Waterproof Camera Cases

I've never found a decent case for less than $500. However, you can get some pretty decent underwater point and shoot cameras for a reasonable price.

Well, I can't help, but this thread will be helpful for me too. I'm going to South America-including the Galapagos and Amazon basin-this summer, so I plan to take thousands of pictures including many underwater. I was planning to just go with one of the cheap plastic bag type of case, but if someone knows of a reasonably-priced alternative, I might consider it as well

I have a Canon G7 and have this underwater housing for my camera:




I went snorkeling in Hawaii with it. You have to put lubricant on the gasket to make sure of a good seal. I was still scared to death to use it. With all the funny knobs and dials in slightly different positions to make the camera work, I had a very hard time with it. I couldn't tell if my camera was on/off, and the worse part was I couldn't see anything on the viewfinder. It was very dark.

I'd much rather use one of these:



I never did figure out what I did wrong....I do know that I repeatedly came up to the surface to fiddle with the camera, and was not able to see what I was taking pictures of.

I actually did get a few pictures, but was shooting blindly at the fish









It was so difficult to use, I don't plan to ever use it again. I used a disposable camera when I went snorkeling earlier this month.

I had this problem with our honeymoon in Riviera Maya, Mexico. Went snorkling, and ended up using a waterproof disposable I found in one of the shops at the resort. Paid dearly for it (like $28, but that's just resort price, much cheaper here I would assume), but was happy just to get some underwater shots because there was livestock galore. It took decent pics, nothing award winning, but very memory worthy.

I got this one for free on craigslist.
(along with a scuba tank and weights)
It's a cheap and functional model. I'm not sure if it would fit your camera though.

I have used a bag-type housing, they are a real pain, but won't leak at the surface (IF you get it sealed up just right!). The biggest problem I had with the bag was that if you dive down at all the bag compresses around the camera, making it unusable.

A couple years ago I bought an Olympus Stylus 770 SW. It can go up to 30' under without any housing. It is also crush-proof to 220 pounds and drop-proof to 5' over concrete. I tested it's toughness when I slipped on some river rocks last summer - I slammed it into a boulder HARD. It still works find, just a little scratched up. I got a $10.00 silicone skin as well, it doesn't make it more waterproof but protects it from bumps/scratches. I think the camera cost around $300, less than a housing would cost.

I would check out B&H Photography, they have an assortment of underwater cameras/housing ranging from disposables to professional.

Here's a few pictures I took with my Olympus.

Very nice pics!

I forgot to add that those are reduced file photos, as I've got dial-up...

Here is the ray in full quality.