Panasonic DMC-TZ4 with Panasonic DMW-MCTZ5W (waterhouse) or new camera

Hi all!

Im new to underwater photo but I love to snorkel and dive.. And in 4 months Im going on a trip for 4 months around the world with my wife. We have a Nikon D90 that we use on land, but it's way to expensive to get a waterhouse for. We also have our old camera a Panasonic DMC-TZ4 that we figured we can afford a waterhouse for. What would you suggest for about $250? Buy the waterhouse (Panasonic DMW-MCTZ5W) for $249 or buy a new camera that's waterproof?

Buy the Panasonic housing. A waterproof camera alone will not compare. Enjoy the trip.

Buy the Panasonic housing. A waterproof camera alone will not compare. Enjoy the trip.

Nice, I was hoping for a confident answer

Thanks alot for your time!

Edit: It's $189.69 at B&H Just love that store!

I can vouch for the Panasonic Housings being worth the money. They may not be as well made as the Fuji ones I had used before (double O-Ring) but they are small, easy to handle, and as long as you memorise the positions of all the buttons on land first....easy to use. Ive been more than happy with the TZ10 with Pana Housing for its first 15 dives back in September, just need to get back in the water soon !

I can vouch for the Panasonic Housings being worth the money. They may not be as well made as the Fuji ones I had used before (double O-Ring) but they are small, easy to handle, and as long as you memorise the positions of all the buttons on land first....easy to use. Ive been more than happy with the TZ10 with Pana Housing for its first 15 dives back in September, just need to get back in the water soon !

I've been renting out panasonic packages (tz3, tz4, tz7, zs1, zs3 w/ corresponding housings) for the last 3 years and everybody is happy with those settings.

I did flood a couple thow as the latch is a little bit too easy to slide open when misholding.

To prevent that, I now drill a small hole in the white plastic cover and cable tie (nothing a cable tie can't fix, really)

Since then, no flood... Maybe you should consider doing the same.. But don't drill the housing

Dan.

I've been googling and searching flickr for pictures and movies done with the tz5 (no body has tz4, but as I understand it there's no big difference) and the images look great! So I've already ordered the case from B&H and I can't wait to try it out.

Thanks for all responses and tips! I will definitely try not to drill the case Good input though, don't wanna flood the camera!

If you got problem getting your housing from B&H, I've got a used one here to sell, ready to post.

Enjoy your trip

If you got problem getting your housing from B&H, I've got a used one here to sell, ready to post.

Enjoy your trip

I've actually ordered to my wifes brother whom live in New York cause I live in Sweden.

If it was more expensive I would have looked for a used one, but it's so cheap so it's worth getting a new one.

Thanks anyway =)

Funfact: The cheapest one in store in Sweden costs about $530. About $340 more than in USA That's sick.