Camera for underwater shots?

[KevinYates]

looking for a solid camera for underwater use, I'm only in water less than 10feet deep. (saltwater)

my budget is around 300$ and I'm not sure if buying an underwater camera or buying a camera with an underwater housing would be best.

currently Im looking at the Nikon Coolpix aw100 and the Olympus Tough TG-810 both in my price range and both seem very good.

any suggestions would be awesome, thanks.

 

[CuttleKid]

A good place to research is back scatter . Com

 

[Larz_1]

I have had very good luck with my Olympus Stylus Tough-8010 for the last few years.
It has performed well on several vacations to Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
We do lots of snorkeling so we never get down below 10-15ft, although depending on the particular model they are rated up to 33ft.

I also use it in my tank to take close-ups of coral/fish.

 

[klwheat]

We have the nikon aw100 in addition to my dive camera. My wife and kids used it snokling in Grand Cayman while I was diving, then we used it in Jamaica later. Takes nice pics and never had water issues.

 

[signal_4]

If you about $50 to spend you can get a gopro camera with the new dive housing... then you could have hd video and pictures

 

[klwheat]

I use this one for diving....you could do snorkling, in tank...and dive with it too if that's what you're interested in. http://www.onlinescuba.com/Sealife-Mini-2-Underwater-Camera-Reefmaster-90-Megapixel--P7502C14.aspx

 

[Robert Hoeck]

Have you looked at the Canon D20? Might be a good one in your budget.

 

[reefWW96]

I have olympus tough and love it. That thing will take a beating for sure, I would recommend it

 

[r-balljunkie]

I think the real question is how important is 'image quality' to you. Most of these cameras have preset white balance settings and don’t offer manual adjustment.

If you are a camera whiz/avid shooter, this will bother you.
If you want to capture the moment and not necessarily the shot, then it won’t bother you.

Here’s two examples, one with the shot in standard underwater mode, the other with manual white balance set. i know i know, not apples to apples, but you get the idea.

 

[KevinYates]

thanks for the help. Looks like the tough-tg820 has manual white ballance. leaning towards this but i still have a little to decide.

 

[psidriven]

seems like the lumix ts3 is getting great reviews. just got a used one for $200 and will update once i take some underwater pix in my tank. be aware that according to reviews, any of the waterproof cameras are really only good to depths 40 ft and an hour underwater max before you experience some water entry. so if you'll be doing anything beyond that, consider a marine case.

 

[andyrm66]

Sealife isn't rated for an hour. No case needed and good for 130 feet.

 

[Speckled Grouper]

I have used a Canon D10 for years and I absolutely LOVE this camera. It has manual white balance and takes fantastic pictures. I saw the new model, the D20, don't know anything about it but would be intrigued to purchase one......If you don't go deeper than 30 feet this is the camera I can wholeheartedly recommend.

 

[hotdamn]

I would stay away from the Panasonic underwater cameras. I have owned the TS1, TS2 and TS3 and after several uses, they all suffer from teh same problem of condensation on the inside of the lens. This makes the camera pretty much useless when this happens.

I currently shoot with an E-PL1 with underwater housing. I love it and here are some pics..


P6010491 by HangTheMan, on Flickr


P5300388 by HangTheMan, on Flickr



P6100634 by HangTheMan, on Flickr

 

[Helfrichs Chic]

I have a Olympus 6020. Its NOT a great camera IMO. In regards to a underwater camera I ask how good are you at post production? If you use PhotoShop or Aperture you can USUALLY recover the colors and images, ESPECIALLY if your camera shoots in RAW. The 6020 I got had a internal shutter malfunction in the Bahamas and Cayman islands when we went and I was SOOOOO TICKED that I had to surface, restart the camera and then go back down every few min. Here are before and after pics from Grand Cayman on the 6020: edited in PhotoShop and no settings different on the camera. Oh I am a graphic designer so it helps knowing the programs a bit. I am starting to use Aperture on my Mac, for RAW images.

BEFORE

AFTER

RE: Canon D10: Ive also read that they are pretty solid cameras. I SHOULD have gotten that instead of the 6020 lol. IMHO I will never go with another brand of camera other than Canon. Ive tried THEM ALL and I am always disappointed in the results from the rest.

Last week I bit the bullet and bought a MASSIVE underwater set up with a Canon S100 a YS-01 Strobe and of course the underwater housing plus lenses and stuff. Im heading to St Croix for a month and HOPE to get some great shots with my new set up.

All in all I would go with the Canon D10 when all said and done and learn how to do tweaks in color and levels in photoshop or similar.

 

[King Nine]

This isn't too helpful but I just purchased the Nikon AW100 for the price on Amazon. I was having a hard time between it and the Canon. I checked out all the website reviews which all love the Panasonic but just go to amazon and read the reviews. 50% complained of leaks and Panasonic not living up to their warranty. It had much better image quality but what does that matter if it doesn't work? I'll be using my new nikon in a few weeks and I can report more back then. I did test it in my aquarium and it worked well.

 

[Saltliquid]

These are from my canon ixus 220 HD with housing as an extra, it may suit your budget, it also fits into a wet suit pocket and goes to 130 feet if need be.
I don't use a flash at all.

This pic is in 3 feet of water.

This pic is at a 100 feet.

 

[Helfrichs Chic]

^ <3 Aperture. That was a tough pic, I didn't spend too long it but I played with it to show what you can do in post production. I could have done MUCH more if I used photoshop afterwards to crop out the fish separating it from the background and then adjusted those layers individually. IMO the just get the pics IN focus and you can mess with the rest later. I never claim to be a photographer lol, just great at post prod.

 

[Helfrichs Chic]

my bad DP

 

[mdog3000]

I really love my Sony Cybershot. I have the HX7V. The new version plus a housing will be above 300 but you can get last years model which I have. Here are a few photos Ive taken with it.