this one and for the housing.

Any comments?

 

[devolution365]

2mpix camera are rather pointless and have not been produced since 2003 for the most part. I'd not suggest a 2 megapixel camera for anything.

Arg! Second time I've been nailed on this. My point is simply that the average person who takes pics only to remember where they've been, doing no editing (cropping), and printing only 5x7's (not hanging them on the wall) is fine with whatever MP camera they can find. (She said herself that she was a beginner and didn't mention that she wanted a camera she could "grow into".)

Anyway, these days they'd be hard pressed to find a 2MP camera, so I doubt that's what anyone would purchase. As for "not suggesting a 2MP camera for anything" -mine was free (it's my boyfriend's) and I've happened to win a few online photo contests with it when I don't feel like dragging out my film SLR, loading film, getting it developed, etc.

Bottom line, MP's aren't everything. Don't go off-brand to get more MP's. ...and this may be my last post on this particular part of the SB forum.

-Erica