Underwater digital camera

Striike · Aug 17, 2012

I folks, I will be going scuba diving next month, and was looking around for a camera I could take with me underwater. Does anyone have:

1. A camera that works but they no longer use.
2. A camera they have and recommend.
3. Any other recommendations from experience.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

CJO · Aug 17, 2012

How deep does it need to go? How good do the pictures need to be?

There are many cases for point-and-shoot (point of sale) cameras that go to 30 feet, 100 feet and 300 feet, but they get more expensive the deeper you go. The pictures from the point of sale cameras are also not that great because they don't have a strong enough flash.

Up from these is a dedicated underwater point of sale camera with an outboard flash. These are a bit more expensive, but do a much better job of taking pictures. The outboard flash can be pretty expensive.

Finally, you can get an underwater case for your DSLR and an outboard flash. The flexible cases are cheaper (around $300), but a pain to use. The hard cases can run $1,000+.

Hope this helps,
CJ

Striike · Aug 17, 2012

CJO said:
How deep does it need to go? How good do the pictures need to be?

There are many cases for point-and-shoot (point of sale) cameras that go to 30 feet, 100 feet and 300 feet, but they get more expensive the deeper you go. The pictures from the point of sale cameras are also not that great because they don't have a strong enough flash.

Up from these is a dedicated underwater point of sale camera with an outboard flash. These are a bit more expensive, but do a much better job of taking pictures. The outboard flash can be pretty expensive.

Finally, you can get an underwater case for your DSLR and an outboard flash. The flexible cases are cheaper (around $300), but a pain to use. The hard cases can run $1,000+.

Hope this helps,
CJ

Yes it does. Thank you for taking the time to clarify that. This is my first time scuba diving, so not sure how deep, but I may hate it, so hesitant to spend a bunch of money on a 1 time use camera. Will probably forgo the pictures this time and buy a camera if I decide to do it again.