Cannon SD700 IS vs CannonS2 IS

Hello!

I am looking into getting my first good digital camera for use underwater. I am hoping that someone can give me advise on a couple of things. First, what is the major difference between these two cameras?...besides one megapixel? They both have 12x optical zoom which sounds good.....one is smaller then the other, but in the prices that I have seen the SD700 IS is 100$ more...what gives? Also I have been told that the ikelite DS-125 Strobe is a good one to go for but, would it be compatible with both of these cameras? I could not find a Ikelite housing price for the SD700 IS but the website did say that they made one, the ikelite housing price for the S2 is 750$. Also is it worth the extra money to get the image stabilizer feature? If you have any thoughts on these questions I would really like to get some imput!

Thanks for the help,

AK traveler

Hi and welcome to Wetpixel,

I have the SD700 IS and used it a lot the last few weeks.

It is a point and shoot camera and not well suited for underwater use. You need a camera where you can set the aperture and shutterspeed yourself. Perhaps another camera would be a better choice. Also, just so you know, it has a 4x optical zoom, not 12x. You do NOT want a camera with a long zoom lens for underwater use, you want the opposite - a camera with a wide lens.

Good luck and please post any other questions you may have.

Cheers

James

I have the Canon SD550.

it is a great small point and shoot. For underwater, i got the $150 housing from Canon. It will never take the same quality of picture that I have taken with my D200, but I like it for its small size. I have taken this camera and left it in my BC pocket on many of my recent dives. On a recent Manta dive in Kona, the batteries on my strobes started to go, so I switched to the SD550. The videos (pretty basic resolution) still have a nice wow factor when I show it to friends.

I agree with James, but I think you just need to figure out how much you want to spend and how much you want to get into this obsession. Many of us have setups that are in the $10k+ range with the cameras, lens, housing, strobes. This setup only cost me $550 and it takes minimal space in the travel bags.

Btw: if you buy a housing from Canon make sure the depth rating is for scuba diving depth and not for snorkeling.

Thanks for the reply guys....

I have done some more research and I think that I found a winner for my price range. Does anyone have or know about the Olympus SP-500 UZ? The specs look good and I think that it would be compatible with the flash I want....any comments or ideas would be great!

carly