Underwater Camera Housing

- What camera is efficient both underwater and out of water? tough camera or housing?
I am looking to buy a camera for preferably under 650USD. I want to use it for snorkeling and shallow diving, but also have it to use as a regular camera that takes good photos-maybe with the option of manual exposure. Is it better to buy an underwater camera like Olympus Tough or Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT3, or to buy a decent camera and get underwater housing for it? What cameras would you suggest?

A An underwater housing is going to have a depth advantage to a Tough camera. But having that, here is my story. I had a FantaSea housing (about $100) for my Nikon S200 - a run of the mill $150 camera. So the total cost was about equivalent to a tough camera. The housing had a 100meter depth, far more than I needed as I never scuba - only snorkel. My wife and I go on cruises in the Caribbean, so having something waterproof is desirable. But the housing was a bit large and bulky. It was always a pain. So for that reason, we never took the camera/housing with us unless we were going snorkeling for sure. Then we were in the Bahamas one day. I took my underwater camera, and my wife's Nikon S560 to the beach. I was taking photos with the Nikon S560 as it is easier to use on-shore than the underwater camera. While I could have removed the camera from the underwater housing to do this, it was just easier to use a second camera. But I then put my wife's camera in the front pocket of my swim trunks and forgot about it... until after I finished snorkeling. Yep - scratch one camera. We replaced that camera with a Nikon S570. Then about 6 months later, on another cruise. Same swim trunks, we were at the pool on the ship, and yep, scratch camera #2 after I went into the pool. Then we finally got wise, and I bought an Olympus Tough 8010. Since then I have not killed any more cameras. However, compared to the underwater housing: The Olympus is rated for 10Meters, the underwater housing 100Meters. You have to rinse the Olympus off after getting it wet - you don't have to with the housing. The Olympus is more convenient as the underwater housing is bulky. The photo quality is about the same with the Olympus as the camera that went into the housing. The Olympus is NOT inconvenient to use on land. I ended up selling the housing as I didn't use it after buying the Olympus. So long story short, unless you have a depth requirement of 100Meters, a Tough is a good choice.

- Need help choosing an underwater camera housing for scuba diving?
I am going scuba diving in a month and need to take some underwater photos. I am considering buying a hard plastic case for a digital camera which run around $250. Or I am thinking about trying these soft plastic cases that run around $30. Has anyone used either of these before? Did the photos turn out okay? I will be going in shallow water, probably no deeper than 60 feet. Do you think I need an extra flash to take good pictures? Thanks.

A You get what you pay for. It's your camera. Personally I'd spend whatever it takes to keep that camera safe and able to take decent shots. As for a flash, you'll probably find that you'll want to put a piece of tape over the flash if there's no option for turning it off. Most of the time, a flash will produce back scatter in images ( looks like a snow storm) as the light from the flash hits suspended particles in the water and bounces back. If your camera and housing allow it, the use of what's called a strobe will be better. It's a type of flash that's mounted and pointed off to the side, reducing back scatter.