Want a no frills happy snap camera

[Torgo]

Ok my request is proberly been put up on here many a time before. And i'm just too damn lazy to go through all the threads to find what i'm looking for. (i'm that lazy at the moment my cat feeds me)
Just want your opinions on a nice, no frills happy snap maker for under water.
Want to take basic photo's of the nice fish, divers and some of the wrecks. and just for scrap booking. nothing to crash bang because i'm no visual artist or anything.
Needs to be in a reasonable price range.
Needs to work.
Need easy ENGLISH instructions and Windows software that is easy to use.
(see the abouve reasons (pure lazyness))

 

[alcina]

Fuji F10, Pentax Optio series (see Snowbear's gallery for recent shots), Nikon S3 (perhaps too pricey), any of the Canon A series cameras (look for the 3.2 MP for great cameras and prices). My votes would be Canon As then the Pentax Optios FWIW

You won't get anything "basic" that will allow you to get the whole wreck in - you'll need a WAL for that.

 

[JamesD]

First off I'd recommend Digital
What do you class as "reasonable"
How big a camera are you happy to have/carry around

For snapshot type photos, almost any of the modern digital cameras that have a housing will do, I like my Minolta Xt (and subsequently my Sanyo VPC-C5), the Xt would cost maybe $160 and then the housing is another $200 or so (I took the lowest prices from froogle and then added a bit).

Edit: As an additional note the X1 (8MP camera) also has a marine case, it's slightly more but is the latest and greatest from Konica Minolta.

The Canon range also seems to be good (I've not owned one so can't really comment).
I guess the main questions are do you have any particular features you REALLY want, or any requirements, when you say not too expensive, what sort of price range, I mean is just under $1000 not too expensive, or is it $500 or...

The Sea & Sea new cameras are supposed to be nice (quick shutter time which is always an issue with digital photography) but I've not heard any actual reviews so...

 

[Puffer Fish]

Ok my request is proberly been put up on here many a time before. And i'm just too damn lazy to go through all the threads to find what i'm looking for. (i'm that lazy at the moment my cat feeds me)
Just want your opinions on a nice, no frills happy snap maker for under water.
Want to take basic photo's of the nice fish, divers and some of the wrecks. and just for scrap booking. nothing to crash bang because i'm no visual artist or anything.
Needs to be in a reasonable price range.
Needs to work.
Need easy ENGLISH instructions and Windows software that is easy to use.
(see the abouve reasons (pure lazyness))

Fuji F10 - great image quality and has a very nice UW case. Add stobes as you see fit. The really long battery life is also a plus (500 picts).

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I've got a Fuji F10 ... and about the only thing I know about photography is to set it to macro mode when I'm real close, and out of macro mode when I'm not.

I'm definitely no photographer, but I've been really pleased with the results I've gotten from this simple snap-n-shoot camera. You can check out my gallery for some examples of what it can do ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Gilligan]

I'll second the above posts. You don't need a camera that has a RAW mode if you will never use it. HOWEVER, I am a firm believer in a camerra that has Manual White Balance capabilities otherwise you will have "blue photos" on the non-flash shots.

You can get good photos with a basic camera while shooting macro shots with the built in strobe and shooting non-strobe shots in the manual white balance mode.

Camera manufacturers seem to be cutting costs by reducing or eliminating some features in their lower end point and shoot cameras. Remember they are not making them for use underwater.

A camera with a large monitor is a big plus.
Check to see if you can use the zoom feature in the macro mode. Many of the cameras are fixed at wide angle when you use the macro mode.
Check to see if the power of the built in strobe can be adjusted up or down.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Wow ... I gotta go figure out this white balance thing. I figured my camera was only good for macro photography ...

Thanks Gilligan!

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Gilligan]

Wow ... I gotta go figure out this white balance thing. I figured my camera was only good for macro photography ...

Thanks Gilligan!

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

If your camera does not have a manual white balance capability you can adjust your non-strobe photos after the fact in Photoshop as shown here.