Intova IC-700 - Any good for a beginner?

Hi everyone,

I've seen this camera advertised on a few websites, but can't find any info/reviews about it.

It would cost me the same to get this camera and housing as it would to house my current land camera so I thought as I'm a beginner maybe it might be better to get this. You seem to be able to buy all the add-on bits for it so there's a bit of room for growth.

Has anyone had any experience of it, or it's predecessors the IC500 or IC600?

I'm not looking for top notch underwater pictures - just souvenirs of my diving trips that I can show people and to put in my dive log.

Many thanks in advance.

Sarah

Hi Sarah

have you got a link to this camera? i have never heard of it.

what is your land camera? That would help to know as if we know what features it has, like manual settings, white balance etc then this would help to compare features between the two.

M

Sarah,

I think you'll want to house your land camera. Your familiarity with it will help you when you're trying to take photos underwater; furthermore, its probably a better camera than the Intova which is primarily a tourist novelty camera.

Mike,

http://cgi.ebay.com/INTOVA-IC-700-UNDERWAT...1QQcmdZViewItem

Hi guys,

Thanks for your help - it would have helped if I'd given you a bit more info wouldn't it!!

My land camera is the Panasonic TZ3. Somewhat limited for underwater I'm told because the housing has to be huge to compensate for the long zoom lens, which unfortunately will be no use underwater anyway, and therefore it's hard to attach wide angle lenses etc. I'm not sure if I'll get into that but it would be nice to have the option.

As for the Intova, the above link works, or here is another:

http://www.simplyscuba.com/ProductDetails.aspx?StockID=46052

I can't seem to find any reviews or sample shots for this Intova anywhere - but I guess for that price I can't really expect much. At least if I get the housing for my panasonic, after some practise the results should be alright, but for the same price the Intova could be a complete waste of money...

Maybe I should just save up for a whole different underwater set up - spend £70 more and get a Canon A570 package, or Ixus package - for which I've seen some good underwater shots. The trouble is if I decide to do that I'll say I could just spend another £100 and get this, and it goes on and on - suddenly from a 'souvenir shot' photographer I'll become an underwater giant praying mantis...

Sarah

How about a Canon A640 and housing? i use the Canon A series for my compacts and they can do everything, manual, underwater mode, manual white balance etc. lots of accessories for the canons too.

Not sure what that would cost in the UK though..

Praying mantis? no... you will have to spend thousands more for that first... give us time

suddenly from a 'souvenir shot' photographer I'll become an underwater giant praying mantis...

you're funny. Yes, if the sickness takes hold of you, you'll end up with funky arms going everywhere, an empty bank account, and spend countless hours on here searching for ways to spend more money.

I agree with you, the long zooms are a waste of money and time. However you might find a used system like the A640 or SP350 that have complete control underwater and a good choice of addon lenses.

Thanks a lot.

Does anyone know if there is a significant difference in picture quality and features between the canon a570IS and the a720?

I think these are the two that I'm choosing between at the moment as the A640 is a bit more pricey.

Sarah