new camera setup

I am interested in getting into underwater photography.

I have been looking at these cameras:

Canon s80

Olympus sp-350

Fuji e900

Has anybody used these cameras? Any other suggestions?

The Olympus is my least favorite, it seems a bit sluggish, but it does have a hotshoe. How important is this feature, and what other specifications should i be looking at?

I feel like a manual or slave strobe would be difficult to use initially. I don't want to get washed out photos.

Should i get a housing made by the camera company, or somebudy else like ikelite?

What are some good flashes?

Thanks so much

Welcome to wetpixel Colonel!

I own the SP350. The hotshoe is for a flash. Olympus also makes flash housings for their flashes so the hotshoe would connect the camera to the flash to allow for TTL. I own the FL-20 with the flash housing. It's been good for portrait or macro but I've been searching for another, more powerful, wider coverage strobe for wide-angle shots. The wish list is probably the Inon because it has the built in focus assist lamp.