Underwater camera setup

I leave for the Great Barrier Reef in 5 days!!!

I leave for the Great Barrier Reef in 5 days!!!

Under $300?? Sealife maybe?

I have found my Fujifilm f40fd to be a nice first camera for under $300

8MegaPixels.

2-3 dive battery life.

Case is super durable and has double orings.

Camera shoots excellent in low light and has a quick auto focus.

Internal flash is sufficient for macro work.

And it fits in my drysuit pocket.

Amazon shows camera for $149 and case for $122

Amazon Fujifilm f40fd

Shipping would be free if you could have planned ahead a tad better

Mike

current manifestation site

MyDivingLife - SoCalSwami

C&P from my post on a different thread:

I suggest going for the SD630 or SD750 with Canon housings. They forgo the viewfinder for a larger screen, which is really helpful UW. The SD750 sells new for $335 (Camera+Housing) on B&H. I still use my SD630 occasionally since it fits into my BC pocket and it does produce some really nice photos. You won't have all the bells and whistles of larger P&S or dSLR systems, but it is a great way to start UW photography. You can later pair it up with an Inon D-2000 (or Sea&Sea YS-27) strobe to get that extra light.

C&P from my post on a different thread:

 

I suggest going for the SD630 or SD750 with Canon housings. They forgo the viewfinder for a larger screen, which is really helpful UW. The SD750 sells new for $335 (Camera+Housing) on B&H. I still use my SD630 occasionally since it fits into my BC pocket and it does produce some really nice photos. You won't have all the bells and whistles of larger P&S or dSLR systems, but it is a great way to start UW photography. You can later pair it up with an Inon D-2000 (or Sea&Sea YS-27) strobe to get that extra light.

Does it take videos?

When i get back from the Great Barrier Reef I'll tell every body about it.

Does it take videos?

My SD 630 does and following Canon's website the SD750 does as well. Here is the link to B&H's site.

Have fun at the GBR!

I am also looking for a camera (including case) for 300$ or less. The cameras listed above are interesting but I think I would be too scared of an accident and losing the camera (being a new diver I want something easy to operate and not have to worry about flooding, etc). What about the SL320 from sealife (same price range)?

http://www.sealife-cameras.com/cameras/reefmaster_mini.html

It seems the risk of losing the camera from a flood would be much lower and they have the possibility to add a wide angle lens

http://www.adorama.com/SLFMWASL320.html

Anyone can tell if the image quality of this type of camera would be as good as a camera+case? Is it possible to add an external flash (not something I'll do at first but I'd like to keep the options open) if using a camera+case?

I just got into underwater photography this year, so I can relate to sifting through all the choices and different types out there. I was also looking at sealife, but the DC800 model instead. I would try to see if you can find some pictures that people took with the reefmaster, or if you can get your hands on it. That said, I opted to buy a canon 570is with an ikelite housing. Main reason was the manual settings and RAW capability and I haven't been disappointed yet (you can check out my flickr in my signature). I'm planning on getting a strobe and macro lens real soon. Canon also makes their own housing for the 570is for a bit cheaper. The canon+ikelite housing came out to around 440, and a canon+canon housing would be around 320.

What are the chances of water getting in the Canon A720 undetrwater housing

There's a 100% "chance" of water getting into any housing!

It's not "if", but "when".

Knifer,

I have the same camera as you, Canon 570IS but with Canon WP-DC12 housing, I also find this a great camera to use. My question is, I thought this camera only had the capability to shoot JPEG images. You were saying that it has the capability to shoot RAW images. Have I missed something when ready (skimming) the manual or is there something else that needs to be loaded onto camera to achieve this. For my experience level I think Jpeg is probably good enough. After reading so many posts on here about the benefits of shooting Raw I thinking that if I have the capabilty to do this it may be worthwhile.

yes, you can get raw on your canon 570IS.

do a google on canon "raw hack", or click here:

http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK