Need help deciding on an underwater camera

[hookedoncruises12]

:confused: I've looked at so many and narrowed it down to either a Panasonic, Sony or Canon. In your opinion, which one do you think is the better camera for both underwater and land shots? :confused:

[vermonter16]

Hey - I posted a thread trying to decide on one for DH and I am really leaning towards the Sony. I love Canon and looked at the Panasonics.....but...Sony was initially last my last choice. Of course I haven't fully decided but I'm in the process!

[hookedoncruises12]

Hey - I posted a thread trying to decide on one for DH and I am really leaning towards the Sony. I love Canon and looked at the Panasonics.....but...Sony was initially last my last choice. Of course I haven't fully decided but I'm in the process!

 

 

 

Which Sony were you considering?

[chipmaster]

Almost everyone I know loves their camera, here is a good review of the recent best of the bunch:

 

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q311waterproofcompactgrouptest/

[topspot]

I just went through this same decision.

 

I bought one yesterday, waiting for delivery from Amazon. While all 4 (I also looked at the new Nikon AW100) sound fine, I decided on the Panasonic TS3.

 

I agree with the earlier post about the Canon getting long in the tooth, it was released in Feb 09. I had been putting off my decision as long as possible hoping Canon would announce a replacement, but with our next cruise coming up I had to pick.

 

The Sony was to small for my large hands & I wanted something more robust. Plus is well over $300.

 

The Nikon was also well over $300 and I could not find any reviews. On the plus side it was the only model I could find in any store (Costco) to actually hold & check out.

 

The Panny is the most robust and has a higher depth rating (40 ft), plus has an optional underwater housing so it can be used to 120 ft. Being a diver, that appealed to me. Amazon has it for $269

 

From what I could determine, all four take fine pictures with the newer 3 taking better video than the Canon. The Sony has a nice panoramic feature and the Nikon as a 10 fps burst mode.

 

Good luck with your decision.

[vermonter16]

The Sony TX10. Here is a link to someone's review here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1467458

 

The panasonic gets good reviews too. I haven't checked out the Nikon but I will.

[rockbock]

Definitely the Sony! That was my recent review. I couldn't be happier with the camera!

[vermonter16]

I am super torn between the Sony and Nikon. Oh, I'm super torn.

[Scrapperjill]

I too am leaning towards the Sony. And looking online you can get a underwater housing for it as well slowing it to b taken to farther depths.

[vermonter16]

Hey Rockbock - can you comment on the start up time. I am seeing that some users are saying it is slow and that the touch screen can be 'glitchy'. What do you think....

[rockbock]

I have experienced no problems at all with the touchscreen. There are times when I might have to touch something twice before it works, but this doesn't happen any more than it does on any other touchscreen device (iPhone, etc.).

 

The screen turns on instantly when you press the power button or when you open the lens cover. The startup will be faster if you open the lens cover first, since it will automatically turn on the power (which means you won't have to press the power button).

 

Some of the modes have what I would consider a delay to be able to actually take a shot. However, it isn't so much of a delay that I find it frustrating. It's maybe a second or two. The delay time was about the same for the Panasonic that I tested. The delay is shorter than I've experienced on other cameras that I've owned. Keep in mind that this isn't a $1,000 camera, so you can't expect it to be able to shoot a photo within a fraction of a second of when you turn on the power.

 

The most frustration I have with this camera due to a "delay factor" is viewing and deleting photos. I feel like it takes too long to access the photos to view them and the process to delete takes even longer. But in the end, I'm more concerned with getting crisp, clear shots. I used to delete bad photos the second I took them. Now I sometimes just wait and do it later on.

[awboater]

I am hearing Sony and Nikon have a lot of underwater cameras these days.

 

Ok, a bad joke perhaps.

 

Another choice is to buy an aftermarket underwater housing such as those made by FantaSea.

[rockbock]

Amazon price drop on the Sony TX10 - all colors now $289 with free shipping.

[topspot]

Scrapperjill,

 

Thanks for the info on the underwater housing for the Sony TX10. But it does raise one interesting question, how do you access the touchscreen when it is in the housing? As I see it, you have only access to the most basic operations.