Videography or Photography...need advice

I currently own a Canon G5 which Ikelite does not make a housing for anymore and a Sony HDD DCR-SR42 Handycam.

My dilemma is whether or not I should spend $1,100+ on an Ikelite housing for the Handycam or buy another digital camera and Ikelite housing. I would rather have nice pictures rather than crappy video. However, I am not a "professional" photographer. My next diving trip is planned for the Turks and Caicos with my 7 year old son this summer. I'd like to video or photograph our snorkeling trips and also my dive excursions.

I'm concerned about the underwater video quality of the Handycam. Has anyone used a standard video camera similar to this one and produced nice underwater video?

even the simplist handycams can produce beautiful video these days. I've always looked at still vs video like this:

Video: its very easy to capture good video footage underwater, a red filter, steady hand & basic composition does the trick. However its very difficult to create a presentable finished product from that video - capturing & editing is very equipment, time & frustration intensive.

Stills: just the opposite, its very difficult to create beautiful still photos underwater - but once you do, with some simple post processing it's immediately presentable.

I think you'll find still photos to be a little simpler & better for your purposes overall - they're much more 'useful' in daily life. print them out & put on the wall/desk, make slideshows on the computer, email to friends, rotate your desktop background etc.

whereas videos often force you to sit people down and 'watch the movie' so to speak. though they tell a better story. i do think video is a bit more involved overall.

hope this helps. cheers,

chris

Thanks for your reply, Chris.

You mentioned several things I had not thought about regarding the differences between the two media. It would be nice to frame pics, etc.

In the future, I want to purchase a Canon EOS or Nikon camera and also an underwater housing for it. I wish I had bought the housing for my Canon G5 a couple of years ago, because I do enjoy taking pictures with it...it's a great camera.

After reviewing prices for the above cameras and their housings (WOW!), I think I'll buy the housing for my Handycam this year...the price tag is looking a lot better for this item, now. I'll post my successful (hopefully) video results after my trip.

Suzanne