Compact camera advice

[Damo]

I was unlucky enough to have my car broken in to a couple of weeks ago. I hadn't realised till later that I'd left my Olympus camera in the car.

I'm now left with the annoying situation where I have an underwater case for a camera that is obsolete and where an insurance claim is pointless.

So, I'm having to bite the bullet and splash out on a new camera. I was wondering if any of you could offer some suggestions for possible set ups.

I was very impressed with the sharpness and quality of the pictures that Macca posted from a trip to Egypt. I noticed that he'd used a Cannon Powershot S70, but unfortunately thats discontinued too. Do you know which model superseded this or indeed anything on the same level of quality.

I have been looking at the new Canon Powershot A640: Details here:

Canon Europe - PowerShot A640

Do you think the spec on this could be good for underwater photography???

Thanks in advance...

[bigfeller]

Don't know how it compares on price but I use the IXUS 700 (SD 500) which I love. Small, easy to use and has an underwater mode. Throw in a 1GB card and you are good for about 250 full res shots.

This is probably the closest thing they are doing at the moment - and it's got a damned easy to see 2.5" LCD!
Canon Europe - Digital IXUS 850 IS

Oh, and when looking at cameras this site is indispensible
Digital Cameras Side-by-Side: Digital Photography Review

For example...
Digital Cameras Side-by-Side, 3 cameras: Digital Photography Review

[Debs]

I've also been thinking of another compact camera + housing and have been using this site
Digital cameras, digital camera reviews and best price search
it even gives the shutter lag of most of the models available
Digital Camera Shutter Lag Comparison Table
which is quite an eye opener and has very nearly put me off the Olympus SP-350

[frosty the snowman]

I'm very pleased with my Fuji finepix. I have the f11 which has now been superceeded but is a lovely bit of kit and the housing is very ergonomic.

[StuartC]

Originally Posted by Damo

I'm now left with the annoying situation where I have an underwater case for a camera that is obsolete and where an insurance claim is pointless.

have you tried looking for a second-hand one through camera shops/online cameras stores/ebay?

might be worth trying so you have a cheap replacement to have as a backup camera and housing in the event that your shiny new one springs a leak on a dive trip....

I know cameras underwater sell 2nd hand stuff, so it might be worth a ring around to make enquiries.

[SCUBA_STEVE]

Originally Posted by frosty the snowman

I'm very pleased with my Fuji finepix. I have the f11 which has now been superceeded but is a lovely bit of kit and the housing is very ergonomic.

DITTO

i have the f11 with strobe to and its a nice bit of kit but it has been out done by the f30 so if i was you i would go for the f30

[Lita]

I have the new Canon Powershot S80 (replacement for S70) super camera very easy to use even in housing.
You have 2 choices of housing either the Canon or Ikelite.

[Damo]

Thanks for the advice, especially the comparison websites. I've decided to go for the Canon Powershot A640.

Although its only been available for about two weeks, the few reviews I've found, give it an excellent rating. It seems like your getting a lot of features for the relatively low price.

I'm hopefully off to the Bahamas within the next couple of weeks in search of sharks, so I'll maybe have some nice pics to share on my return.

[Woz]

The only thing worth checking on Canons is if the camera will work in full manual mode- the IXUS range won't. Dunno about the A range though.

[Bantam]

I have an S70 and it's brilliant. The S80 is just as good. Only thing I don't like is that they changed to SD on the S80, whereas the S70 was CompactFlash, which I'm happy about because I have mainly CF cards for my DSLR.

What's nice about these cameras is that they use the same software from the 350D within them so you have the flexibility of the programming of the DSLR in a little housing.

Mark.