Underwater Digital

What's better, a underwater case for a digital camera or an underwater camera....? ...(ie case for canon vs seeandsea camera)? Underwater camera cases for a regular digital camera like a Canon or a specifically underwater camera for taking photos of fish friends and landscape in 30 to 100ft of water while scuba diving ? The housing is the best option in most cases. Many housings can accommodate an external strobe, and you’re not bound to one manufacturer. Additionally, you can use the camera topside, which can help you save on costs. Typically, the mainstream camera makers can stay more on-the-leading-edge than the underwater specific ones, as the R&D departments are larger and stock moves quicker. If you want a *really* high-end system, consider getting a digital SLR (like a Nikon D80) and ikelite housing (http://www.ikelite.com/) -- the housing is less expensive than some of the other brands, yet is considered excellent among anyone I know that’s used one. Personally, I have a Canon PowerShot A95 in the Canon housing and have had great success with it over the past few years. -kb -- Kris Benson PADI MSDT-232295, Digital Underwater Photography Specialty Instructor

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Underwater Digital Cameras 101 For Landlubbers

First came the camera. Then there was the underwater camera. After that came the digital camera - and now we have underwater digital cameras. Underwater digital cameras are ideal for capturing the beauty of the undersea world (or the bottom of your swimming pool if you have that special artistic eye!). They are used by both scientists and scuba divers. Digital cameras come in many well-known brands including Kodak, Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Olympus. Surprisingly enough, the cheapest brands cost less than $200, although prices rise quite steeply for the highest quality cameras.

Some of the advantages of underwater digital cameras include:

- You can plug them into a TV.

- They are smaller and lighter than film cameras

- Bad shots can be easily deleted

- They can change resolution, which is useful for wide-angle photography in low lighting conditions underwater

- They produce better high-resolution shots

- They never run out of film (because they don't use film!)

- They have better depth of field (up to 4 times that of film cameras)

- They feature strobe shutter speeds as fast as 1/800th of a second, much faster than even the best film cameras

- Applications include sea mode, land mode, and external flash mode

Here are some examples of the best underwater digital cameras:

1. The Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z1000

It has a 2. 8 inch LCD screen and 10 megapixels. Housing is required. Up to 3,2000 ISO. 3x optical zoom lens, and it even includes an anti-shake feature.

2. The Pentax Optio

It has a 2.5 inch LCD screen and 7 megapixels. It requires no additional housing. Usable for up to half an hour in depths of up to 5 feet. It can even be used for shooting underwater videos. Up to 1,600 ISO.

3. Fuji Film FinePix A400

Complete with waterproof housing, 4.2 megapixels. What's more, it's CHEAP - under $200 at the time of this writing).

4. SeaLife DC500

Includes both Land and sea flash modes. 5 megapixels, 3x optical zoom. Features an anti-shake function that compensates for movement by either the photographer or the subject.

The foregoing is only a small smaple of the total range of brands, cameras, and features available for photographers of almost any budget and any level of sophistication.

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