Please help!!!!

Hi all

I am a passionate scuba diver and a fairly experienced photographer on land but not under water. I have decided to buy a digital camera to use while diving and I really need some advice.

I have been looking at the Canon G9 with the Canon housing to start. I know that there is no option for additional lenses with the Canon housing only with the Ikelite housing. I don't want to spend a fortune now as I don't know where my photography is going to take me. I am quite set on the G9 due to the capability of shooting in RAW and just the fact that it is not a compact digital so to speak.

I would like to use the camera for some quite serious photography on land as well.

My questions are this:

1. Will the G9 with the Canon housing give me decent pictures out of the box?

2. Will the built in flash be okay for a while considering my level and experience with underwater photography?

If I really get into underwater photography I could always upgrade to the Ikelite housing and sell off the Canon housing.

Thank in advance.

Brett

Just my two cents. The camera alone would give you some decent pictures especially since you're able to shoot RAW. You could also choose to shoot fairly shallow (40ft<) with filters. Macro shots with the internal strobe would work. When I look back on when I first started, I wasn't happy with the shots until I purchased a strobe. However, I was not a reasonably experienced land photographer. I've seen stuff from the pros on here with digicams, housing, no strobe or WA lenses that just put me to shame.

The OEM housings like Canon are decent enough. They are disposable though so if you do break anything on the housing, you'll just have to purchase another. Inon will probably come out with a line of lenses to fit the housing via an adapter. My advice would be to start with the camera and housing. If you need to add a strobe and arm you can do that later. If you're heading on the trip of a lifetime...get the strobe with the camera and housing.