Olympus C-4040 x Sony P5 x Nikon Coolpix 5000 x Canon S40

Which one would you choose if you had a chance to buy one???

I'm trying to choose one of them to buy, but I don't have a lot of money...

Because of the housing prices, I think I'll have to get an Olympus C-4040 with the PT-010 housing.

The other ones are too much expensive!!! An example is the Nikon Coolpix 5000 housing. The Ikelite housing for it costs something like US$ 800,00. It's too much expensive! I don't have all this money to spend with it.

And as nobody talks about the Canon S40 + housing, I think maybe I should not risk getting it.

So, as I have something like US$ 900,00 to spend with it, I think I have only 2 choices:

1) Sony P5 + housing (marine pack)

2) Olympus C-4040 + PT-010

This same camera I want to use to take pictures in groud too!!! So it's another thing to think about!!! In this case the Sony P5 would be better because of its size, but under water I think the Olympus C-4040 is much better and maybe faster!!!

What do you think guys??? Please help me!!! I think this thread can help many people here who have the same doubts that I have.

Thank you very much.

Go with the C4040 and PT housing - I love it. Price was certainly a consideration for me as I also purchased lens and strobes. It appears to have all the potential of the other choices you mentioned. If you get bit by the bug and wish to progress further then perhaps you would be able to sell it on and get a more expensive housing /camera. If I decide that using the camera deeper than say 40m, I may get the IKe housing in future. However, the Oly one looks and feels very handy as it is.

WHichever you choose, I doubt you will regret it. Mine is off on its hols now for a 6 week dive trip.

Does it have to be a C4040 ?

If you don't want to print posters from your pictures, a C3030 or C3040 should be enough for you, they also fit into the PT-010 case and they should be a bit less expensive.

I've seen nice pictures taken with a Sony P1 and the marine housing, the P5 should be even better and there is some additional equipment available.

I have a C3030 with a PT-010 and i like it a lot.

Using the Sony or Olympus combination will allow you to take nice closeups and macros with the internal flash and reef scenery /big game shoots without flash. You can always buy additional equipment, like external flash, add on lenses, ... later on.

The Inon lenses can be used on ground too.

The depth limit of 30 m isn't that bad, most Olympus and the one Sony housings i know survived 40 m + and you probably won't go very much deeper to take pictures anyway.

Hope that helped - Sabine

I am still considering the canon s40, the c3040 and the

coolpix995.

Gave up on the coolpix coz the housings cost a bomb.

Have a friend who own the s40 and another with the

P1. The canon did a bit better with much shorter

shutter lag, probably makes a difference taking

fast moving fishes underwater.

Was pretty tempted coz the setup was very compact compared

to the olympus.

On land the s40 seems to have that red eye effect thingy.

Maybe it is just that we do not know how to use the cam

properly yet. Its our first try.

overall, thought that the 3040 (compared to the s40)

was a slightly more "flexible" cam, with possibility for

lens attachment and its many reviews on better low light

capability and the f1.8 fast lens.

Please note that i do not own any the above cam

and like many are trying very hard to make a

sound decision with my limited budget.

You also may want to consider the C3020 which costs only about $400,

and buy a strobe with the savings.

I think the C3020 is essentially the same as the C3000 and C3030.

The difference between it and the C3040 is the bigger lens on the C3040

will go to F/1.4 instead of F/2.8.

You'll get much better results with even a small external strobe campare

to just the built in flash.

Herb

What about the Oly C-40 + PT-012???

why i considered the 3040 vs the 3020 was

1. the av out to TV (good for viewing at resort

tv)

2. the faster lens

Not sure what is the difference in price

(hopefully it is not too much which then makes

the decision easier)

I know that the 3040 is about SGD1199

and the 4040 is about SGD1599 (that's too much

to pay for the extra pixels which i would

probably not use and newer noise reduction

features)

Now i need to find out the price of the 3020