Hello all!  (this is my first posting and i’ve got a few questions)

First, generally, what is the best compact digital underwater camera/housing available for general and recreational use?  I know this is often an ‘undesirable’ question, but i can’t resist. 

I’m currently in Thailand and would like to purchase an underwater digital camera to finish out the rest of my diving experiences here and am having difficulty sorting through the masses of information…so…

I’m looking at the canon Powershot S80.  I’ve heard great things about the S70.  How do they compare for u.w. use?  currently the S80 is available to me, though i’m not sure i should ‘settle’ for the sake of convenience rather than quality product.  Another option is the canon p.s. A620.

I currently have a Nikon Coolpix 8800 for my ‘land-use’ needs.  I’m really happy with this camera, though the housings for it are expensive and terribly bulky.  Has anyone used this camera underwater?

Any and all advice is appreciated!  there are also some sea & sea cameras available here, but they’re expensive—$1000 or more is too much.  thanks.

http://www.digideep.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1966&language=en

http://www.digideep.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1986&language=en

http://www.digideep.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1971&language=en

check out these other threads and maybe search through

http://www.digideep.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=9006&language=en

for other threads, those should answer your questions and maybe give you some more.

I believe one of them has Andi pointing out why the S70 is better than the S80 for UW photos. You are on the right track for sure.

Othello - I’m a newbie too, but just returned from Belize.  Used a Canon A85/WP-DC30 with Sea & Sea strobe.  It took great pictures, and is very affordable to set up.  Small, easy to use, easy to carry and fairly rugged.

The A85 has an Underwater feature (one of 6 specialty settings) that works pretty well in shallow water (like snorkeling).  It also has a ‘Snow’ setting, which worked for taking pics into the water on the surface (cut down on the glare) of s ray that lived around our dock.

Anyway, I’m impressed ...Ted

Thanks for the tips.  I recently talked to someone using the S70 and said they liked the camera, except that you cant turn it off underwater which causes it to overheat (even with auto-standby mode).  Just something to think about.  I’ve decided to wait a bit on buying my own underwater camera.  I’ll satisfy by renting for the time being.  Thanks again.

When using the Canon plexiglass housing, you can depress the 2 of the buttons on the left side of the PS S70 to get the camera to power off.  It’s documented in the manual for the dc-wp40 housing.

Othello - 04 May 2006 06:02 PM

Thanks for the tips.  I recently talked to someone using the S70 and said they liked the camera, except that you cant turn it off underwater which causes it to overheat (even with auto-standby mode).  Just something to think about.  I’ve decided to wait a bit on buying my own underwater camera.  I’ll satisfy by renting for the time being.  Thanks again.