charlesrg

Powershot SD880 has been discontinued. I've got the SD960 IS , it is supposed to be it's replacement. It does 720P video and with a Canon case should be a great deal.
Camera $260 , case $175.
The G10 looks pretty good, but I read comparissons of G10 to SD880 and with CHDK it is about the same.
Now I would like to get an inexpensive strobe kit and I will be all set to learn underwater photography.
When it arrives I will try to help porting CHDK to it and with RAW it should rock.

The G10 seems to be a great option, the Canon WP-DC28 Case for Canon PowerShot G10 sells for $165 while the camera is $400.
It does do RAW shooting also.
There is no CHDK for it yet, but it may come in the future bringing extra features.

With CHDK I can get the Powershot SD880 to shot RAW as well. While paying $250 for the camera and $165 for the case.

Maybe I'm being too cheap now. But with CHDK on SD880 it seems that some extra stuff can be done.

Does the strob goes connected to the camera over a cable or does Optically fired means it will fire when the camera flash fires ?

The G10 seems to be a great option, the Canon WP-DC28 Case for Canon PowerShot G10 sells for $165 while the camera is $400.
It does do RAW shooting also.
There is no CHDK for it yet, but it may come in the future bringing extra features.

With CHDK I can get the Powershot SD880 to shot RAW as well. While paying $250 for the camera and $165 for the case.

Maybe I'm being too cheap now. But with CHDK on SD880 it seems that some extra stuff can be done.

Does the strob goes connected to the camera over a cable or does Optically fired means it will fire when the camera flash fires ?

For 2009, I think the current P&S setup is the Cannon G-10. An inexpensive plastic housing is available and an optically fired INON strob is indicated. That is probably a bit over $1000 for a new setup.

To get a decent setup for below $1000 you need to find a used setup. Therefore the discussions circa 2005-2006 in this thread are adaquate.

I will, however, add one thing about RAW that was not discussed. For a novice I strongly recommend RAW and carrying a laptop computer on a dive trip. (You will need Photoshop, Lightroom, Elements or the like also.) First, RAW will allow you to turn some throaway shots into decent shots. Second, RAW will allow you to avoid learning some of the necessary settings, such as white balance, underwater. You need only learn to shoot in manual and control the shutter speed and F/stop. The autofocus on the camera and the automatic strobe (optically fired strobes mimic the built-in flash) will do the rest.

Therefore I recommend a camera that shoots in RAW, has autofocus and a setup with an external strobe. (Exception: the old 5050/5060 from Olympus had a strong enough flash to take good shots in very clear water)

Hello guys, does anyone has anything to add to this topic about the new 2008 - 2009 camera models ?
I'm a beginner in the boat and not looking to spend 2500 on a camera set.
I was thinking about a <$1000 complete system camera with underwater case.
Does anyone have any recommendation ?
Using a Canon camera with CHDK does seems to be a good option, anyone recommends it ? Or should I go with Nikon, Fuji, Olympus ?