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Good Digital Camera???

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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Lochmonster

New Member
Jul 17, 2002
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Can anyone recomend a good digital camera for diving? Or recomend what to look for in one? I have never used a digitial camera before so don't knwo what to look for in features or anything. Would also be using it on land. Basically want something sturdy, and flexible.

Any thoughts or suggestions woudl be helpful. Especially if you knwo of some cameras to be avoided, haha.
 
Originally posted by Lochmonster
Can anyone recomend a good digital camera for diving? Or recomend what to look for in one? I have never used a digitial camera before so don't knwo what to look for in features or anything. Would also be using it on land. Basically want something sturdy, and flexible.

Any thoughts or suggestions woudl be helpful. Especially if you know of some cameras to be avoided, haha.

I personally have an H-P 315 (2.5 Megapixel) that I really like. It is easy to use and the photo quality is good. The only problem is that I can't find ANYONE that makes u/w housings for it so that leaves me out of luck for using it as an u/w camera.:(

Bret
 
Canon Digital IXUS, maybe?

I'm very happy with my Canon IXUS V2 (Digital Elph 220 in the US). I't only 2.0 Mpix (1600x1200) effective, but that's fine for my use.

The camera body is made of metal and seems very well built. No loose parts or flash that pops up either. The camera is the size of a 20-pack of cigarettes, so it will fit in most pockets. I bought the 330 first (same camera with 3x zoom), but that is quite a bit bigger.

My IXUS has so far survived several mountaineering trips (mostly winter), many days of skiing, rain and snow, and about a year in my Timbuk2 messenger bag, rolling around without a bag/case. There are some tiny dents here and there, but they are hard to notice. Though it's not waterproof, it works even when a little wet from snow or water.

I have a friend who fell out of his river kayak and lost both the boat and the camera. A couple of hours later he found the kayak further down the river, with the camera in it - under water... After three(!) days of drying in room temperature witht he battery and CF card taken out, it started working again, and he has had no problems after that :-D

Before the V2 I have used both the regular/first IXUS and the IXUS V, and the new button arrangement on the V2 is much, much better than on the older models. Navigating through the menus is fast and easy.

There is a new IXUS out now, the V3. It's the same camera with 3.2 Mpix. More expensive, of course.

I recently bought the WP-DC600 underwater housing (fits both V2 and V3 as the bodies are identical), so now I can go down to 30m. Or: my camera can ;-) All the buttons are available outside the housing, so the camera can be used just as normal.

I get about 130 pictures on a 128MB CF card if I use the 1600x1200 with the highest quality.

Oh, and it can record (short) movies too - with sound :)

Check Digital Photo Review for more information: http://dpreview.com/

And you can buy it at Computer Universe in Germany - cheap, and very good service:

V2: http://www.computeruniverse.net/products/e90051873.asp
V3: http://www.computeruniverse.net/products/e90059777.asp
WP-DC600: http://www.computeruniverse.net/products/e90056045.asp

Hope this completely neutral and un-biased post helped.... ;-)
 
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I have a Conon S40 with UW case and love it. For above-water use, it has been a trooper. It has pretty good zoom, excellent resolution, and an outstanding lens, so it takes some breathtaking pictures: both landscapes and closeups.

I've only taken it underwater on one trip (to Bonaire), and took ober 600 shots in one week (dumping the photos into a digital wallet to make room on the card). It took killer pics underwater. And I never focused once. Just pointed at anything interesting and clicked. Almost ALL pictures came out, and some are really cool.

i don't know if mine are publication-worthy, but my friends sure liked the slideshows...

One thing I can recommend for any camera: unless you're doing professional photography, look at lens quality and size. The lens is by far the most important aspect to look at for good pictures (and Canon makes good lenses). The size is critical, because the bigger the camera, the less willing you're going to be to take it anywhere. My S40 is small enough that I take it biking, hiking... just about anywhere.
 
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