Advice on model to purchase

[khawk22]

Hello,
I'm shopping for a camera and underwaterhousing. I don't have any experience with uw photography so would appreciate some advice.

The models I've looked at (with housings) are:

Olympus FE-360 (8MP, 36-108 zoom, 4X digital zoom, F/3.1-5.9) for $480
Canon Ixus 80IS (8MP, 38-114 zoom, 4x digital zoom, F/2.8-4.9) for $480
Canon Ixus 85IS (10MP, 35-105 zoom, 4X digital zoom, F/2.8-4.9) for $530
USED Canon Powershot 650 IS (12MP, 35-210mm zoom, 4X digital zoom, F/2.8-4.8) $620

The last one is used but has 4 months warranty left and assume it is in good condition. It also has manual controls for Aperature priority and Shutter Priority)

What do you think? Price is a significant factor for me.

Cheers,

Kyle

[bighead]

Maybe a good guide will be to go online and search for underwater pictures taken with these cameras (flickr have these features, search by cameras) and see if you like those kinda shots ... what maybe good for someone may not be so for the other ...

http://www.flickr.com/cameras/


Another one thing to consider is that when you FLOOD the camera (hopefully not) , can you get a replacement easily else you end up with an expensive paper weight ...

[diver-hloc]

Hi TS..... suggest you go for Canon G series camera (G9 or G10) if you have the Buget.... or like me, the PowerShot series (A650 IS) if buget is limited. As for U/W casing.... I suggest you go for Canon Org casing instead of the better, but more $$$ 3rd party casing (ikelite...etc). The $$$ saved could be used to get yourself a Strobe.

My 2 cents worth.......

[khawk22]

Hmm...I don't think the G-series is really within my budget. A G10 with housing will cost around $1000. If I'm going to spend that kind of money I would rather just go the extra distance and buy a housing for my DSLR.

I see that the Olympus FE-360 was voted as the best fully automatic camera of 2009 (in another post in this forum). It has some dedicated underwater shooting modes, and it's cheap....so I"m tempted to go with that one.

I'm a long-time canon user however and I'm always impressed with their image quality...so thus the inclusion of the Ixus cameras in my narrowed-down selection. The Powershot is just a consideration because it offers more functions at a similar price and I'm used to going manual with my DSLR.

[diver-hloc]

Originally Posted by khawk22 Hmm...I don't think the G-series is really within my budget. A G10 with housing will cost around $1000. If I'm going to spend that kind of money I would rather just go the extra distance and buy a housing for my DSLR.

A good housing for any DSLR would cost upwards of $2000. That usually doesn't include the Arms needed to hold Strobe or the Strobe itself. And without a Strobe.... there's no way you could use the flash as very few casing allows you to use your DSLR's built-in flash. And that would be an extra $1200-$1500+++. And lets not forget the correct 'Front Port' for the correct type of lens..... You just can't use a flat port with a fisheye or UWA lens... and I believe most Dome Port cost between $800-$1200+++.

And the best part.... if you 'DROWN' your camera.... a G9 or G10 replacment would cost you $500-$700 (camera get cheaper as they get older). But a DSLR and Lens replacment would be......

[khawk22]

Thanks for your advice. A housing for my DSLR runs about $2000. And yes, I did mean that I would go the extra distance by paying this type of money instead of buying a G10. I'm not particularly interested in doing pro-level photography underwater at this time, so I'm really just looking for something cheap so that I can experiment a bit. A G10 doesn't suit my needs at this time. I would like to play around with a basic point-and-shoot for a bit, then eventually invest in a housing for my DSLR down the road. There is a housing for sale on another forum that will fit my camera for $1000...so it is a serious option if the price tag were to get up over the $1000 barrier. Since I am not prepared to spend that kind of money at the moment, the point is irrelevent anyway.

I would like to hear any input that anyone has on the particular models I've suggested in the original post. Does anyone have any particular thoughts on the relative strengths or weaknesses of any of the models? Has anyone shot with them before?

Cheers,

Kyle

[howeikwok]

Originally Posted by khawk22 Thanks for your advice. A housing for my DSLR runs about $2000. And yes, I did mean that I would go the extra distance by paying this type of money instead of buying a G10. I'm not particularly interested in doing pro-level photography underwater at this time, so I'm really just looking for something cheap so that I can experiment a bit. A G10 doesn't suit my needs at this time. I would like to play around with a basic point-and-shoot for a bit, then eventually invest in a housing for my DSLR down the road. There is a housing for sale on another forum that will fit my camera for $1000...so it is a serious option if the price tag were to get up over the $1000 barrier. Since I am not prepared to spend that kind of money at the moment, the point is irrelevent anyway. I would like to hear any input that anyone has on the particular models I've suggested in the original post. Does anyone have any particular thoughts on the relative strengths or weaknesses of any of the models? Has anyone shot with them before? Cheers, Kyle

If you don't need manual controls at the moment. Then either canon or fuji point & shoot cameras should be good. Both produce nice colours for point & shoot cameras.

[lovells19]

can try the fuji f60/ canon ixus 850/950is
cheap and good easy to use