Choosing new camera (NOT DSLR)

Actually, Steve, I checked with your wife. She says that the 110's fail often. You just have forgotten (:

If I remember correctly reefphoto ranked th s-95 third behind the other 2 but it could have been the s-85

The reef report does have the s-95, as coming in 3rd.

For me, a major issue is how much you want to use this camera on land.

For me, a camera without a viewfinder of some sort, is not useful on land.

There are EVfs available for the lx5 and xz1. They are expensive to absurdly expensive, and black out when the camera is busy, just like the LCD.

Give me a good old fashioned range finder any day. But the canon Gxx is notorious for class lagging auto focus performance.

To me, the nikon p7100 is a much better over all camera than any of these. It appears they have finally gotten all the bugs ironed out of the p7000, and that it autofocuses like a champ.

It has separate wheels for SS and F-stop in M mode. No clicking and using the menu buttons to make changes.

I just ordered one to try out. We'll have to wait and see on ikelite's housing. They have a housing for the p7000, so I have hopes.

i didn't decide to avoid the Ys-110 only because of that !!!

it's more expensive too! and S-2000 has been recommended to others too!

that is why i am avoiding it

hmmmm...

getting crazy i wish i could afford to test these units and compare but they aren't available in a shop in Mauritius!

....

LX-5 is the better one of the 3 with an UW housing of $600 :/

almost twice it's price

..

is it really worth the extra ?

+ i don't know if it's worth mentioning.. but i don't really care about portability .. whether they are compact or not.. i just want the best product for the price ... and they are all in the price range i am willing to pay.. compact is not a major +

CertainlyRichard of Reef Photo considered it better, even with a $1000 housing. That's what he told me at the Scuba Show. However, budgets are budgets and the extra money will go a long ways towards a strobe, tray and arms. It really depends on what you want or can invest in a rig. My housing cost $3800 and that is without ports which are another $2000, all for a camera worth $1700 and a lens worth $900.

I would also go for the Canon. RAW shooting gives you more possibilities to edit but it is not (always) necessary when you shoot with good light. At the moment I get quite nice effect using a LED torch and partially light the subject and shoot without flash.

 

Camera: Canon Ixus 85; LED torch; no flash.

Outstanding! I have an S90 and will be getting a housing to do some available light photos while snorkeling. I have been looking for someone who used an LED torch to augment their shooting without a strobe. Can you provide some more details: Type of torch, number of lumens that work well, how you mount it?

Thanks

Jerry

Ok here is my shortlist

 

Canon S95 with Ikelite housing - total to around $675 from what i've researched

Panasonic LX-5 + Ikelite housing - total to around $970

Olympus XZ-1 + oly housing - Total to around $705

 

Should i conclude with the S95 ?

it's cheaper and have read some good comments about it...

 

Thank you everyone for helping! i wish i manage to decide 1 between these 3

and for strobe.. i'll go for an Inon S-2000

 

and i prefer macro shots... i'll see what macro lens i can add on to that

I too am a newbie with respect to underwater photography, but not land. I have an S90 and am also looking for housing and assorted accessories to give me a good setup on a budget. I absolutely love my S90. Have taken it on two sailing trips and it takes fantastic pictures and video. The main difference between it and the S95 is that the S95 has HD video. If I were on a budget, I would go for the S90 and save some bucks there. The video on the S90 is outstanding, even when shown on a 50 inch flat screen TV. If I had the S95, I probably wouldn't shoot much in HD just because of the enormous file size. You will also save some bucks with an S90 housing. The ikelite for the S90 is about $75 less than for the S95. Also missing in this thread is that the Canon WPC DC35 housing has an adaptor made by Inon for the 28AD mount lenses (about $80). So, with this, you have the capability of adding Inon AD (bayonette mount) lenses, both wide angle and macro.

Here is an example of such a set-up, including a strobe and WA lens, sold on ebay for $500.00

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Canon-S90-WP-DC35-...e-/260856836350

wow! thnx for the advice! that bundle's price is just great!

that's exactly what i want!!!