Which camera?

[shortcuts]

My wife is looking to replace her old Olympus mju with something better and has narrowed her choice down to one of two (possibly!).

The camera has to be very user friendly both above and below water and I would like to sound you guys out for your views and experience of the following two cameras.

Canon G9 and Ricoh R8.

What views do you have please?

[Bobco]

G9

Its a nice bit of kit, look into shutter lag with underwater cameras, its quite important

http://www.cameras.co.uk/reviews/canon-powershot-g9.cfm

[Woody]

Naturally, I'd choose the G9, its brilliant
Depending on what budget you have for the underwater kit, you can go from the canon housing (which you can now fit wideangle lends too) with an optional slave flash, or the top of the budget with an Ikelite housing and use the TTL for an ikelite DS51 OR DS125 flash, the DS125 has a night lamp as well, I found it great at night time, but costs a packet!

[Steppenwolf]

Another vote for the G9; there are several reasons.

First off, there is no question that Canon are a definite step ahead of all other opposition in terms of image quality among compact cameras. If you read quality reviews from dpreview etc, you'll find expert opinions definitely on Canon's side.

Secondly, unless I am mistaken, Canon do a specific housing for the G9, so that you can use it as an underwater camera --- if your wife lets you, of course.

Third, I used to own a Ricoh Caplio R4 and was not very impressed with the image quality. Admittedly, the R8 has better reviews, but still not as good as Canon.

Another thing to bear in mind is that Canon cameras are sturdier than Ricohs. The latter are particularly prone to functional damage with even slight drops onto the carpet etc.

[jb2cool]

I've been looking at new cameras recently (Just curious really) and the G9 look like a top bit of kit.

[Steppenwolf]

Here are reviews for both. Bear in mind that the "Highly Recommended" rating is very unusual for any compact camera. In each case, use the drop down menu for specific details.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canong9/

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/ricohr8/

[shortcuts]

I am of the personal opinion that the G9 will be better but it is always interesting hearing the views of others.
Steppy the camera is going to be hers as she dives too and I use a Canon 20D with Ikelite and strobes.
I will let her know your opinions. Thank you all and keep them coming.

[PoseidonPete]

I'm am looking to get a camera ahead of my trip to the Maldives, cameras underwater have the G9,Housing and 1GB SD card for £489, although they are selling the housing for £139 and I found the camera for £275 elsewhere, which works out cheaper.

But I was lso interested in the Sea & Sea DX-1G, can anybody advise on this camera?

http://www.sunderlandscubacentre.com/Pro...oryID/2417

[Woody]

Before I bought my G9 in Feb, I looked at the Sea and Sea but (for land use) its only got 3xzoom whereas my G9 has 6x, for other reasons too which I cant quite remember the G9 won hands down.
I tried ordering mine from a couple of websites at lowlow prices but both claimed to be in stock and when I ordered it they said there was a delay in their stock, so in the end for only about £20 more I ordered it from amazon, a lot safer to deal with and returns are easier to handle.

Any questiosn on the G9 ask me if you like, Its great! 1GB stick will be fairly worthless if RAW is going to be used, get a Sandisc Extreme III high speed 4GB with adapter for £21. Do a search too for a Canon traditional leather case, that looks after it well, and looks the part

[PoseidonPete]

Woody have you got any examples of shots taken underwater you can show?

Seeing as the G9 seems highly recommended I will probably go that way