Buy housing for my GX85, GoPro or other camera + housing?

daveco2 wrote:

But if/when you're ready to consider a different camera, you could study the camera reviews at DPReview - they favor the a6300 (gold) over the XT-20 (silver), for example - then make a decision for the type of shooting you do above and in the water.

DPReview evaluates cameras for top side use.   They're not going to talk about white balance options in any detail, and looking at touch screens or articulating viewfinders is sort of pointless.   Burst mode shooting is also a bit silly for any shots requiring a strobe.

And there there was that recent 'review' of UW cameras that sort of said it all.

Bluewater, Backscatter, Wetpixel, UPWmag- those are spots to go for useful reviews.

And for my money, getting a proper housing makes a lot more sense, is worth the money over the Meikon option that only sort of fits the camera in question.

Now putting all that aside....30 dives, planning to do 15 per year, wanting (reasonably) to keep budget to 1300.   This is not a scenario that calls for spending 5-6k for a nautical housing, dual strobes and arms, ports/lenses for fisheye (8mm), macro (60mm), and rectilinear (7-14mm), the first two of which are necessary.

I might spend the first 2-3 dives (10-15 dives) of a trip getting my act together.   The output from the first two days is fairly blah.   15 per year with a small base will have the same sort of rust concerns or worse.  I have it with 800+ and 40-50/year.

A compact 1" with a single strobe, or a gopro make much more sense at this point in time, and if it takes,  he can find a great buy from someone upgrading or clearing out their older gear.   But now, as a new diver, KISS (keep it simple, stupid).