Sub £200 digi camera

[JAG]

Dear all,

Can anyone recommend a sub £200 camera, that I can buy a housing for at a later date?

Many thanks,

Ian

[GLOC]

What do you want to use it for (stills/video/macro/wreck....), have you used any compacts in the past which you like/dislike and do you want new or used?

[Janos]

Originally Posted by JAG

...that I can buy a housing for at a later date?

No no no no no.

I fell into this trap and it's a pain in the arse because a couple of years later, when they stop making the cameras, they stop making the housings. And how long do they make a particular model of camera for?

I would seriously think about getting the housing now. Or alternatively get a digital and don't expect to get a housing for it, and that you might need a new camera.

Or just follow the personal ads on YD. There are some real camera addicts out there and their cast offs can be good value.

Janos

[Okeanos]

I'd have to recommend the Fuji F10, you can buy them on ebay for £119, housings are cheap too, I just sold my old housing for £80. You can also get a new Ikelite 60m housing for them for £199.

All the pics in my gallery were taken on an F10. I'm going to buy a second one I think they are that good.

[NeilP]

Originally Posted by Okeanos

I'd have to recommend the Fuji F10, you can buy them on ebay for £119, housings are cheap too, I just sold my old housing for £80. You can also get a new Ikelite 60m housing for them for £199.

All the pics in my gallery were taken on an F10. I'm going to buy a second one I think they are that good.

Most of those F10's on Ebay are refurbished.
I'd get one direct from Fuji - £118.99. Here

If you can stretch to below £200 you would be better going for the F30. Review of it is here

Slightly smaller in size and lighter, much higher ISO rating (3200), longer battery life and a much higher resolution LCD.

[Okeanos]

Originally Posted by Epic

Most of those F10's on Ebay are refurbished.
I'd get one direct from Fuji - £118.99. Here

If you can stretch to below £200 you would be better going for the F30. Review of it is here

Ikelite do not yet do a housing for the F30. The F30's only real advantages over the F10 is that it has a higher ISO rating (3200) which will make the image very grainy and it has a button on the rear for underwater, this is just a custom white balance that can be accessed from the menus on the F10.

Fuji stopped the F11 as it was too close to the F30. They couldn't just release the F30 in the same case as the F10/11, it wouldn't sell. So they made a new case and people buy it. They still produce the F10 though. This is what I was told on the Fuji stand at the dive show.

[JAG]

Thanks guys. Should have mentioned that it will be used for holiday diving etc. nothing too technical. Camers Underwater do several packages, any of them good value?

[EdHornby]

I have an olympus Mju 600 and it's really good (I think they do a 700 now)

definitely buy the camera and housing together !

get one with as big a viewing screen as you can - thisi is the reason I went for the oly

[Lee B]

Originally Posted by JAG

Dear all,

Can anyone recommend a sub £200 camera, that I can buy a housing for at a later date?

Many thanks,

Ian

Hi Ian I bought the Oly SP350, you can get them under 200 now. I think it is the best compact I have seen for underwater. Full manual controls if needed and an external hot shoe conector on the Housing make syncing an external strobe easy and robust.

Check out the pics on my gallary for quality. Taken with an SP350 and Epouqe strobe

[puddlediver]

Hi,

I have used an underwater camera for a few years (film) with limited success. Have just bought a Finepix F30 with underwater housing. Am off to Sharm in two weeks time so intend to try out the underwater features.

Have take loads of pictures on land with this to try it out and I am very impressed. Digital over film is marvelous.

The lcd screen is quite large and the menus are easy to navigate. The housing is very smart - just hope it doesn't leak!

The battery life is also great - another plus when underwater - you can get up to 500 shots off a charge. I got the camera, housing, 1gb xd card and a soft case for £330.

Hope this may help.


Lyv