Help Choosing a Camera.....

[SailingandSuch]

I had this post in another catagory but I couldn't get any replies. They suggested I try it here.

I am in the market to buy a digital recorder. I do not know much about the technical aspect of cameras but I have had a few. I am 21 so I am into electronics but I just dont know much about cameras.

What I want to use the camera for:

To shoot high quality videos, I am pretty sure I want HD
To be able to upload the videos to the internet (YouTube)
I do not want a very large camera
I want it to be silent (so that when I press buttons or zoom in and out you cant hear it in the video)
I would like for it to have a wide angle lens or to have some avaliable
The camera will be used in a marine enviroment
Prefferebly one that I can buy a underwater housing for down the road ( I am a diver and a sailor)
One that can be used as a webcam
I think I want one that stores information on a SD card rather than a disk
I want one that takes good still pictures also
Nightshot, prefferably and LED light on the front, if not then I would like to be able to add a LED light (not to expensive)
I am not sure if I can find everything I want in one camera but I would like to. The underwater housing isn't a large priority but would be nice. It doesn't have to be a Cannon but if that is all we are allowed to discuss then that is fine. I tried to find a large general forum but this forum seems like the best I could find quickly.

Price range under $800 I hope.

Thank you all,

[Matthew Craggs]

You may want to consider the Pansonic SDR-S7. It doesn't match all of your criteria, but it records on SD cards, is light, and silent.

The camera deviates from your criteria most notable in that it's not HD, and doesn't take great pictures (depending on what kind of quality you're looking for in photos).

The price is well under $800 though.

Have you considered the Olympus underwater cameras, or the Pentax W60? They are still cameras but they do take video, and depending how you're using the video they may do the trick. And they're built to withstand the elements.