A good underwater compact - whats a good'un to get?

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Its coming to that time of year again - holidays....

I'm after getting a good underwater camera (compact) to take away so that we can do underwater hots whilst snorkelling... Have read thru the threads an am wondering on how the cameras that people got have stood the test of time...
 
Fuji and cannon both make great underwater housings for there compacts. My fufji more then stood up to the underwater treatment ;). I wouldn't go for anything that doesn't have a dedicated housing, the battery and cards doors are too esay to open by accident in the water
 
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We got one of the earlier Olympus ones, absolutely love it, it's not a bad compact in daylight, the video function underwater is just brilliant (down to 10m).

And the fact it's shockproof too, means you'll take it places you wouldn't take anything else, and it doesn't look 'toughened', it's a nice little compact for general use.

The newer ones are 3d too though, so I'm not sure if I'd still recommend?

There are often offers on Canon UW housings on the Canon ebay Outlet - teaming one of those up with an end of line camera could be a bargain.
 
The fuji cameras seem to be by far the most popular entry level cameras used by scuba divers. The last trip I went on there were 4 of them and the only other cameras were much more expensive models. I have fuji f80exr http://www.camerasunderwater.co.uk/fuji-f80
 
Canon s95 has served me well for the past few years and should be available at a good price second hand.

I second the advice to go for a housing, don't just use the plastic bag type.
 
Last year when I went to the Maldives I got a Canon D10. I love it. None of the hassle of a separate housing, it's dead easy to use underwater, and it's as tough as old boots.
 
StewartR said:
Last year when I went to the Maldives I got a Canon D10. I love it. None of the hassle of a separate housing, it's dead easy to use underwater, and it's as tough as old boots.
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That more along the line of what I'm after... So its still going, as just some of the read ups they have said that its gone breasts up after about a year...
 
StewartR said:
Last year when I went to the Maldives I got a Canon D10. I love it. None of the hassle of a separate housing, it's dead easy to use underwater, and it's as tough as old boots.
Click to expand...
Trig's said:
That more along the line of what I'm after... So its still going, as just some of the read ups they have said that its gone breasts up after about a year...
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I have no idea of the statistical reliability of this camera. I've only had mine 6 months, so I'd be surprised if it wasn't still working 100%.
 
Hi, I have the canon g10 and canon housing rated to 40m, the g10 is a good compact out of the water as well. I posted some photos I took in the wild life section
Cheers Paul
 
The Pentax WG2 is pretty decent too -my brother's fiancee has one and it seems like a good camera underwater and not bad on land too (there's always a compromise using waterproof cameras above water)
 
Another vote for a Gseries and underwater housing. I had (gave it to my son) an S70 with housing, that gave way to a G10 and housing and now the G12 and housing - brilliant, in and out of the water.
 
StewartR said:
Last year when I went to the Maldives I got a Canon D10. I love it. None of the hassle of a separate housing, it's dead easy to use underwater, and it's as tough as old boots.
Click to expand...

Trig's said:
That more along the line of what I'm after... So its still going, as just some of the read ups they have said that its gone breasts up after about a year...
Click to expand...

the big worry, without a dedicated housing is opening either the card or battery door by accident. Not saying that can happen easily on the D10, but generally its another thing a housing protects you against
 
boyfalldown said:
the big worry, without a dedicated housing is opening either the card or battery door by accident. Not saying that can happen easily on the D10, but generally its another thing a housing protects you against
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Yeah, good point Hugh. The doors on the D10 are pretty secure though.
 
Which version do you have Stewart as it seems that there was 2 - an early & latter (latter having a battery/card door that clicks) so I have read in some reviews... Not taking them as gospel thou :suspect:
 
hi Steve Olympus is great Little camera my one has been through hell even got left in hot tub for the day the screen on back is cracked been dropped so many times and for the price well can't go wrong I'll try and find some pictures if u like :thumbs:
 
Which Olympus is it Richard :shrug:
 
boyfalldown said:
the big worry, without a dedicated housing is opening either the card or battery door by accident. Not saying that can happen easily on the D10, but generally its another thing a housing protects you against
Click to expand...

I suppose I have to do this- The big worry of a waterproof housing, is that you have to put them together clean and perfect every time you want to use them. A speck of sand can ruin an expensive camera. The door opening catches on my little Olympus require a fingernail opening, I can't see how I could do it by accident. The battery and card usually last a whole holiday - meaning I rarely have to disturb the seals.

The housings go deeper, but for a little underwater fun, the tough compact, waterproof to 10m is brilliant.

Mine's a Mju 1030
 
The fuji housings have a double o-ring to help stop a single hair or something causing it to leak.
 
Phil V said:
The big worry of a waterproof housing, is that you have to put them together clean and perfect every time you want to use them. A speck of sand can ruin an expensive camera. The door opening catches on my little Olympus require a fingernail opening, I can't see how I could do it by accident. The battery and card usually last a whole holiday - meaning I rarely have to disturb the seals.

The housings go deeper, but for a little underwater fun, the tough compact, waterproof to 10m is brilliant.
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This was my thinking exactly. The first time I went to the Maldives, I took a Fuji compact with a waterproof housing which wad very kindly lent to me by a TP member. It was fine, but every time I used it I was worried about the seals. The second time I went, I bought the D10 which I found much easier to live with.
 
Trig's said:
Which version do you have Stewart as it seems that there was 2 - an early & latter (latter having a battery/card door that clicks) so I have read in some reviews... Not taking them as gospel thou :suspect:
Click to expand...
Dunno about that.

The battery/card door on my D10 requires a fair bit of pressure from a fingernail to open it. You couldn't do it accidentally. To close it, you have to push the door pretty hard and there's a very loud click as it closes. There's also a red tab on the switch, which is visible when the latch is not fully closed. I'm not saying it's idiot-proof, but only a total idiot wouldn't be able to use it properly.
 
i was thinking of getting a housing for my OH Canon IXUS but wouldn't really use it that much after esp for the cost... Then again if it leaked she would go mad hence for a underwater one like the D10.... Then again I could always sell afterwards I spose...

Seems that thats the latter version Stewart according to the reviews I've read.... Regarding the "click"
 
Phil V said:
I suppose I have to do this- The big worry of a waterproof housing, is that you have to put them together clean and perfect every time you want to use them. A speck of sand can ruin an expensive camera. The door opening catches on my little Olympus require a fingernail opening, I can't see how I could do it by accident. The battery and card usually last a whole holiday - meaning I rarely have to disturb the seals.

The housings go deeper, but for a little underwater fun, the tough compact, waterproof to 10m is brilliant.

Mine's a Mju 1030
Click to expand...

Thats OK, but if you don't need to open a camera to change a battery and card why would you need to open a housing. You do need to take care with them, but I imagine you have to on an olympus and I'd assume the same issues with the seals on both.

I don't really get how you can expect the seals on a waterproof body to last any longer then on a housing without the same standard of care (clean and grease them from time to time).
 
boyfalldown said:
Thats OK, but if you don't need to open a camera to change a battery and card why would you need to open a housing.
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Because you want to use the camera out of the water, but it's too big and heavy and it doesn't fit into your pocket when it's in the housing?
 
what's the budget?
 
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