newbie looking for new water/shockproof camcorder of camera

Hi everyone, I just signed up to this forum and I'm looking for a portable camera/camcorder waterproof to a depth of at least 30 ft. I currently have my junior open water with PADI and I'm very interested in underwater photography however I still want it to be good for a portable family camera. i am also looking for something that's HD, and has optical zoom, and atleast 6 megapixels. my price range goes up to around 350$. Thanks for the help, Ben.

there is a whole forum here, called 'dedicated underwater cameras", so you can have a look through there.

The best one out now is the panasonic ts3, which is within your budget if you shop around.

Here is a recent review of the top cameras:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q311waterp...mpactgrouptest/

The best one out now is the panasonic ts3, which is within your budget if you shop around.

Ben

Funnily enough, I've just been looking at replacing the compact cameras used on my photo courses out here in Gozo and was seriously considering moving away from housed compacts to these wee rugged all-in-ones. My favourite was also the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT3 (european version) though I still have some doubts about how rugged they are. Should be testing a sample towards the end of October. The 12m limit would not be a problem as it is easy to maintain that depth or shallower in my main teaching site in Xlendi Bay.

Also any practice dives you can grab to get your buoyancy up to speed will also help when you come to shoot.

And in the words of the famous photographer Robert Capa, "If your picture isn't good enough, you're not close enough."

Cheers

Rob

The 12m limit would not be a problem as it is easy to maintain that depth or shallower in my main teaching site in Xlendi Bay.

Surely that just means that the cameras are splash-proof? Any over-pressure from physical contact will subject the seals to more than 1 bar of excess pressure, causing them to fail. And...

... what about the sites over the other side of the island?

More from Gozo in Gozo 2010.

Tim

I've taken the ts2 snorkeling to 20-30 feet, no problems.

The ts3 is better seal, and better image quality. I was not in love with the IQ of the ts2, but they had 14 mpix on those tiny sensors, and the ts3 has reduced it back to 12, and by reviews, much better IQ.

If they had raw, it would be really more fun. And a wifi or blue tooth download, and inductive charging would be really awesome - never need to open the seals, or even have those seals.

... what about the sites over the other side of the island?

Tim

Nice pic of Double Arch, but I don't think 36 meters, housed DSLR and Strobe fits with the Junior Open Water Diver, and camera to 30 feet question of the original post :-)

When are you planning your next Gozo holiday?

There is quite a cadre of underwater photographers building on Gozo now.

Folk like Pete Bullen, and Richard Salter who are also out there most of the time.

Cheers

Rob

Nice pic of Double Arch, but I don't think 36 meters, housed DSLR and Strobe fits with the Junior Open Water Diver, and camera to 30 feet question of the original post :-)

Sorry, but I couldn't resist re-posting something from Digigreen's 2010 trip...

... my excuse? I thought you might be running a photography course for more experienced divers, too. After all, Gozo is a great place for divers to do their thing, no matter how experienced they are!

I'm not sure where I'm going to go diving after spending half of September in Indonesia, but something will turn up!

Tim