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The DX 2G takes great pics but is a little more expensive than the DC1200. I personally own the DC1200 and love it. I’m dive green water, and I’m haveing trouble with the some of the settings, but I don’t really play around with them to much. I found that If I just leave it on the surface setting, when I get home I can fix the white balance with photo editing software. If you look at my profile, all the pics were taken with the DC1200.
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I’m a Canon guy, but I’ve gone the full circle from really cheap model P&S, to slightly better, to DSLR, and back to a point & shoot. I’ve recently settled on the Canon S95. It’s a small P&S with a larger than normal sensor for DSLR quality photos with full manual settings. If you want to start simple you can just put it in full auto underwater mode and get great results. And if you get really into it and want to take more composed shots you have the camera for it, and you can learn some manual settings. I would suggest starting off with a Canon or Ikelite housing to start with as they are $250-350 range, and a Recsea housing once you want to go more advanced as the housing alone is $850. I just bought my Recsea housing used for $650. If you strictly plan to keep it simple you can get many package deals on basic 10MP or better Canon & Nikon cameras in the $250 range. Good luck.
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The only perk to the S95 is that it can do RAW image files, which has more flexibility if using photo editing software. You still have to get a housing for it and its 10mp. The DC1200 was designed for diving, is 12mp, and comes with the housing for $450 at most diveshops. I got mine for $350. If I could get the S95 with a solid housing for around the price of the DC1200, I would. I do a lot of editing and retouching, and the RAW image file would make everything so much easier.
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Expensive yes. But the S95 is 14MP, and the biggest perk I’ve found is the low light capability at an Fstop of 2.0, as good as a DSLR.
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Hmm. I just looked up canon s95 and every site says its 10mp. Is there anything else in the camera name?
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Sorry. I stand corrected. Mixed it up with my Canon T1i. But the F-stop info is for real ;-) It’s all debatable. There are many good point & shoot cameras. I’m just really happy with this one. In low light I don’t think it can be beat. But for general beginner photographer it probably is overkill for the price.
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I have a Sea and Sea 1200, which coincidently was discontinued less that a year after release. It takes great pictures that I can fix or if I get the strobe right look pretty good. Two complaints I have with it and another diver on my recent trip had the same. Lot’s of shutter lag.... I don’t know if this is common with point and shoots or not and poor battery life. I usually change it out between dives or it will go dead on the second one. In all fairness I usually take 80 pictures or so a dive..... need new contacts to see better.
I’ve heard from a couple of people that Sea and Sea updates constantly so....how long will they support it? yet to be seen.
Other than that I love the camera.
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I have a Sea and Sea 1200, which coincidently was discontinued less that a year after release. It takes great pictures that I can fix or if I get the strobe right look pretty good. Two complaints I have with it and another diver on my recent trip had the same. Lot’s of shutter lag.... I don’t know if this is common with point and shoots or not and poor battery life. I usually change it out between dives or it will go dead on the second one. In all fairness I usually take 80 pictures or so a dive..... need new contacts to see better.
I’ve heard from a couple of people that Sea and Sea updates constantly so....how long will they support it? yet to be seen.
Other than that I love the camera.
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It’s been my experience that the point and shoot cameras designed to be underwater specific cameras from both Sealife and Sea & Sea are inferior to the P&S cameras from the likes of Fuji, Nikon and Canon at the same price points after considering the additional cost of a housing.
This is particularly true of the Fuji F series which are feature rich budget priced advanced P&S cameras and since Fuji makes quality housings at a reasonable cost.
Careful shopping will generally allow you to put together a package with features equal or better to the above mentioned with superior performance. This while saving a few dollars that can generally be put to good use purchasing accessories like strobes, filters, and wet conversions lenses that will further expand the outfits capabilities and usefulness.
Instead of shopping your LDS for a camera outfits switch to camera stores and online camera stores. Adorama is owned by the same people that own LeisurePro and their selection of underwater photogear runs from novice to advanced DSLR another online source BHphotovideo.com which is B&H Photo of New York.
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RAWalker - many thanks I will check into them. I agree that I really don’t want to buy a camera from my LDS. That being said - I have been very disappointed with the camera stores in the Houston area - we have some very good and large stores but they seem to not want to have anything to do with UW equipment. I currently have a Canon Powershot - which I love - but the housing has been discontinued.......so the search continues........thanks!
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Try the Intova ic12, great point and shoot at half the price of the Sealife and the Sea&Sea. Check out www.photogearfinder.com
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The Intova IC12 is discontinued and in close out. The new model is the IC14.
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The IC14 is the 14mg pixel version (upgrade) of the IC12, they use the same housing and all the accessories are interchangable. The thing you should remember though, the human eye can’t tell the difference between 8mg pixel and 14. It’s like buying a $20,000 sound system (home entertainment system) and a $2.000, the human ear just can’t tell the difference but it does impress the technophiles........lol.
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