USVI-On-Line

Please help give me some tried and true advice on getting a new underwater/waterproof camera.

I have searched, and read some of the prior posts regarding WP cameras and I am still unsure. I even read the link where they did a whole research study on them. According to that I am leaning towards the new Cannon D10.

Some facts about our pix history...

-We have only ever used the disposable UW cameras that do NOT do justice to the actual beauty! This will be our first UW camera so anything is going to be better than what we have had!

-I basically want something that that will take quality pics underwater (so far we only snorkel).

-the most important feature for me is to have a quick reaction time. I don't like the cameras that take forever to take the actual shot (if that makes sense).

-I don't have very much knowledge as far as settings etc.

-We would like to stay in the $200-$250 range.

-Also, better to buy stateside or wait until we land on STT?

Thanks for any suggestions you may have!

I can tell you that SO bought the Olympus 1030SW in May of 2008 and used it in June for our trip and loved it then halfway through our trip this past summer it crapped out on him so he only got about 14 days' use out of it underwater. I think he took pics with it when it snowed here this past winter too.

He is extremely dissappointed with it as he did everything to maintain it, after being in the water, that the manual said to do.

He is now considering the new Canon but wants to wait for the second model to come out in case there are any kinks that need to be worked out. It is alot more bulky than the Olympus though.

Damn, I hate to hear that. I bought the 1030 SW and havent taken many underwater shots with it yet. I've had it in the pool a couple of times and it did well, but I'm nervous now to take it to STJ. I'll let you know how it turns out. I think I'm going to head down in September.

My hubby is very into photography and favors Canon cameras. I asked him your question and got some info for you. (He is not a forumite.)

Here is a link to a review of 7 water proof cameras. The Canon D10 tied for first place. It costs about $330.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q209waterproofgroup/

Canon makes water proof cases for most of their cameras. You can buy a case at a discount at Adorama.com, Amazon.com or bhphotovideo.com. The case for our little Canon SD700IS pocket camera was $170. List price is $240. My husband is able to take great underwater pictures and videos with this set up. If you like your camera then a case would be cheaper. But you have the extra bulk of a case. If you go with an underwater camera then you get a camera that is not quite as compact but you don't have to worry about a case. If you use a case be sure to use a small silica gel pack to keep the lens from fogging up. You can bake the gel packs in an over at 250 for 30 min to reactivate them. My husband does this every day or so on vacation depending on the humidity.

Just got on St John and will be trying the brand new Panasonic TS1 that I preferred over the Canon D10. Mostly because of the HD(high definition) movie capability, although it's a little more expensive.

I also brought my Fujifilm F30 with waterproof casing so I will keep you updated as how the TS1 is doing...

That Panasonic finished second to the Canon in that review. Both would seem like worthy successors to the Olympus models that several forum folks have reported problems with.

It’s a matter of choosing what characteristics or features are most important to you, such as the HD video and wider zoom range and sleeker profile of the Panasonic vs the better image quality in and out of the water by the Canon, which also had the best “quick reaction time” that 2bb is looking for (also known as “shutter lag” - the curse of all point n shoots vs SLRs):

The Canon D10 felt like one of (if not the) most responsive cameras in this test. Our focus test, conducted in moderate indoor light at wide angle, showed it took 0.9 seconds to achieve focus. It was one of the slowest cameras to zoom through its lens range from wide angle to telephoto taking 1.8 seconds, and takes a moment to react when you press the zoom rocker (not unusual in this test and with compacts in general). The D10 was the fastest camera to switch on in the group at a blistering 1.0 seconds flat. It was also equal fastest in writing to the card, taking just 1.2 seconds to write out a 12 MP jpeg.

That 0.9 sec reaction time noted in the test would likely be a tad quicker in daylight conditions.
That said, if quick reaction time is needed for a particular shot, you can overcome shutter lag by pressing the shutter button down halfway to pre-focus, hold, then press it down all the way at the action moment you are trying to get. This takes a little practice to master and is also a helpful technique to hold a preferred darker or lighter exposure and re-frame the shot, especially when taking sunset or sunrise photos.
The "card writing time" could be noteworthy too - it enables taking shots in quicker succession (if that matters to you).

you may have read my posts, but we are very happy with the D10. Getting nice shots out of the water too.

if you get it, buy a film covering for the screen and putit on before you use it. And get a lens cloth because you will use it more often than the regular cameras.

