Rebel Xt or Sony p100?

So, my girlfriends dad just surprised us with a trip to the grand cayman's the first week of January. We will be right on seven mile beach and I want to take a crack at underwater photography. I know this is probably common but my question is should I spend the big bucks on a UW case for my XT or should I just buy a cheap dicipac for my PS Sony p-100. The only thing that is making this hard is we went on a cruise early this year and my GF's husband had a canon SD series cam and a cheap case for it and all of the pictures sucked. Either they didn't take care of the camera or the plastic in the case just did anti-wonders to the pictures.

I don't have a 420ex that I love using out of water but under water is a light source needed? especially if Im jsut snorkeling in crystal clear water. So my big question is what is the cheapest reliable UW housing you can find for the 350d. I have seen them in the 1500$ range and a Fantsea for around 840$ being the lowest I have found. Thats the price i bought the camera for. So if I go on a trip once or twice a year is that investment worth it or should I just zip lock the P100 with a dicipac and call it a day?

I guess option number three is to get that new olympus that can sustain depth up to 53 feet, its like 350$. If I liked it I would keep it or return it and suck up the restocking fee, that is unless i can fin an open item at best buy or something.

Any suggestions would be great as this is our last vacation that is set in between us graduating and starting our first real jobs. So I would like to get the best possible pictures as this chance won't come around again for a few years. Thanks

My suggestion would be to get a marine housing from Sony for your P100. I know that can be had on ebay still. I've been shooting a P10 for the last few years and have quite a few good pictures.

Just my guess, but one reason your friend's husband's pictures may not have been up to par is the lack of a strobe. When I bought an Inon D2000 strobe, tray, and AD Mount base to add to the set-up, my pictures went to that next step! If you go this route, you'll spend a fraction of the money you would on housing your Canon XT.

While only diving a couple of times per year, this might be another option for you with a camera you already have. I'd highly recommend using a strobe, even in crystal clear water. If the internal flash of the camera goes off, the likelyhood of the picture being ruined with backscatter goes way up.

Here are a couple of picts I took with my DSC- P10. I know the P100 has more functionality than mine, so you could do even better! Good luck.

Having only a Rebel XT (aka 350D), I jumped in with both feet and bought the housing for it. And I'm glad I did. I've ended up spending a small fortune on a housing, strobes and lenses but in the end, I feel that I have a rig that works and I can grow into. And when I buy my next camera and housing (whatever the 450D turns out to be), I can give my current rig to my wife.

Ultimately, it comes down to how much you want to spend. You can into it fairly cheaply by purchasing an Ikelite or Sony housing for your P100, although I couldn't even find a place to buy the Sony housing, and a relatively inexpensive strobe. All in all, probably under $1000US for the whole deal, whereas you'll spend about $1500US just for housing (including ports), then throw in another ton of cash for a strobe, and maybe even some u/w lenses. Unfortunately, this is not a hobby for the faint of wallet.

What do you want to get out of it? If you are happy just taking snap shots of what you see under the surface, then I would suggest keeping your $ investment at a minimum. In which case find a housing for your Sony, or there are some relative inexpensive newer cameras from Olympus, Sony and Canon (et.al)that you could put in a housing relatively cheaply. Some of these do really nice work.

However, if you are more ambitious and want to take some serious uw photos then be prepared to spend a bit more. You can get some really awsome photos with the XT, however, you will need to get a suitable housing and a strobe and those do not come cheap. The rewards, however, are well worth the investment.

I guess the decision is up to you. If you are only going to dive once or twice a year...well that may help you in your decision.

Best Wishes

Michael