I want to buy a camera...what's next?
Good question. I've been asked several times about buying a first underwater camera, which one, etc. It seems that a high percentage of new divers have a strong urge to take photos. This makes sense. New divers are usually excited about the new environment and want to get some snapshots of all the cool new stuff and show it off to friends and family. My response is definitely "go for it"...but don't be fooled, there's more to underwater photography than to taking top-side photos. Read on to avoid some disappointments and frustrations.
Q: "What's a good book for a new underwater photographer?"
A: "A checkbook."
This hobby isn't for the faint of wallet. Obviously there's a wide range of prices depending on what you choose to get, but expect as a minimum to spend about the price of a new regulator. And speaking of, dive gear comes first..PERIOD! Don't ever sacrifice good dive gear for camera gear. Engage brain, then spend money.
This is also a gizmo-intense hobby. If you already feel bothered by having to set up your own gear, you're probably not going to enjoy messing with an underwater camera system. Even the most simple systems require diligence with cleanliness and care to avoid water damage.
Carrying and using a camera underwater is a distraction and therefore potentially dangerous. Any attention paid to taking photos is attention not given to your air supply, your depth, your decompression status, and not to mention your buddy. You need to be 100% comfortable with all aspects of managing your own dive before you embark on taking photos.
Now that I've effectively failed to talk you out of it, let's talk cameras. First, decide what you want from your efforts and how much you're willing to spend. Do you want vacation snapshots to show friends? Do you want shots good enough to use as computer wallpaper, or do you want framed photos to hang in your office? Are you shooting get on the front page of your favorite dive magazine? This answer will help determine what kind of gear you want. As a minimum, a typical begginning underwater camera system will consist of the following:
-Camera
-Housing
-Appropriate memory and battery or batteries
-Some type of case to safely transport all of it in
Desirable add-ons onclude:
-External strobe
-Additional lenses, usually macro or wide angle
Here's a list of some of the general types of systems that are available in order of price.
Point-n-shoot film camera
These are becoming rare with the popularity of digital but if you want cheap, they're available used for very modest prices. Some have strobes available which will increase the quality, some use the camera's built-in flash. These systems will produce snapshots, just as a cheap top-side camera would, but won't likely produce a poster-quality print.
Point-n-shoot digital in a housing
These are hugely popular. Digital offers some big advantages in that you get to review results instantly, you don't waste film during the learning process, and you can take more than 36 shots on a single dive. Many of the popular digicam manufacturers like Olympus, Sony, Canon, Nikon and others, make housings for their cameras. These have a good track record for reliability and are fairly inexpensive. If you already own a digital camera and are interested, check to see if the manufacturer makes a housing for it. These systems are great for beginners because of the digital advantages listed above, they're relatively inexpensive, and they can produce very good results, especially if used with an external strobe.
Same as above but with add-on gizmos
Many of the digital camera and housing combinations can accomodate external strobes, add-on lenses, etc. This makes the above choice more flexible, and of course, more expensive.
Housed SLR or DSLR system
These systems are the most versatile, most expensive, and most gizmo-intense systems. Of course, they have the most potential for great results if used correctly. I would only recommend one of these systems to someone that is very familiar with using an SLR-type system, or someone that has been using one of the above systems for a while and want's to move on. Learning the technical side of SLR photography at the same time as you overcome the problems unique to underwater photography is almost impossible.
After you decide what type of system you want and what you're willing to spend, you'll have to narrow it down to a particular camera, housing, strobe, etc. I'm in no position to make that decision for anyone but myself of course, so I suggest you do some research on the popular underwater photography-related websites before you buy. There's a lot more opinion than hard fact available, so take what you read with great care. Whatever you buy, you'll be limited at first by you're skills more than by the camera though it'll be tempting to blame it on the camera. However you don't want to reach the limits of the camera too soon and end up wanting an upgrade.
So here's what I suggest to the complete beginner: Buy the best system you're willing to afford that will accept, at a minimum, an external strobe should you want to add one later. That gives you the opportunity to take some photos with the camera's built-in flash and get familiar with the system, then add on later.