When making this important purchase, you must ask yourself a few basic questions...

1) What is you level of expetise in photography ?

If all you know about photography is pushing the shutter button , I would suggest getting the simplest camera you can find BUT. make sure it has a manual shooting mode. This mode is very important underwater and sooner or later you will know how to use it and wish your camera had it.

If you have any knowledge or experience in photography and are familiar with terms like aperture , shutter speed , exposure and so on.. I would suggest that , depending on your budget, you should consider getting a prosumer camera. A good article about these can be see here : Best Prosumer Cameras 2011.

2) Where would you be diving ?

If your diving is in clear waters like the Red Sea or the carribbean then you would be able - and most surely -  want to shoot wide photos or coral rocks, wrecks and reef walls. For this, you should make sure the camera you purchase has a widest angle possible. Some point and shoot cameras have a 28mm wide lens (the basic one is 35mm) and there are even ones in the market that go as wide as 24mm. Of course a wide angle lens can normally be added but it will come at a price.

If you are diving in the Mediterranean or other lakes where water are unclear , you will most surely be taking only macro photos as a wide angle shot cannot be seen in these waters. In this case , make sure your camera has a good Macro mode and can focus easily and quickly on subjects 4-8 inches away.

3) What's your budget ?

The most basic underwater camera starts from 350$. A decent prosumer one is close to 1000$ and a DSLR is over 2000$. Your budget should be a good start point for looking to buy a digital underwater camera. Note that purchasing online can sometime expose you to more deals and better prices so this would be a good place to start looking.

4) Which accessories can be added to the package in the future ?

If this is the first underwater camera you are buying , I wouldn't suggest getting any accessories to start with. It is much better to start diving with your camera and only then understand what you are missing according to the nature of your dives. When purchasing your housing, make sure it can be extended with the necessary accessories such as a wide angle lens, red filter, strobe or video light.

It is always recommended to consult with one of the major retailers both online and locally and take some recommendations and tips from divers who have experienced with many different types of gear and accessories. The underwater photography industry if flourishing and there is a very large variety of cameras for you to choose from that would meet your budget.

-Tal Mor

Tal Mor is a diver and underwater photographer working for Mozaik Underwater Cameras

Underwater Camera Settings

F-Stops

The F-Stops setting will control what your background looks like. You may want to have a slightly blurry look to your photo. This can be done by increasing or decreasing the numbers on this setting. The thing to remember is that when the numbers go up, this will mean a smaller lens or range, aornd when the numbers go down, the lens will open me. So, up means less and down means more. This will take some time to remember, but practice makes perfect. Be patient and have some fun seeing what kinds of photos you can get with each setting. You can try one type of setting at a time each time you go underwater. When you go back up, take some notes. This will help you to remember as you write it down and keep track of your photo shoots.

ISO Settings

The next camera settings underwater to learn about are the ISO settings. This has to do with the grain. Grain is basically the speed of your camera when taking photos. Have you heard anyone say the words “noisy photo” before? They were talking about the grain and their camera. They say it is better to have a noisy photo than to have taken a blurry one, but if you were trying to take a blurry photo, that is great! Some blurry photos come out wonderfully!

Shutter Speed

The next setting on your underwater camera is shutter speed. The shutter speed affects motion. Have you ever seen a photo that looks like someone’s hands were trembling when they took the photo? This can be very frustrating if all of the photos developed are like this. Sometimes, with the shutter speed not set right, you can end up with a photo that has blue behind it.

I am assuming that if you are reading this article, you have already done some underwater photo taking and are familiar with diving. If you haven’t been diving yet, you may want to take some diving lessons first to get comfortable with the diving part before you begin underwater photography. Then, you can learn all about camera settings underwater.

Right underwater camera

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...

With the many cameras on the market. this will be an interesting shopping experience for you. An important feature for any underwater camera, is keeping it sealed to keep the water out. In the past, the cameras were bulky and large, and even the batteries were big. Now there are very small automatic camcorders that have small long-life batteries.

Underwater camera selection

A wide-angle lens should be purchased with the camera. This will result in less depth of field and focusing problems. I find this to be very helpful in photographing the beautiful coral reefs and focusing on the fish that swim past them. I also prefer the pressure resistant housing that can work well at one hundred feet deep. I don't even like to go that deep, but it's tempting to do it. The housing should have a quick release snap and an o-ring seal.

To pick out your underwater camera selection, try to purchase a popular model that you've heard a lot about on the market. Be sure you can find a companion housing for the camera. Make sure it can accommodate the wide-angle adapter and long-life battery. Check out condensation problems the housing may have. I would personally get something that is inexpensive, small and easy. But you still want something sturdy.

A good underwater camera selection is also that kind that can take still pictures as well as videos. I like to have that choice. If you get a camera with a 4 megapixel or above, this will be the best bet to take that still picture and videos. There are usually two hours of recording time on a camera, as when you are underwater it sometimes doesn't offer the option to open the housing to change between video and still.

