Underwater camera for $1,000?

Old thread, but ....

I started out with a compact Lumix TZ10, and when I changed to an Olympus PEN, the difference betweeen the shots were stunning....

If you dive and shoot shallow, you will not always need a strobe, but I absolutely recommend one. Two is not necessary in most cases. To get the best shots, you need to be close to the subject, except if you want to shoot schools of fish, and certain WA shots. Most tend to shoot macro, because you won't need a dome and WA lens in addition to a macro or kit lens, the latter can be used with a diopter.

The difference in sensor size between a compact and mirrorless is significant. You can crop a bit more etc.

My wife & I have each a Olympus PM1 with Oly housings, with Inon S-2000 strobes. Difficult to get cheaper rigs than that... (will sell both rigs now, because we are upgrading.)

I would advise to get a used PEN rig, or, maybe the OMD-EM5 offer you can find online nowadays. They are not the latest batch of cameras, but will serve for years.... The reason we are upgrading, is mostly because we want easier, and more, manual control over exposure, so we are going for OMD rigs.

Also, learning UW photo from a pro will teach you the tricks to get better photos... And, if you shoot in RAW, you can set the white balance afterwards......no reason to fiddle with that when diving....

Some examples shot with our rigs below:

Without strobe, WA

60mm Macro, Inon S2000