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**freedivernd** · 03-04-2006, 01:27 PM,

Shoot, I'm under the gun (I mean I have to get this done quick!!) to get a camera with underwater housing... where can I go to shop and compare or find something half way decent... thinking around $250-$350 for camera and an in-expensive housing... $100 - $200.. so $350 - $550 budget.. prefer the $350 budget. I want movie mode and lots of storage capacity... good battery life.. and easy functions... expansion not so important to me... realize that I'm going form the $9.99 wal-mart kodak u.w. cameras so this is a big step already... I guess if it's worst to worst, I can revert back to them.. thanks.

LKunze · (This post was last modified: 03-04-2006, 02:18 PM by LKunze.)

Fred, I'd take a look at the Canon Powershot series. They have a wide range of cameras and housings available.

willadams67 · 03-04-2006, 06:03 PM,

I know that national camera has such items. I don't know of a place with a huge selection of housings. They had 5-6 diffrent housings for some of the more popular cameras.

03-05-2006, 08:59 AM,

I have looked at the DC500 for a while. I did not go that route, however for the money they look pretty good. I used their film version for years, and was very satisfied.

GUDC is open 12-4 on Sunday.
CJ

AandA · 03-05-2006, 09:28 AM,

If ya want to take a look at some photos shot with sealife cameras take a look at any of my past responses with underwater photos. I have both a digital sealife camera and a film version with external strobe. Put me down as NOT a fan of sealife cameras. I have found the quality to be only mediocre. In the past the sealife cameras were not auto focus but FIXED focus. This meant that you needed to make lens changes underwater in order to focus on subjects closer than eight feet. I have three lens that I change that allow me to take photos ranging down to about eight inches. This also results in a whole lot of photos that are not in focus. The new dc500 that runs for just over 450 is an auto focus. This I do find attractive. This camera is also a five mega pixel, which is pretty good for digital, more is better. If I were to go out and buy a camera for underwater use now, and I"D REALLY LIKE TO : Smile

....I would buy an Olympus, Cannon, or Nikon, and then an appropriate housing.

**freedivernd** · 03-05-2006, 11:16 AM,

keep the info coming... I looked at bbuy yesterday in fargo.. I like the looks of the sony and the canon cameras.. I don't know a thing about them yet.. looks like national camera is where we'll be shopping on monday. I hope they can be real helpful with the decision too. Budget is going to play a big part.. as I seem to be spending it all on trips this year...

LKunze · 03-05-2006, 03:32 PM,

Fred, I've got a Sony camera with Sony Marine pack housing which I've had for 4 years. It's only 3.2 MP but I've had no problems with it down to 150 feet which is a little past it's rated limit. Also, I will say I'm not a real fan of the lithium ion batteries that some Sony cameras including mine use. They only last about a year or two at best. I'd rather the batteries were NiMH or even alkaline disposables. Fortunately for my camera the lithium ion batteries that were once $60 are now under $10 readily available on Ebay.
Getting a bit off topic, I've found what's very important with any digital camera/housing setup is to be very careful with the cleaning and prepping of the o-ring before every single dive. I saw a guy ruin his nice Canon camera setup in the Bahamas last summer because he never removed the o-ring, cleaned and re-lubed it before taking it on the next dive. Rule #1: Never open and reclose the camera housing after it's been submerged in the water on a dive without first removing the o-ring, cleaning it, re-lubing it and cleaning the housing groove that the o-ring sits in. Also be very careful to see that there are no hairs or dirt particles stuck to the o-ring which will likely cause a flood. Hope this helps.

**freedivernd** · 03-05-2006, 03:33 PM,

Thanks everyone but I was just off the phone with National Camera... no underwater housings in stock.. sooooo Â any other store suggestions that might have housings and cameras?
Thanks,
Fred

LKunze · 03-05-2006, 03:50 PM,

My hunch is that it's unlikely any retail stores in the twin cities stock UW housings for digital cameras such as Sony, Canon, Olympus, etc. I'm guessing the only place around here that has anything in stock would be a local dive shop but then your options would probably be limited to Sea Life or Sea & Sea cameras. Not that those are bad cameras but you just don't have the option to compare a wider selection of units side by side.

**freedivernd** · 03-05-2006, 04:41 PM,

yah... I'm thinkin' I'll be going with the $9.99 wal-mart deal again unless I happen across something like the sony and the marine pack or canons and their housings.... one thing good about it, it will give me a chance to order off the net and save some bucks and maybe make a better decision about what to get... + it will save me like $400 now.. and that's a good thing. I sure appreciate all the rapid help..