What's the best cheap U/W digital camera for the money?

[KeithG]

unhoused? why? This also disqualifies many (most, all?) P&S cameras. Which leaves you with PoS cameras.

this means you have a choice of about 3 "almost real" scuba cameras and up to 7 non scuba "hopefully maybe mostly water proof" cameras.

for the "unhoused scuba cameras" look at sealife & ... well actually nobody else that i know of. others may know more about this.

for hopefully maybe mostly water proof cameras, just pick your favourite color from fuji, nikon, canon, etc....
Waterproof Camera Review 2014 | Best Underwater Digital Cameras | Disposable Underwater Camera - TopTenREVIEWS just do not take them very deep (note the 10 foot rating on a few of these...)

Are you trying to go the KISS route? (no strobe or arm or tray...)
Or are you trying to keep it small?
Or are you cheap?

I claim it is a toss up between a sealife and a housed canon (or other similar) P&S.

My backup camera is a very small canon in a very small canon housing that i slip into my bcd pocket. no extras. no strobe, no arm, no tray. It is also good to go as deep as i go. Which none of the "mostly waterproof" cameras will do. Well actually it can go a whole lot deeper than I go as I have tested it to over 200 ft in a pressure chamber. It also conveniently slips into my pocket as a happy snap land camera since the camera by itself is very small. Much smaller than a sealife. So it has a second purpose above land.

OR: maybe you want to buy a housing for your iphone?

Bottom line is that there are way too many options out there for anyone to be able to say buy _______. So we can toss lots of dumb ideas at you. Some may not stick very well.

I personally lean towards the P&S setup that you can "enhance" by adding strobes & wet lens since that is what my main rig is. So I say buy decompression's used rig. Shop till you drop!

---------- Post added April 14th, 2014 at 07:16 PM ----------

P.S. you do not need a PHD, but like most purchases you will need to learn at least a little. I got lucky with my first camera buy. I met a very open minded DSLR photographer that was able to probe & give gentle direction for my first still scuba camera purchase (i had a bag of video experience at that time). He was very clear that what I bought was not good enough for him, but that it would be more than fine enough for me. He was right. I am still happy with my original purchase as it was a system that could grow as I gained experience.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

unhoused? why? This also disqualifies many (most, all?) P&S cameras. Which leaves you with PoS cameras.

this means you have a choice of about 3 "almost real" scuba cameras and up to 7 non scuba "hopefully maybe mostly water proof" cameras.

for the "unhoused scuba cameras" look at sealife & ... well actually nobody else that i know of. others may know more about this.

for hopefully maybe mostly water proof cameras, just pick your favourite color from fuji, nikon, canon, etc....
Waterproof Camera Review 2014 | Best Underwater Digital Cameras | Disposable Underwater Camera - TopTenREVIEWS just do not take them very deep (note the 10 foot rating on a few of these...)

Are you trying to go the KISS route? (no strobe or arm or tray...)
Or are you trying to keep it small?
Or are you cheap?

I claim it is a toss up between a sealife and a housed canon (or other similar) P&S.

My backup camera is a very small canon in a very small canon housing that i slip into my bcd pocket. no extras. no strobe, no arm, no tray. It is also good to go as deep as i go. Which none of the "mostly waterproof" cameras will do. Well actually it can go a whole lot deeper than I go as I have tested it to over 200 ft in a pressure chamber. It also conveniently slips into my pocket as a happy snap land camera since the camera by itself is very small. Much smaller than a sealife. So it has a second purpose above land.

OR: maybe you want to buy a housing for your iphone?

Bottom line is that there are way too many options out there for anyone to be able to say buy _______. So we can toss lots of dumb ideas at you. Some may not stick very well.

I personally lean towards the P&S setup that you can "enhance" by adding strobes & wet lens since that is what my main rig is. So I say buy decompression's used rig. Shop till you drop!

---------- Post added April 14th, 2014 at 07:16 PM ----------

P.S. you do not need a PHD, but like most purchases you will need to learn at least a little. I got lucky with my first camera buy. I met a very open minded DSLR photographer that was able to probe & give gentle direction for my first still scuba camera purchase (i had a bag of video experience at that time). He was very clear that what I bought was not good enough for him, but that it would be more than fine enough for me. He was right. I am still happy with my original purchase as it was a system that could grow as I gained experience.

This is all great info thanks.
I had no idea that mostly waterproof cameras sucked. I would have bought one thinking it was a crossover from my Nikonos. I guess not even close.
My education is starting here.

 

[PeterNBiddle]

I think "ELPH" means "more money than P&S"?

---------- Post added April 14th, 2014 at 01:22 PM ----------

oops. P&S really means "compact". here is a good comparision article
https://www.backscatter.com/learn/article/article.php?ID=57 of some current products (i still say buy used and then toss it in the junk if you advance past it's capabilities...)

ELPH is Canon. This is the camera I used to take those pics, it's $100 on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerSh...=1397531077&sr=8-1&keywords=canon+elph+100+hs

So no, it doesn't mean "more money than P&S".

Why buy used when you can buy a 12.1 MP Canon for $100?

 

[KeithG]

ELPH is Canon. This is the camera I used to take those pics, it's $100 on Amazon.

Amazon.com: Canon PowerShot ELPH 100 HS 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 4X Optical Zoom (Grey): Camera & Photo

So no, it doesn't mean "more money than P&S".

Why buy used when you can buy a 12.1 MP Canon for $100?

oops - my bad.

Guess what? I just checked and my "bcd pocket" camera is a canon elph. Who knew? So I agree with PeterNBiddle. They are small and take great pictures.

