Best underwater P&S?

[The_Camera_Poser]

Hi all,

Other than a G9-10, which I can't afford, what would be the best Canon camera for use in snorkling with a underwater housing? Is there anyone that would give superior image quality and have a decently fast lens? Also, would I want to be shooting at higher ISO, and would I need a particular camera that would do better at 200 ISO or higher?

Also, would IS be helpful?

Thanks!

[manipula]

Fastest lens on any compact is on the LX3 I think, decent performance at high ISO too.

Also bear witness to the two Olympus models that go under water without housings.

[The_Camera_Poser]

I didn't think the olympus p&s had very good IQ.

I've been interested in the LX3 for other reasons as well-thanks for that.

[manipula]

I haven't looked to see if the LX3 has a underwater housing tbh. Though if it does, I expect it to be very good, as the one for the TZ5/15 is very good.

[danpass]

Pretty happy with the SD870

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=6802343&postcount=2

http://danpass.blogspot.com/2008/12/stuart-coves-snorkel-bahamas-reef.html

[The_Camera_Poser]

they're looking pretty good Dan! Thanks

[kja]

I love the Canon A series cameras with the Canon housings. You can stick it in one of the modes or use complete manual, depending on your needs and interest.

Setting your white balance is easy and makes a huge difference.

There are also hacks out there so you can shoot RAW with several A series models.

IMHO, the Canon A series offer the best bang for buck for snorkelling and casual underwater photography.

The SD series are also very good, but you sacrifice control for a smaller form.

[Jon]

Well, Kristin, you better stock up on A720s and A590s while you can, since none of the new A series offer M, Tv or Av.

[kja]

Well, that's a bummer!

Skip the A590, I think that was one that doesn't have a housing. The 570s do and I have a couple of those :)

[danpass]

.........

The SD series are also very good, but you sacrifice control for a smaller form.


There is certainly a sacrifice in control. I manually set the camera to ISO400 to force a faster shutter speed.

I had set the print button to manual WB and set it off the sand at the bottom. This created the problem where everything that was shallow would be red.

But at depth it was great :D.



When I didn't have it set manually I merely used autoWB. There is enough range in the JPEG for Lightroom or even most other programs to set a decent WB.

[buckyuk]

I would go for the 570, thats what i use and pretty happy wth it.

[gnirtS]

Canon powershot range, then get the CHDK hack to enable RAW mode - essential for correcting colour casts underwater. Also means you're not constantly trying to recalibrate a manual white balance whenever you change depth, sun goes behind a cloud and so on - can all be done in PP.

Depending where you're actually going i'd try to keep the ISO at 100 or 200 max - if its somewhere sunny should have no problem with that.

I use an A620 with housing and RAW hack for underwater stuff and its fine.