Scuba Cameras??

Hubby did a basic dive at CTI in 2009 and loved it... So he is taking a course this summer to get certified to do the "bigger" open water dives when we return to Jamaica this fall .... Can anyone recommend a camera that would be good for the "bigger" (deeper) dives?

Going to try to find him one as a surprise. Price is kinda an issue (dont want a 1000 dollar camera!) but Im willing to spend some money for it to cover any dive he may make; bonus would be if its also usable above ground for great shots too ....

(25 ft? 50ft? 100ft? or more) I dont even know how deep they go! Im not going, have a health problem, but would love to see what he sees

Thanks for any suggestions! :) Would like to purchase prior to July so he can use it during his training in the Great Lakes :)

Kelly

I just bought a canon powershot s100 and underwater housing for around 625. The camera is great out of the water and it can film 1080P movies. I cant wait to get some movies for our dives in August. If you want to see some of the underwater film quality type in s100 underwater on youtube.

A lot of waterproof cameras are only good for swimming and snorkeling. Even if they're rated to 30 feet that's not deep enough for diving.
You need to get a camera with a housing. Not all models of cameras have housings, as housings are specific to the exact camera model, and many models just don't have one. Sometimes you can find generic housings to fit a camera, but it's riskier. I recommend you buy the camera and it's housing together - no fuss, no muss. Cameras go obsolete and it can be tough to find a matching housing. We've been using a couple of Sony's for years and find them to be decent. We even managed to replace an old camera that died in order to keep using that housing.
Canon is another good option. Another route you can go is to buy a camera specifically for diving, such as Sea & Sea or SeaLife, which are designed for underwater use.
Our non-diver friends always love to see what's down there. It's a great idea for you and your hubby.
Have a great trip :)

Attachment 16633 I have a older nikon p4 and I bought a underwater housing for it last year from FANTASEA for $120 .It is good to 130 feet . On the Fantasea web site they offer housing for any point and shoot camera that is made. If you already have a camera all you have to do is buy
the underwater housing. This is a picture that I took last March while diving at CSA

Look into a GoPro with a LCD backpack for it. they all come with waterproof housings, and different ways to mount it or put it on your body i.e. a wrist pack, or an attachment for a helmet. they shoot HD video and picks and have special cases for good underwater shots and even different colored lenses. But you can also use it above ground. they are mainly for video (no zoom) of wide angle action type footage, perfect for water and land sports. In many of the shows on TV about loggers and stuff, if you look you will see the cameras mounted on stuff to get great shots its hard to get a big camera into. They are about the size of a credit card and about 3" thick inside the waterproof housing. Oh and I think they run about $500 with accessories.

I bought my husband a Canon G12 and the underwater housing (also canon) a few years ago for exactly the same reason. He loves it and it take really good pictures underwater as well as on land (out of the housing). I choose it because it automatic settings for underwater as well as the beach. In Canada I found it cheapest to buy the camera from a store (Henry's) when they were on sale and the waterproof housing on ebay. If you do a search there are lots of good cameras and wp housing on the market.
May not use the camera when diving as much now. I got certified while at CSA in April.
Karon

We are visiting in 11 days and wanted to get a underwater camera. At first we were thinking of getting a 'Go Pro' camera but those cost $200+ and you can't view the photos once you take them as there is no LCD screen. Fuji has a comparable camera for $179 at Best Buy, but we were able to get an underwater camera bag for our Sony Cybershot HX-9V from Dicpac.
Google Dicpac or you can find them on Amazon.com

Most consumer water cameras are only good to about 30feet. What you could look for is a housing for a non waterproof camera, this maybe a better option for you. I bought an Nikon AW100 camera and although a great reboust camera and cost over $ 300 it is only good to 33 feet. So that will give you an indication of how much one might have to pay for one to go to Scuba depths.

I remember these recent posts with a lot of good information:

http://couples.com/mb/showthread.php...ghlight=camera

http://couples.com/mb/showthread.php...ghlight=camera

Good luck with your search and purchase! There are a lot of options out there and it can be difficult to decide.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by colts-n-cubs

We are visiting in 11 days and wanted to get a underwater camera. At first we were thinking of getting a 'Go Pro' camera but those cost $200+ and you can't view the photos once you take them as there is no LCD screen. Fuji has a comparable camera for $179 at Best Buy, but we were able to get an underwater camera bag for our Sony Cybershot HX-9V from Dicpac.
Google Dicpac or you can find them on Amazon.com

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It does cost extra but you can buy an LCD screen for the GoPro and it will have an underwater housing with it. works like a regular camera with that. But again it is extra.

I have a intova IC12. Its available with a additional waterproof housing and you can dive to 100Ft without any worries. You can use it as a everyday camera or dive camera. The battery is removable so you can replace with a fresh one between your dives if you need. It also does video and uses a SD card that you can remove and load to your IPad. The bests thing is the service i have received from Intova. I required spare batteries and they sent them for $10. Even better, the camera did stop working after the warranty period. Called them today, no problem, sending me a replacement unit for $30.00 Thats customer service. They have a newer model which is a IC14 Either one is good. Approximate cost with waterproof case is $300.00 Buy the red filter, approx $20 to enhace colour for the 30ft and deeper dive.

First trip I took the disposable cameras down and the pictures did not turn out the greatest. Trip two I did my open water cert at CN and bought a housing for my small Canon powershot. It wasn't super expensive and I use it around home when out on the river. The pictures were much better with the housing. The flash is what makes the color come out from what I seen with pictures.