Replacement for Fuji F30

My Fuji F30 has been my compact pocket underwater camera for the last few years, but due to an unexpected meeting with some rocks (unfortunate loss of footing on a trail), it has been retired.

My insurance company have offered a Canon SX230 HS + housing as a replacement, or for $100 NZD (~£50) extra I could go to a Canon S100 + Canon housing.

Does anyone have any opinion on these options or any alternatives that would come in the same price range?

My current main compact is an F200EXR, so I'd like to ensure quality is at least equal or better than that.

Cheers,

Dan.

Go for the S100. It will give you RAW and full manual controls.

Go for the S100. It will give you RAW and full manual controls.

Pretty much what I've decided - I almost got an S90 when they came out, but ended up with the F200...

My main reason for asking was wondering how the XZ-1 or similar compare to the S100. As far as I know I can get that for the same price so it's a potential option. I have a soft spot for Olympus compacts - my C5050z is still in working order and I had it out last week to see how it compared to more recent cameras.

2 problems with canon p&S cams.

First is they do not allow TTL flash, in M mode, (at least this is true for the g12, so check carefully!). So you are forced to use full manual flash, if you are in M mode..

To avoid this, you must you A mode, but then the shutter speed gets too slow, like 1/30 or 1/60, and you get lots of motion blur.

The 2nd problem, is the auto focus lag is always the slowest in the league.

Better choices would be the lx5, followed by the xz1. See this helpful report:

http://www.reefphoto.com/kb.php?id=28

For a few buck more, you might get an oly epl2 and oly housing, which would blow away any compact system!

2 problems with canon p&S cams.

 

First is they do not allow TTL flash, in M mode, (at least this is true for the g12, so check carefully!). So you are forced to use full manual flash, if you are in M mode..

 

To avoid this, you must you A mode, but then the shutter speed gets too slow, like 1/30 or 1/60, and you get lots of motion blur.

 

The 2nd problem, is the auto focus lag is always the slowest in the league.

 

Better choices would be the lx5, followed by the xz1. See this helpful report:

 

http://www.reefphoto.com/kb.php?id=28

 

For a few buck more, you might get an oly epl2 and oly housing, which would blow away any compact system!

Yup - These are the main cons for the S100 - I have my D90 for photo-specific trips, so this will be a backup or compact setup for when I can't carry anything bigger. It's an insurance replacement so I don't want to pay too much extra