But you need to factor in the additional cost of a housing if buying new.

I bought mine from a little old lady that only took it snorkeling (no really!). She had upgraded to a "mostly waterproof" in order to simplify her snorkel world.

---------- Post added April 15th, 2014 at 12:48 AM ----------

This is all great info thanks.
I had no idea that mostly waterproof cameras sucked. I would have bought one thinking it was a crossover from my Nikonos. I guess not even close.
My education is starting here.

Well, you can either spend money and then learn. Or learn and then spend money. Your call.

The mostly waterproof cameras take great pictures. As long as you are only taking them to snorkeling depths. Go deeper and they tend to turn into soggy lumps of nasty salt water induced chemical reactions. Picture quality & photo features can be awesome. Depth rating not so much. I actually seem them all the time on my scuba trips. The owners of the monster DSLR's also have one of them for happy snaps on the boat / shore. They never go underwater. But no need to worry about rain or water splashes from waves.

The Nikonos was a fringe camera. It was a serious high end camera. It died because the market was too small. No real current replacement that I know of - others may have more info or could remind me of something i am forgetting?

only thing I know of that is similar is sealife Cameras | Sealife Cameras but photo quality & unit reliability is suspect. You get what you pay for. It is impossible to compete against mass produced products without cutting corners somewhere.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

The Nikonos was a fringe camera. It was a serious high end camera. It died because the market was too small. No real current replacement that I know of - others may have more info or could remind me of something i am forgetting?

You might be confusing the one Nikonos they had towards the end that had through the lens viewing, I can't remember the name of it (RS maybe?)
I just had a plain range finder style Nik 5 which there where tens of thousands made. Nikonos's were made for years and each new decade or so would be given a higher number. I don't even know when the original Nikonos came out, maybe in the early 60's?
It was the first entry level proffesional camera and many world class award winning shots were taken with Nikonos cameras.
They weren't a fringe camera at all, they were actually a mainstream standard for years. What killed them was the end of film, no other reason.
They were the most bullet proof camera made. They could be flooded with salt water, rinsed out with fresh water, dried and put right back in service to finish a trip out. They even had a manual setting just in case this happened and the TTL and basic electronics got fried you could bypass the auto settings and still use it.

 

[Bob DBF]

Hey Eric, nyour message box is full.

Check this out:
Olympus | eBay



Bob

 

[flareside]

Check this out:
Olympus | eBay
Bob

He has changed the price 7 times since August so he may be motivated by a decent offer. Item Revision Details

Shipping is way too high.

 

[rx7diver]

I'm looking for an inexpensive unhoused U/W camera to use for art reference photos. ... So what is the best bang for the buck for what you guys might consider a "starter" digital camera setup.

Hi Eric,

A couple years ago I became really interested in the (digital) Nex 5 with Nauticam housing when I first read about it here on SB. It's a really small package, and has an available optional adapter that allows you to use your Nikonos lenses. I own a 15 mm U/W Nikkor, a superb lens, which I purchased new in 2000 from Helix ($$$$)—about a year before prices on Nikonos gear began their precipitous decline.

The Nex + Nauticam solution promised to allow me to salvage my investment in Nikonos lenses and strobes.

Ultimately, after investigating thoroughly, I decided to not purchase the Nex + Nauticam, because the "crop factor" of the photo chip in the Nex would make the 15 mm Nikkor behave more like a 70 mm (or something), which wouldn't suffice (for me) as I am interested primarily in shooting close-focus wide-angle photos. I decided I would reconsider when/if the Nex was ever redesigned with a larger photo chip. I actually don't know the current configuration of the Nex, as I haven't kept up.

Anyway, you might broaden your search requirements and think in these terms (digital camera + housing with adapter which allows you to use your U/W Nikkor 20 mm, also a very good lens, and your Nikonos strobes). You might end up with a final system that is not too expensive, allows you to salvage your investment in Nikonos gear, and takes superb U/W digital photos.

Safe Diving,

rx7diver

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

So there's nothing in the $1500 range new that's even a consideration?
All I will be able to get is someone's outdated used stuff?

OK, so how much then do I need to spend to get a simple digital camera, a housing for it, and a couple strobes?
New
Nothing over the top.

And can you link something please at an online source.

 

[flareside]

So there's nothing in the $1500 range new that's even a consideration?
......
OK, so how much then do I need to spend to get a simple digital camera, a housing for it, and a couple strobes?
New
Nothing over the top.

A "couple" of strobes is out of the question unless you are buying toy strobes.

$250 Canon S110 Amazon.com: Canon PowerShot S110 12MP Digital Camera with 3-Inch LCD (Black): Camera & Photo
$325 Ikelite housing Backscatter :: Underwater photo :: compact photo
$884 Inon D2000 w/ flex arm & tray Backscatter :: Underwater photo :: lighting
$1459 total


$104 Canon 100 HS Amazon.com: Canon PowerShot ELPH 100 HS 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 4X Optical Zoom (Grey): Camera & Photo
$280 Ikelite housing Backscatter :: Underwater photo :: compact photo
$884 Inon D2000 w/ flex arm & tray Backscatter :: Underwater photo :: lighting
$178 Inon M67 Close-up lens Backscatter :: Underwater photo :: compact photo
$1446 total

Second kit includes close-up lens but a considerably lesser camera. Wide angle is out of the question with your budget limit. And I haven't used any of this but it should meet your requirements. I'm not sure I'd put a D2000 on a flex arm but Backscatter thinks it's okay so it should be fine. You may need an additional adapter to mate the optical cable to the housing.