If you are more interested in just still pictures, then an underwater digitial camera is a good choice. You can choose between the compact or the dSLRs. The dSLRs have better optics, quality and less focus delay. Hard to imagine, but there are also underwater disposable cameras, and even some underwater cameras are so cheap, they cost less than $5.00. I would be careful in checking out everything first. If you want good results, you may have to spend a bit more. I know I have.

Read the online underwater camera reviews and see what you find...

Another great feature of this camera is that with the macro lense, I can get a clear picture as close as four inches away. Though this camera can be used above the water too, I find that it really shows its potential under the sea. While SCUBA diving, on the 3MB fine setting, I was able to capture 20 pictures on the 16mb internal memory card, but it's also expandable to accept larger memory cards.

It can also capture almost three minutes of video as well on the internal memory card. After my trip to the Florida Keys, I came back with some beautiful pictures taken with this camera. After uploading them onto my computer, I was able to send the pictures in emails and also posted pictures to my website. Many people have given me positive comments on them. I have also had one of my favorite pictures blown up and made into a large wall print.

This is a very impressive camera with many more features than you would expect for the price but yet extremely easy to use. My non-technological wife was able to use the camera with almost no help. I have also let the kids run around the yard taking pictures and it had no problems holding up to their rough play habits.

With the many different flash options and camera options you can get a good quality picture in just about any condition. For the price of this camera its hard to suggest anything else with the quality and durability of this one. So if you are planning any snorkeling or SCUBA trips in the near future, I would definitely pick up one of these cameras before the trip. It is a great way to remember the beautiful memories.

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Jazz 1.3MP Waterproof Underwater Camera

Do you like taking photos when you're not underwater? There's no need to buy a separate camera. The Jazz 1.3MP Waterproof 3 in 1 Underwater Digital Camera is great for normal use as well as sight seeing and snapshots. When you're not swimming or getting wet just take the camera out of its underwater housing, and you can use it for everyday photography or for taking snaps on your holiday vacation.

Do you need to video conference with business associates? That's no problem. This camera allows live conferencing on your PC. Friends and family are not left out either, because you can easily send them the AVI movies you've been recording.

If you're planning a vacation, or simply need a versatile camera to suit your needs, you can't go wrong with the Jazz 1.3MP Waterproof 3 IN 1 Underwater Digital Camera. Why carry around separate cameras when you can have one that does it all?

Some of the features of the camera:

• It's waterproof up to 9 feet underwater.
• It has a quick latching blade and double-seal gasket.
• 8MB worth of memory storing up to 312 images.
• The camera is a video recorder (AVI)
• 1.3 mega pixel image resolution.
• It has a built in flash
• 10 second self timer.
• USB interface
• Mini LCD panel.

The Jazz 1.3MP Waterproof 3 in 1 Underwater Digital Camera includes a wrist strap and USB cable, and is compatible with Windows 98/200/ME/XP. The only thing it doesn't come with are two 'AA' batteries, not included.

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Jazz JDC-31 1.3 MP Digital Camera - White (Interpolated)    US $25.00

Jazz JDC-230 1.3 MP Digital Camera - Blue    US $10.99

Jazz JDC-31 1.3 MP Digital Camera - White (Interpolated)    US $25.00

Jazz 1.3MP WATERPROOF 3 IN 1 UNDERWATER DIGITAL CAMERA    US $74.87

Jazz JDC45 1.3MP Digital Camera w Photo Frame *6117    US $19.95

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If you just want to have fun and get some good snapshots of your friends and family this is an affordable way to do it. The less than one hundred-dollar price tag is right in my price range.

With it's recommended maximum depth of forty feet you are able to get fun shots in shallow water and still be able to dive down deeper for a closer look at underwater life and objects.
While most of my photographs would be just below the surface I still like having that option. This might be something you would want to consider also. Once you start looking "down below", a whole new world of photography opens up.

Digital Concepts Aqua Shot

It has a point three mega pixel resolution and a six-forty by four-eighty JPEG image. I think that is quiet adequate for my use. You could buy a camera with more resolution but you would also have to spend more money. When you start comparing mega pixels and resolution you may wind up purchasing more than you really need.

If you are like a lot of people you want to get good pictures but don't want to carry around a camera costing hundreds of dollars. The Digital Concepts Aqua Shot's compact size makes it easy to carry. It can be tucked away in beach bags and purses. I have seen photographers use cameras like this as a backup to their more expensive equipment.

Another good feature is the focus free lens. I can’t imagine trying to look through a lens underwater. With the Aqua Shot all you have to do is point and shoot. There is no interrupting your fun or having to make your family wait while you change settings. It is also easy to use while snorkeling or swimming.

When you return home just connect it to your computer or other hardware using the included Universal Serial Bus ("USB") cable.

The Software Drivers Utilities are also included; they install easily on your computer and make it fun to download your pictures.

Sakar International is located in Edison New Jersey and has been in business for thirty years.
They evolved from producing camera lenses and other electronic products. They produce digital cameras under the name Digital Concepts.

The "Digital Concepts Aqua Shot" is an excellent camera and will serve you well.

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