usvi-on-line
Camera with underwater case
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Tracy in WI
- Posts: 1624
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 8:39 am
- Location: Wisconsin
Camera with underwater case
I know this has been asked before, but the info is quite scattered. I am looking to buy a new digital camera with an underwater case. Or maybe one of the newer waterproof ones. What do you recommend? I currently have a Nikon cool-pix and like it, but was looking for something smaller and not too expensive.
Thanks so much!
Thanks so much!
Tracy, Seaside Properties at Grande Bay
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Splasher54
- Posts: 69
- Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2006 10:12 pm
- Location: Central Mass.
underwater camera case
I think you can get an underwater housing for most digitals, so I would research the cameras you are interested in and then price the housings. Some are more expensive than others. I got a Sony DSC-W7 last year ($299) and a waterproof housing ($160) and they worked great. I also teach alot!! of swimming lessons and have gotten great shots of all of my kids as well as my shots from St. John last year. Well worth the investment. The housing I got at B+H online.
It depends on a lot of things as to what you might want to do. See if there is a model specific UW housing for your Nikon coolPix, but assume if you are asking, there is not.
You can get one of the well reviewed Canon Powershots (often on sale for near $200) and their model specific/well engineered underwater housing for about $165.
If you don’t want to fuss with a housing, two newer choices for digitals that do not require a separate housing include the Olympus Stylus 720SW for $350-$400 that claims it is good to depth of 10 feet and the Pentax Optio W10 for $300, but I think it only goes to depth of 3-5 feet. There are also time limits those models can be in the water - usually 30 min or so.
However, 2 months ago I saw this reply to a similar thread on another forum: “I went through the same exact decision process this Spring before our April trip to Virgin Gorda. After what I thought was some pretty good research, I bought the Pentax WPi (recently succeded by the Pentax W10). It was a gigantic MISTAKE. Don't do it! The image quality is miserable. Plus, lacking an optical viewfinder, you must rely on the LCD screen and you absolutely cannot see it in bright daylight.
The WPi and W10 are rated for 30 minutes at 5 feet depth. Once I began using it, I realized how nominal that actually is and started worrying so much about it that I barely used it underwater except for taking a few pictures while standing in chest-deep water.
After returning, I felt like such an idiot for making such an absolutely lousy buying decision that I continued searching for better information. I then bought a Canon Powershot A620. What a wonderful difference in image quality and usability!!!
The A620 is available now at even a much better price than I paid for it 2 months ago - about $210-220 at Amazon. (The A620 is being superseded by the newer A700, but people seem to think the A620 is still a better camera because of cheaper construction of the A700.) Although the A620 is not itself underwater-rated, there is an auxiliary underwater housing made for it by Canon that costs about $150, and the A620 does have an underwater color balance setting built into it.
Even though I'm a professional photographer with too many expensive SLR cameras (all Nikons too), I'm beginning to rely totally on my Canon A620 for all kinds of snapshooting occasions, including fast-moving sports activities of our son. Overall, it's the best P&S camera either my wife or I has ever used.”
So that is another vote for the Canon set-up that I and others have extolled here. Maybe others with experience with the Olympus or Pentax can weigh in. Note the opinion above is from a pro – the image quality you get from an all in one camera might be good enough to your eye.
Before buying go to www.dpreview.com...best site out there by far for researching and comparing digital cameras.
JMQ
You can get one of the well reviewed Canon Powershots (often on sale for near $200) and their model specific/well engineered underwater housing for about $165.
If you don’t want to fuss with a housing, two newer choices for digitals that do not require a separate housing include the Olympus Stylus 720SW for $350-$400 that claims it is good to depth of 10 feet and the Pentax Optio W10 for $300, but I think it only goes to depth of 3-5 feet. There are also time limits those models can be in the water - usually 30 min or so.
However, 2 months ago I saw this reply to a similar thread on another forum: “I went through the same exact decision process this Spring before our April trip to Virgin Gorda. After what I thought was some pretty good research, I bought the Pentax WPi (recently succeded by the Pentax W10). It was a gigantic MISTAKE. Don't do it! The image quality is miserable. Plus, lacking an optical viewfinder, you must rely on the LCD screen and you absolutely cannot see it in bright daylight.
The WPi and W10 are rated for 30 minutes at 5 feet depth. Once I began using it, I realized how nominal that actually is and started worrying so much about it that I barely used it underwater except for taking a few pictures while standing in chest-deep water.
After returning, I felt like such an idiot for making such an absolutely lousy buying decision that I continued searching for better information. I then bought a Canon Powershot A620. What a wonderful difference in image quality and usability!!!
The A620 is available now at even a much better price than I paid for it 2 months ago - about $210-220 at Amazon. (The A620 is being superseded by the newer A700, but people seem to think the A620 is still a better camera because of cheaper construction of the A700.) Although the A620 is not itself underwater-rated, there is an auxiliary underwater housing made for it by Canon that costs about $150, and the A620 does have an underwater color balance setting built into it.
Even though I'm a professional photographer with too many expensive SLR cameras (all Nikons too), I'm beginning to rely totally on my Canon A620 for all kinds of snapshooting occasions, including fast-moving sports activities of our son. Overall, it's the best P&S camera either my wife or I has ever used.”
So that is another vote for the Canon set-up that I and others have extolled here. Maybe others with experience with the Olympus or Pentax can weigh in. Note the opinion above is from a pro – the image quality you get from an all in one camera might be good enough to your eye.
Before buying go to www.dpreview.com...best site out there by far for researching and comparing digital cameras.
JMQ
When we come to place where the sea and the sky collide
Throw me over the edge and let my spirit glide
Throw me over the edge and let my spirit glide
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Tracy in WI
- Posts: 1624
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 8:39 am
- Location: Wisconsin
Thanks so much for your input. The camera I currently own does not have a Nikon specific housing, but I could buy an underwater housing elsewhere for it. I would rather get a whole new one (don't tell my husband!) that is smaller.
I will definitely look into the A620.
Thanks again!
Tracy
I will definitely look into the A620.
Thanks again!
Tracy
Tracy, Seaside Properties at Grande Bay