which camera for underwater pics - Canon s60 or s1

[ian2]

Any experience with these camera underwater? I love to make short videos so the canon s1 appeals to me but will the pics/video come out well underwater? I'm trying to decide which camera to buy and underwater housing for, the s60 or s1, for my trip to Honduras.

Thanks,

Ian

[ByteTheBullet]

I have an S50 with housing and I just got an S70 that I will be getting a housing for. The S50 does great underwater, though there are a few buttons that are not included on the housing. Prior planning can help work around this though. I have been informed here that the S70 housing has all the buttons, woohoo!


ByteTheBullet (-:

[tedtim]

I use an A70 with the Canon underwater case. The flash is the main problem. Most of my diving is done in rivers where there is particulate. The straight on flash does not work too well because of the reflection of light from the particulate. I bought an underwater strobe that works well (Ikelite DS50 with slave). The main problem is the photographer and not the equipment.

The strobe is absolutely essential if you are more than 15 feet underwater because depth washes out the reds in photos very quickly.

I have used the camera for two years, and the strobe only on one dive trip. It was a costly addition, but worth it. Besides, when my wife lets me upgrade to a DSLR, I will be all set. It is not the cost of the DSLR, but the cost of the darn underwater case that is the constraint.

[Bill Goshorn]

Ted,

I am using a Canon S230 with Canon housing and Ikelite DS-50 strobe. Although I have taken lots of pictures and just returned from Cozumel. I am not convined that the strobe provides enough light. Or maybe it does no sync correctly. I know for a fact if I use the close-up setting (the flower), the picture is dark. I read on the Ikelite website, that there may be some problems, but it is not explained. The camera works very well for videos and pictures within a few feets. In order to eliminate backscatter, I have made a black cover from a vcr box to slide in the difuser slot on the underwater housing. I don't know if that effects camera setting for the strobe. I am even considering setting up dual DS-50 lights in the future. Any ideas?