It's that time again. Summer time - time for vacation, swimming pools, beaches, snorkeling, and scuba diving. And like me, you've probably thought about getting an underwater camera to capture those moments under the water that can't be captured with a normal camera. How many times have you been under the water when the most picture-worthy moment happened? Whether it was the stunning rainbow fish that was swimming right under you, close enough to touch... or the charade-like antics of your son as he swam under the water.

Regardless of your interest, an underwater camera frees you up to take those shots that previously were off limits. But how do you know what kind of camera to purchase? Like standard digital cameras, underwater cameras come in a variety of price ranges, each with different features, abilities, storage capacity, and quality levels.

Before you begin looking for your camera, determine what you want to use it for. Do you take an annual beach trip and you just want additional snapshots of the family to put in your album? Do you travel frequently and love to take detailed pictures of ocean life? Think about the times you would use the camera, and why you want to take the pictures. If you're an amateur photographer and getting the perfect shot is important to you, you might want to look into which features suit you best. However, if you just want candid shots of your family and don't bother with settings very often anyway, one of the basic models might work perfectly well for you.

Something else to consider is how you'll be printing the pictures. If you intend to use the pictures for posters, advertisements, competitions, or you print them for the purpose of selling them, a higher megapixel camera will be important to you. You need the option to print at the largest size possible. You might look also at the zoom features, especially if you'll be wanting to zoom in on smaller objects.

Overall, the best approach is to consider your usage, your motive for taking pictures, and your desired objects of photography, and then to take a look at which features you do and don't need. Remember, too, to budget in extra money for accessories.

See if you can find something you could use in our underwater camera reviews...