Confusion over cameras and u/w housing

[lottie]

I've been looking into getting a new digi-camera as mine is now so old and I would like to eventually, get an u/w housing for it.

As i'm going to be in St Maarten next month and as they have duty-free shopping i'm hoping that I can get a good price on a camera. Ideally I'm looking at the following - more for land-based photography, but also in the future to get a u/w housing for it.

The cameras are
- Canon A710
- Fuji FinePix F20 Zoom
- Nikon Coolpix L11

It's also going to depend on price as to which camera I eventually go for.
I've found that Ikelite do have housing for them.
Are there any other places (on the net) that do u/w housing where I can check & compare prices

TIA

[The Publisher]

Lottie,

There are really low prices on the mail order houses, but they are usually sham scams where they tell you the product is in stock, then charge your credit card, then send you an e-mail telling you you need to call them to confirm the order, then they try to high pressure sell you way overpriced accessories and if you say no, all of a sudden the camera is out of stock. Also, the camera is usually gray market, usually comes with no accessories, the warranty is not from the factory, it is from them if at all, as if they know how to repair the camera.

These are all operated out of boiler houses in Brooklyn, New York, and New Jersey. They have 50 million names, ever changing addresses, etc. They all operate outside of the laws in New York that prohibit this type of nonsense.

Most of the pros use B&H Photo which is a mail order house. You won't get low sham prices, but you also won't get screwed over on the price or the merchandise.

Also, if any of those cameras do short videoclips and you ever want to use that feature, decide if your area uses NTSC or the PAL format.

As to so called "duty free" the whole concept escapes me. If duty is 4% on such goods, and the establishment charges 30% higher than what you could get it for mail order paying duty is less than the duty free place, you just paid $14 more but hey, you got it "duty free". I think that is the hook these places use, so shop wisely!

[acelockco]

I agree with everything The Publisher said. Now there are other businesses out of NY and NJ that are legit as well, but there are many that are not 100%.

B&H are really good to deal with though. They really stand behind their products and only sell new in box from the factory, no referb, or stolen or grey market or anything like that.

As far as deciding on which cam to get, which you would think makes the most sense, decide on the housing first. The difference in cost between some housings can be insane....sometimes more than double! So I would say, find the housing you can afford and like first and then get the cam to match.

You can also consider renting a U/W cammera setup if it is not something you are going to use a lot or even just to see the equipment that is out there and how you like it. Most dive shops and operators rent this type of gear and many times they have a few different types of setups for you to rent.

Another option is to buy something used from another diver that is looking to upgrade. I see things for sale a lot up this way. My LDS has a bunch of used ones for sale, but everything they have in stock is film (Nikonis style).

I hope I helped, and if you have any specific questions let me know.

[Tigerbeach]

Hey Lottie,
I love my Cannon A610; a decendant of your A710.
I have a 1 Gb chip in it, and it takes lots and lots of great photos.

Best fishes,
ASW

[lottie]

As far as deciding on which cam to get, which you would think makes the most sense, decide on the housing first. The difference in cost between some housings can be insane....sometimes more than double! So I would say, find the housing you can afford and like first and then get the cam to match.

Thanks for all the responses
It's more a question of the u/w housing than the actual camera. If I don't see anything I like in SXM, then I'll try B&H.

Ace - it looks as though i'll be doing it the opposite way - I definitely need a new camera, more for land-based stuff than anything. But something that I can get the housing for and in-turn still use the camera underwater, without having to find out that I spend x amount of $$$ on a new camera only to find that I can't locate a housing for it.

Do B&H do the housings as well? or are there other favourable outlets (apart from ikelite) that I could try?

TIA

[lottie]

Okay - I've just looked on B&H - They have the Nikon L11. The uw housing is only $130 - which is alot better than the $300 or so that the ikelite website was asking for.....

[The Publisher]

In that case, I take FULL CREDIT for saving you $170 USD, lol.

Now I just need to do that for you 15 more times and that will pay for your next ScubaMagazine Group Trip......

That's my story and I'm sticking to it....

[lottie]

In that case, I take FULL CREDIT for saving you $170 USD, lol.

Now I just need to do that for you 15 more times and that will pay for your next ScubaMagazine Group Trip......

That's my story and I'm sticking to it....

If you want to take full credit for it, I thank you very much....and if your excellent advice helps me out and will pay for the group trip - i'll make sure I buy you a beer

[acelockco]

Forget the beer, you just have to enjoy the new cammera and of course post your photos.

You know my wife wants to see your dive videos of St. Lucia and St. Marteen.

[lottie]

Thanks Ace - thats one reason why I want to get a new camera...

The pics from St Lucia can be found here:
http://www.lotties-shenanigans.com/A...ks/CALR-74JL4A

And i'll post a note on here once I come back from St Maarten