quality underwater camera
 

im looking for a underwater camera and/or housing.
I have a $600 spending cap on it but I want the best quality I can get with that price
must be able to go to at least 40 meters.
was thinking of getting a Panasonic ts4 with a ikelite housing rated for 60meters

any ideas what would be better?

I cannot comment on that particular camera, but I do have a Nikon S8100 with Ikellite housing which works nicely. The housing is well built but if I were to do it all over again I would get a camera without the long zoom.

Check this site out,

http://www.housingcamera.com/Mozaik-...using-s/51.htm

Here is another site dedicated to underwater photography:

http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/

I don't think $600 is enough for an underwater camera if you're looking for something better than a P&S. You're better off buying an underwater housing for your current camera.

I have a P&S underwater camera - a Pentax Optio WG-II. I bought it when it first hit the market (bad timing on my part) and it was $420, but I see you can get it for $320 on amazon.ca now. There isn't much that is better than the WG-II for less than $1000 from my understanding. The WG-II takes great photos - my only complaint is lack of zoom so it is limited in open water capabilities. It has an AMAZING macro setting including a 1cm macro with its own LED lighting whose quality is really beyond the $300-400 camera range. That was my biggest selling point, I use the macro and 1 cm macro settings in my reef tanks all the time.

So I guess it depends what you want...

Thanks for advise! Ill post the one I choose and maybe a few pics from scuba diving

When I started doing underwater Photography, I started with
Film Cameras

1. Nikonos, find out I didn't like guestiamate focusing underwater, with Nikonos SB105 and SB 102 strobes, Ultralite arms and tray

then went to a

2. Nikon F100 and Sea &Sea housing, Super wide dome port and flat ports for macro photography, 16mm fisheye lens, 17-35mm AFS f2.8, 60mm and 105mm macro lens.

Digital
3. Nikon D200 and Sea&Sea housing, and Light And Motion housing, added more lens
10.5mm fisheye, 12-24mm f2.8

These are some images done with the Nikon D200

http://s1048.beta.photobucket.com/us...61483235211841

The Nikon D200 is 6 years old now, so time for an upgraded underwater setup.

My current Nikon camera is the D800 which is a 36 meg full frame,
so my next upgrade is the new Sea&Sea housing for the D800, and 2 new Sea&Sea YS-D1, The new strobes are completely fully automatic with the camera, instead of using my outdated Nikon SB 105 strobes

http://www.housingcamera.com/Sea-and...p/ss-06162.htm

http://www.housingcamera.com/Strobe-...p/ss-03114.htm

I'll be getting this setup in the next couple of months, going to Lembeh Strait, Indonesia in Aug 2013 for a couple weeks, the ultimate place for macro photography

Honestly, if you are on a tight budget I would recommend buying a couple of nice strobes, and an inexpensive housing/camera, rather than getting an expensive camera, with weak strobes.

I use the Nikon/Fantasea FP7000 camera/housing. You can get the housing and camera for less than $600 and a couple of Sea and Sea YS01 strobes for about the same amount as the housing alone for a SLR camera.

I would definitely recommend Mozaik cameras (the website Scubadawg posted). They are extremely helpful.

One cool thing about the Fantasea FP7000 is that they have a whole line of lenses that snap on to the camera, meaning you can switch lenses under water. I have the wide angle and macro lens. Both are freakin awesome haha. They are probably my favorite thing about the camera.

Check this out
$340+tax
•Wearable full HD video camcorder with built-in Wi-Fi
•Waterproof housing good down to 60 m (197 ft.)
-Available Image Format(s): JPEG



Sony HDRAS15Ride 16.1 MP Action Mini Wi-Fi Camcorder Ride Kit
http://www.costco.ca/Sony-HDRAS15Rid...100013399.html

Includes Water proof housing, Goggle mount, bike/bar mount & 2 adhesive mounts, 8 GB Micro SD Card, 4x Slow Motion HD.
.
Looks like a nice package. But i dont know how good it is for making still images though, need to look up some on line reviews.
here is one review
http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-camc...-35426716.html
.

One more review

http://www.cnet.com.au/sony-action-c...124.htm#image3