Which camera takes better pictures (photos included)?

waterproof cameras at costco image

Nick from

Hi!

Background: I am going to Hawaii in a couple of weeks. The camera I have is from 2007, but it's not waterproof. The other day I saw a waterproof down to 33 ft digital camera at Costco, usually $300, but on sale for $150. Since Costco has a special return policy in a certain amount of time, I decided to buy it and at least test the image quality on it.

I took some pictures with both cameras, in order to compare. I was wondering if you think one camera takes better pictures than the other? If so, do you think one camera takes much better photos? Or, do you not really think there's that much of a difference?

Pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29759797@N07/sets/72157633279316132/detail/

Thanks!

Answer
Results are not consistent. It is obvious you are not adjusting both cameras appropriately. It's a toss up then.

Why? Picture quality depends on user skill. Both cameras can take great pictures. You just have to know how to do it.

Between the two, just select which one you think is better built to handle water since that is your main concern anyway. Be warned. Just a small kink on that rubber gasket seal, the camera will drown to its death.

What is better: Underwater camera or an underwater camera case?

Nick from

My Situation: I'm going to a family reunion in Hawaii in a couple of weeks, and was thinking taking pictures while snorkeling may be fun. I could buy one of those $10 disposable underwater film cameras, but since I go into caves a lot which are wet, I thought getting something not disposable could be useful there also. I don't want to spend too much money, but am exploring my options.

What I've tried so far: I went to REI the other day, and bought a $30 heavy duty underwater plastic baggie with a hard lens opening that goes over the camera lens part. I tried it out with the digital camera I already have and noticed the pictures are okay if I don't use the flash, but once I use the flash the pictures come out very cloudy. That was the AquaPac brand, and I'm not sure if the DiCaPac brand name underwater baggie would be any better or not. As an alternative, I'm not sure if those "hard case" underwater housings take care of this "flash problem", although with how much they cost for my particular snapshot camera model, it may be cheaper just to buy a real underwater camera. I'd also be worried that a hard case housing wouldn't be useful if I decide to upgrade cameras later on, since they're specific to the camera model?

So, moving the story forward, at Costco there's an underwater camera usually $300, but I just bought it on sale for $150, trying to figure out if I should open it or return it. It's a Nikon Coolpix AW100. It's waterproof to 33 ft, drop proof to 5 ft, and has "underwater mode" (although the camera I already have has an "aquarium mode", not sure if that would help or not).

My Question: I'm not sure if it would be best to go with the Nikon AW100, or get a better underwater heavy duty baggie case with the hard lens to go with my existing digital camera (so that I can always upgrade my digital camera later on), or some other option?



IT'S NOT NEEDED TO READ BELOW UNLESS MORE DETAILS ARE NEEDED:

The underwater camera I found at Costco is http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-COOLPIX-Waterproof-Digital-Camouflage/dp/B008JI0R8U/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1365876725&sr=1-4&keywords=Nikon+AW100

If I do get some underwater housing, the digital camera I have now is a Canon Powershot A720 IS that I got in 2007 http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-A720IS-Digital-Stabilized/dp/B000V1VG2E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365875483&sr=8-1&keywords=Canon+Powershot+A720+IS

The type of underwater housing which gave me foggy pictures when using the flash was http://www.amazon.com/Aquapac-Small-Camera-Case-Shown/dp/B0012BRAFY/ref=sr_1_24?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1365875732&sr=1-24&keywords=aquapac+underwater+case

The housing which I haven't tried but don't know if it would be better is http://www.amazon.com/Dicapac-WP-ONE-Digital-Camera-Waterproof/dp/B005IAXVMG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365875559&sr=8-1&keywords=dicapac+waterproof+case

Answer
At a given price a non-waterproof camera is usually a better picture taker than a compact waterproof camera. If you can combine the better non-waterproof camera with a dedicated underwater housing, the proper weight for net neutral buoyancy, and some silica gel packs inside the housing to prevent condensation, you can probably get better underwater pictures that way than with a compact waterproof camera.
As for using a one-size-fits-many housing, I haven't tried it, but I would not be optimistic about it. Access to controls could be difficult. I don't know if it can work with weights. If there is positive buoyancy, you will be fighting it instead of taking pictures with it.

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