We have the olympus. It did drown the first time we went to STJ. Even though we did everything just as the instructions stated. I sent it into Olympus, as it was still under warrenty. Did not say it had drowned, just said it had quit working. They said it had a bad mother board and replaced it. This year we bought a second camera just to have a backup. Also an Olympus. Needless to say, since we had 2 cameras this year nothing broke. Picture quality is great, and it is very small. We only snorkle. I don't believe it is rated to go deep enough for diving. My husband does do some free dives to 15 - 20 feet and has had the camera with him although it's only rated for 10 feet, and has not had any problem. Probably because he is only down to that depth for seconds. We also ride horses in wilderness areas frequently. I like the fact that this camera is shockproof also, as we have occasionally dropped the camera while taking a picture from th back of a horse that becomes unruly. It also has a crush proof display. That is good for me as I crushed the display of my previous camera while it was in my purse.

Thanks, it is so great to have so many nice people willing to help another out!

Cochise86: I look forward to your recent reviews!

Here are a sample of the pictures taken, today, with the TS1. Note that this is also the first time I ever used it...as I bought it a few days before our departure and read the book on the plane! As for the quality of the pictures it's a little soon as the water was not that clear and the the skies were mostly cloudy. Few little problems I noticed, the buttons for focusing and taking the shots are rather small(compared to those on the housing of my other camera). I will probably get used to it... Also, a took a few shots with the tip of my index finger in the top left corner as that is where the lens is located! I guess I will get used to that too...I hope
I really like the practical aspect of not dealing with the housing...
[http://lh5.ggpht.com/_rSytn9j1E1s/SoNjY ... 000061.JPG]
[http://lh3.ggpht.com/_rSytn9j1E1s/SoNjY ... 000066.JPG]
I will try to post more later this week

Maybe this link will work better.

[url]http://picasaweb.google.ca/Cochise86/St ... directlink

My Olympus 1030SW died on me about 3 days into our 2008 trip. It was very frustrating, as I had been very careful with it and followed all the directions and then didn't have a camera for the last 7 days of that trip. Unfortunately lots of people on the forum have similar stories about Olympus Stylus underwater cameras. Amazon replaced it for me for free but now I'm too scared to use it underwater and even though I brought it with on our trip this year I never used it. So now I have myself an expensive point and shoot that I almost never use.

Cochise86 wrote:Few little problems I noticed, the buttons for focusing and taking the shots are rather small(compared to those on the housing of my other camera). I will probably get used to it... Also, a took a few shots with the tip of my index finger in the top left corner as that is where the lens is located! I guess I will get used to that too...I hope

Makes sense when you think about it that the compactness and slimness of the Panasonic could work against it when handling it underwater, whereas using a somewhat bulkier camera like the Canon could be easier to handle underwater.
So maybe if the Canon wasnt going to be your primary camera on land its bulkiness would be a less critical characteristic to consider.

Cochise86 wrote:I really like the practical aspect of not dealing with the housing.

Indeed, it would be nice not to have to fuss with a housing, but 4-5 yrs ago when I got mine there were few if any waterproof digicams.
Now that Canon has entered that market, I wonder if Nikon will?

I have an Olympus 790SW have had it since early summer 2008...so far so good. I used it underwater alot in STJ and abused it al Waterlemon by crushing it on rocks to the point I dented the case...still works no probs. I also used it in Aruba underwater...still ok. It seems my time of success may be limited based on other's stories. For now it is fine.

We took 2 "SW" point and shoots Olympus cameras to STJ in May. They were used underwater daily and luckily neither had any problems. We were extra careful to clean them according to the instructions. The only thing we noticed was a tiny bit of condensation in the battery compartment so every evening we removed the battery and allowed the compartment to dry.