This topic hasn’t been discussed for a while and several new underwater cameras have become available in the past year. The prices given for reference are from Amazon.com and may be different by the time you check as they are less than when I first started researching this. List prices are higher for all models. Hopefully there will be even better prices during upcoming holiday sales before our February trip to Maui. We plan to do a lot of snorkeling there so I’d appreciate any advice on these new models.

http://www.unwir3d.com/887332/best-w...as-summer-2009

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1 12 Mp $283.94
Pentax Optio W80 12.1 MP $229.95
Olympus Stylus Tough 8000 12.1 MP $299.00
Canon Powershot D10 12.1 MP $277.82
Fuji FinePix Z33WP 10 MP $131.62

The reviews I’ve read seem to rate the cameras roughly in the order above, based on performance and versatility. Versatility would be great because we may never have the chance to take underwater photos again so an all purpose camera would be ideal.

I’m happy with my Canon SD800 so my first thought was to buy the waterproof case but the SD800 is an older model, great as it is. EWA cases for it seem to be no longer available. The Canon case costs almost as much or more than a new camera and is hard to find. Cameras have evolved since I bought my Elph so one with more advanced featurwesin addition to waterproofing would be nice to have.

Also, it wouldn’t be bad to have a second digital camera so that both my husband and I could take different photos of the same place but I can't really see either of us using the last two models above ground. However, if the cute little Fuji takes great shots, it could be passed along to a grandchild.

The Panasonic would allow direct translation of photos and movies to our wide screen TV but apparently the movie mode used isn’t great for editing software.

I was leaning towards the Panasonic but then saw the photos BillJ took with a Pentax W30 and was blown away. They look better than ones I’ve seen with the Canon D10 or the Panasonic DMC-TS1 and this model has been updated several times since then.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/calbill...7600219089853/

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I have a Cannon Powershot SD790 and it takes great picture underwater. Also what is important is the housing. Cannon makes their own housings and they are solid.

wbpii, I'm sure I would get great underwater photos with my SD800. It's wide angle and has has an optical viewfinder as well as an LCD screen and lots of other useful features.

Unfortunately, I called Canon and was told that they don't make cases for my camera any more. I found a used one listed on Amazon.com for $225 and eCost offers them new for $291 but says they are temporatily out of stock. So this option really isn't practically or economically feasable.

Interestingly, when I checked amazon.com today I was informed that the Panasonic Lumix has increased to $293 and the cute little Fuji has jumped to $199.

Have you considered the $99 Vivitar Vivicam 8400
This sturdy worked well on land and while snorkelling during our last trip to Kaua`i. Minuses noted: hard to use LCD screen in bright , flash setting defaults to off, easy to mistakenly turn camera off as power and shutter button are right next to each other. Recommend setting to highest resolution and found that purchasing a 4GB SD card (MAX=8GB) gives 2000 photo capacity. Interesting mode feature did not use much, looking forward to using on next trip

Thanks, John! I haven't heard of this one but will add it to my list of possibilities.

Amazon.com is offereing it for $88 at the moment but the reviews are mixed.

http://www.amazon.com/Vivitar-ViviCa...ews/B001PKCK2A

there's an underwater housing for sd800 on ebay.

there's and underwater case at B&h for $176.

sorry the b&h is out of stock.

I have the Cannon Powershot D10 and loved the pictures I got both in and out of the water on our recent vacation to Mexico. You can check them out here: http://www.markandmonica.com/Photos/...009/index.html Keep in mind I am a point and shoot gal and these are snapshots.

Aloha moolyn, you are welcome.

The Vivitar was available at some Walmart locations. Agree the reviews are mixed but the variety of successful underwater shots I came back with are better than the underwater disposable film cameras that I previously used.

wdpiii, thanks! I am watching that listing. The shots taken with the SD800 in that housing were wonderful. A nice thing about using the SD800 for underwater photography is that it has image stabalization and it's quick.

Monica, thanks for the sharing your Canon D10 photos and recommendation! You produced some cute kids too!

JohnD, people seem very happy with the Vivitar as long as it remains waterproof but several had leaks and the camera died. Do you have the metal or the yellow plastic version as I'm wondering whether that could make a difference?

<blue>moolyn<black>,
Purchased the <gold>plastic <black>version and have not experienced any leaks. My experience with reusable underwater has led me to inspect any opening and sealing points for fine grains of sand etc. when changing batteries or memory or downloading.

Here's a website that reviews most of the new underwater cameras with the exception of the Vivitar Vivicam 8400.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q209waterproofgroup/

I also discovered that there are videos taken by most of the cameras used underwater on youtube.

I was leaning towards the Panasonic but then saw the photos BillJ took with a Pentax W30 and was blown away.

A friend of mine has the Pentax W60 and her pictures are awesome, so I was excited about the Pentax W80 that came out this summer. However, all the reviews I've read haven't been good. People report that the pictures are grainy and not good quality.

I am leaning toward the Panasonic Lumix, but still doing research, so thanks for this thread it is very helpful.

I am willing to bet that all of these pictures you see have been touched up by Photoshop or some such program. The results are phenomenal. So as a partner to your new underwater camera be sure to buy photoshop software.

Bill

cgenster, the Pentax W60 is still available. I've seen both positive and negative reviews about the W80 and have also read that some people still prefer the W60.

The Panasonic Lumix has some great features like wide angle and IS and seems to be regarded as the most versatile of the underwater choices.

I'm making a chart to compare all the models and list their pros and cons so I can make my choice and be ready to act when I see a great price.

wbpiii, the ebay seller of the waterproof case for the SD800 only ships to the US so I've emailed to ask if she would consider shipping to Canada but haven't heard back. I can arrange a US address but not before the end of the auction.

Can you photoshop videos? I've only used it for stills.

wbpiii, the waterproof housing for the SD800 sold for $115 plus shipping. The bidding was fast and furious in the final few moments and the reserve seemed to be $100. Does this sound like a fair price, considering that it was used and that it was for an older model camera, albeit a great one?

100 for a cannon house was a good price considering Amazon's used price is 215. Also, I don't know is photoshop can clean up movies. I'll keep an eye out for a housing.

wbpiii, thanks! I'm still researching and keeping all my options open but if I could get the housing for around $100 it could be the best way to go. All of the available cameras have problems and none have all of the features of my little SD800. I'm presently thinking that I'd rather upgrade to a DSLR than to any of them when I buy my next camera! But if I have to pay full price for the housing it seems to make more sense to buy a new waterproof camera.

Do you have any underwater photos you can share?

The reason I wondered whether videos can be photoshopped is that if it can't be done, it means that the videos available online by the various cameras must be untouched.