Which 5MP digital camera for underwater?

Hi,

I'm going to buy a new compact digital camera about 5MP for general use, but would also like to use it underwater. Above the waves, most are similar enough, so assuming that the u/w performance is the most important feature, which camera is the best to get?

I'm a beginner in u/w photography, but am something of a veteran in photography in general. I've used digital cameras and am used to their short-comings and foibles. I'm a firm believer that the brain behind the lens makes the picture and that the camera is secondary - however, there are so-so tools and better tools.

Suggestions?

Paul

Fuji F810 + Ikelite housing. 6.something MP. Do a search here and www.digitaldiver.net for F810 and you'll find all the info you need.

check the classifieds, I have a Nikon 5700 set for sale.

Canon, Sony, Casio and Olympus all make housings for their most popular 5MP compact cameras. You can get Ikelite and other 3rd party housings for most other cameras but they cost much more (economies of scale I suppose). But the 3rd party housings are usually more rugged than the camera maker's housings.

That said, it matters what's important to you. Some people don't like proprietary batteries and only want cameras that use AA's (NiMh rechargeable). Some people want to use CF memory instead of SD memory or vis-versa.

I favor Canon cameras in general because of the high quality of Canon glass and their Digic II processor offers the clearest image in the consumer/prosumer category (though their most recent powershot SD cameras seem to be not as sharp as their A or S series cameras).

With that in mind, I recommend:

1. Canon A96 with their WP-DC50 housing

2. Canon S500 with their WP-DC800 housing (even smaller than the A96 but no manual controls)

3. Canon S60 with their WP-DC40 (great manual controls but more expensive)

Canon makes even smaller cameras, the S10 and S20 but the AW-DC10 housing is only rated for 10ft (snorkeling depth), whilst the other housings I recommended are all rated for 120ft. -132ft.

Thanks for the replies, I'll check out the Canon and Fuji - though that's a little more than I'd intended to spend.

Thanks for accommodating what I've learnt to be a basic newbie question, I thought I'd searched for answers before posting though obviously not far enough.

Thanks also - but not really - those who have replied and private messaged me with "I'm selling this, so it's what you want" type messages.

A lot of people have been happy with the Olympus C-5060WZ (and its Olympus PT-027) housing (very similar to the 5050 and PT-020, which I have).

A friend recently bought the 5060 combo for about $550 online.

David