ThomasW -

Olympus Sp-350
Canon SD800IS
Canon A710 IS
Canon S70
Fuji F30
Fuji E900
Pan LX2
Ricoh R5

I would select the SP350, S70 or LX2 from that list to help you narrow it down.

ThomasW -

Just a couple of questions I would like advice on.
1) How important, or beneficial do you consider having a RAW format option?

For free diving you will love having RAW to be able to correct your images in PS afterwards, it’s a lot easier than using a strobe.

ThomasW -

2) Is there much of a benefit with having a hot-shoe?

Only if you intend to use a strobe, which will make free diving hard work, I am assuming you want WA images ?

ThomasW -

3) Is having a wide angle lens (28mm) that important.

All depends on what sort of photography you are planning on doing, but I would always say the wider the better.

ThomasW -

4) How beneficial is it to have the ability to screw on colour filters.

Fairly usefull if you don’t use strobes, howver you could alwayslook at http://www.magic-filters.com/ which fit inside your housing and don’t screw on just stick on.

You obviously know a bit about what you want. I would take a compact that does RAW, is as wide as they get (although you can always get a wet lense to add to the housing to make it wider, and also takes filters (although the screw on ones can often go on the housing also. I wouldn’t woprry about the hot shoe .. there are other ways to attach and sync strobes.

On the Leica and Panasonic point, i don’t know what you mean by IQ .. but the Panasonic I thought was exactly the same tech wise as the Leica, the Leica just looks cooler !

and I think out of all of them the SP350 is the newest, I think it only came out this year.

As performance seems to be such a big deal .. why don’t you look at the Canon 350 dSLR in a small housing ?

Or as you said you already own a big camera pick one similar to yours, i.e. brand .. so that you don’t have to buy new lenses, just a body, housing and port.

Just another choice thrown in there, would make sense to me if you can’t decide on a compact camera because they aren’t as good as the bigger ones.

If you like the leica M8, budget doesn’t seem to be a problem, right? The only
things you worry seems the size, the IQ and the design … So all that points
go to the leica with its retro design and small size. I am not sure about the IQ
actually. But one point which is a bit different with this camera is although it
isn’t dslr, it has no shutter lag like compact cameras due to the different design.
maybe you should have a look at the Digilux 2, which has a housing.

/lars

Ok I thought you would like to have it really small. Although the 350D and the housing is small it won’t be easy to just attach it to your weightbelt. I do own a
350D in an hugyfot housing and it feels very comfortable underwater.

/lars