Hi guys,

Not sure if this is the right place to post but if they need to move it then they can.

I am currently shooting with a p&s Canon sd870, no strobes. Here are some photos I took last week in Egypt with it. I have uploaded the whole album so some might end up in the trash later....

Now, the camera was going a little crazy at the end of the week and I am thinking about a replacement as it is already 4 or so years old.

My choices are Canon 500d with nimar housing or Canon G12 with canon housing. I know the price difference is really big but id rather go with the slr. Is their a big difference between the 2?? I read that the G12 is great underwater, this is why i am wondering where i should go! Can you guys advise?

Thanks
Jeremy

My wife had the G11 and though it is a very capable camera she got very frustrated with it underwater. We ended up selling it and she now is using a GF1. There were a few issues that made it harder to use underwater but the big thing both above and below is shutter lag. The P&S's just can't compete with the ILC's (Interchangeable Lens Camera) in this area and unless your budget is very limited I would recommend going with the ICL.

You will be much happier for it.

I largely agree with Mark.

The canon, and nikon, and oly p&s cams just don't cut it, when it comes to autofocus and shutter lag.

However, panasonic, and sony do much better.

The pany lx5 works incredibly fast, and produces great photos when using RAW, which you always want to do underwater.

There are numerous housings available, including ikelite and 10bar.

The price difference between this and an SLR setup is huge.

I understand your point of view but when you say shutter lag, isnt 2 pics a sec enough? I wont be shooting any sport events lol. I used to have a sony camera.... I was quite disappointed with it and liked my canon p&s way more.

Also, i read on a lot of forum that the g12 is the way to go in the p&s market and talking with a few photographers, i had the same answer. I guess the slr will be a future step.
Thanks

Jeremy,
The issue with shutter delay is the time between when you see the image you want to make and when the camera shutter actually cycles. It usually goes like this; You wait for 20 minutes to get just the right expression on the face of the juvenile moray and then all the stars align and the image is spectacular. You trip the shutter and ............wait for it..............still waiting........Click. By this time you'll be lucky if the moray is still in the frame. It's not an issue of frames per second.

Cheers,
Steve

ok ok, my bad

I'd go with the Canon T2i in the Sea & Sea housing + 1 strobe, that's a great dSLR setup at a great price. Our customers have been very happy with that setup, for not too much more than some high-end compact / mirrorless camera setups.

Scott