I am looking to buy a new camera, I am just wondering if anybody has any comments or advice with regards to what I should be looking for in a camera for underwater shots and videos (and underwater housings) and any brands/models to look at or avoid. I am currently leaning towards the Panasonic Lumix TZ7 having done a bit of search.

Cheers, Dave

_________________
That's where I saw the leprechaun. He tells me to burn things...

Hi Dave
I recently investigated on a compact digital camera with u/water casing and u/water mode ... really an amateur setup which allows for decent photos and videos.
My investigations didn't take me too far but the one thing I found is that Canon has the most readily available supply of u/water casings covering a wide range of models
Other brands (Sony, Olympus, etc...) have limited casings and require long lead times
I'm interested in the topic and would hope to learn more from future threads.
Hope this little helps.
Ciao

_________________
Il mio mare e i miei fondali sono quelli del golfo de La Spezia

check out www.seaoptics.com.au they usually have some good packages i got my housing for my jvc video camera and housing for my canon g9 through them at pretty good prices

Also ahve a Canon Powershot G9. Ended up costing about 1200 all up. Great package, but went the cheap option and got the Canon housing. Definitely will start to wish I got the Ikelite housing in the future as I start to take more and mroe photos.

Hi Tom,

I was just looking at the Inon 'panasonic' branded housings the same as those listed on seaoptics figuring there was no real difference. What advantages do certain housings offer over others?

Cheers, Dave

_________________
That's where I saw the leprechaun. He tells me to burn things...

I'm not the man to talk to about it, as I dont know an awful lot. There are others who know a lot more than I do.

My internal flash (one on the camera) is very hard to use when tal=king photos, and ends up with shitful photos. The camera takes awesome photos without the flash though. Different housings allow for different attachments to the camera (for example an external flash). This would allow the flash to be completely on the target, and you can change around the angle of which the light is on your target to achieve different photos.

For example, went Scuba diving at Flinders pier last weekend, a bloke had a Canon Powershot G9 that I was chatting too and ended up tagging along with him. He had the Ikelite housing, and took amazing photos.



Mine, in comparison are about 1/100th of the phoots that he has taken, with the exact same camera. He was also relatively new to photography, but obviously has used photoshop etc. But his photos still have a lot more potential than mine do to look good, even with photoshop and editing.

My fear is that by taking the cheaper option at the time as I just wanted to get into the water, if I get more serious about photography it may get to the stage where I would need to upgrade the housing. Much like buying a Seac Sub speargun, then realising its a piece of shit and uppgrading, 200 dollars later.So I guess, if you have the money and youre going to get seirous, make sure you do your research and speak to the people in the know.

So cmon guys who know what theyre talking about (Rhino, Badger etc) let us know the story.

E bay can be your best friend when looking for a camera and housing.
As a starter I purchased an Canon Ixus 500 camera housing for $66 then went looking for a camera. While looking for a camera I won a housing for an Ixus 900 for $19.95. I found a ixus 500 camera for $75 . This camera turned out to be not good enough. I eventually found a Ixus 900 camera for $200US and its great. I now have a great housing and camera that owes me less than $300 aus. I sold the ixus 500 with housing for $150 so got my money back.
So Have a look at e bay. I suggest you look at housings first. Just be a bit careful who you deal with. Don't be frightened to call them and be comfortable with dealing them.

_________________
Why is salt water so far away and the weather so crappy at this time of the year ?

i have the lumix, . . . .havent had anything else to compare but love too use it and have captured the best pics i own with it, even better out of the water. macro shots are amazing. housing is very straight forward, iv knocked it around a bit and it has stood the test so far. video is average, as with most still cameras i would assume, but that is what video cameras are for i surpose.

Does anyone have one of those Liquid Image Camera masks? or has tried one? I'm half tempted to buy one off eBay. I think there a good idea, cheap, but have no idea on the quality. The earlier models have shit specs I wouldn't use one even if it was free. But there Liquid Image HD320 specs are much better, being able to record in 720p.
This model here, http://www.liquidimageco.com/products/cameras/320/index.html is what I'm looking at.

Opinions, anyone?
Cheers.

_________________
Due to rising costs and dumb questions;
Answers will now be $1.00
Answers with thought $2.00
Correct answers $4.00
Dumb looks are still free

Legendary were thinking about getting the mask cams in, unsure if they did tho? Dunno about the quality?

Mines a Canon Ixus 75 with the standard canon housing, model number WP-DC14!

I love it!

Sooo easy to get the hang of, takes awesome pics with the right subjects and has a rechargable battery. Canon were awesome to deal with when I flooded it and replaced it no worries. Since I got the new one I've fucked the lens and lost the front of it, still works just can't zoom. Then I flooded it again and it still works but the screens dead so I can't see how the photo's gonna turn out. Good pics still tho, pretty tough! I'm gonna replace it with the same model as the newer ones have smaller screens. Gotta have at least a 3" screen I reckon, makes a big difference! Costs about $750 for both new! Made all the vids with it too!

Don't know much about the others, a lot of them require you to change settings which I'm not a fan of, rather be doing other things! Mine has an underwater setting so I can just flick a switch and it is already set perfect! Too easy!

_________________
Like a farken underwater ninja!

The fish were blinded by overexposure to his pure awesomeness!

Well 5 megapixels and 30 frames per second at 35m depth is an outstanding performance,
However I question the quality of the lens .... furthermore there doesn't seem to be a flash and you might find that even at shallow depths the photos are dark


Also ... Rhino ... the Ixus 75 seems very much like a happy snaps type of camera (i.e. easy to use and 1 button operation)
And ... Tom/Baden ... the Powershot G9 seems to be a but more powerful camera but more complex to use.
So... given most of the times some of us would be trying to fish whilst taking the occasional photo, what would convince me to buy a G9 over an Ixus 75?

_________________
Il mio mare e i miei fondali sono quelli del golfo de La Spezia

drew spriggs had one on the coral sea trip, ask him, contact wiggs, not sure what drews username is

I just set it to underwater and go away. The only thing I change is whether or not its in macro mode, or whether the flash is on or off. I dont fiddle with anything else. But the settings are there for if you get serious. Ie. you can change iso, aperture etc. and fiddle with anual focus etc. I do use the manual focus occasionally if im dealing with scattered subjects out of the water, you just dial it to the distance. Starts at 5cm and goes to 5m then above.

Yeah I was impressed by the video specs, but like you said I dunno about the quality of the lens, it does have two filters (green & blue water) looking @ there demo clips look good but they were taken in pretty light clear water. I think there idea of them is to be used with the lights clipped onto the side of the mask.
If they don't work at least the fish will have a good laugh at you looking like such a dick

_________________
Due to rising costs and dumb questions;
Answers will now be $1.00
Answers with thought $2.00
Correct answers $4.00
Dumb looks are still free

Tom pretty much summed up mine as well, you can change shit but there's no need. Digital, gotta love it! Sounds like ours are the same, dunno what the G9 prices are like but I'd say go whichevers cheaper? Has the G9 got a 3" screen?

_________________
Like a farken underwater ninja!



The fish were blinded by overexposure to his pure awesomeness!