Suggestions for first proper underwater camera?

drusus wrote:

The photo of the RX100 in a housing was very useful. It sounds like shooting ambient light with a Canon GX7 or Sony RX100 in a housing might be a good next step, as well as the suggestion to attend an expo and consider buying used.

Since cell phone cameras have killed the point-n-shoot market, it is hard to find all the options we used to have. Lots of Canon point-n-shoots with matching housings, all under $500 new. Pretty much only the top end of those camera lines survive.

Back in 2014 I was sick and tired of the shots I was getting with a point-n-shoot without strobes. I was also sick and tired of 'fish tail shots' - the shots you get of a fish swimming away because your autofocus was so abysmally slow.

I decided to try a bigger sensor compact camera and ended up with the RX100 II. (Could have picked the III at the time, but went with the II based on the lens.) I also added a focus light and dual strobes.

The result? I got hugely improved shots due to the strobes, but the AF speed was pretty much as slow as the point-n-shoots of the day. The 1-inch sensor was better than the smaller ones, but not a lot. 20MP was better than 12 or 14, but ... well, I was used to the 36mp I got from my Nikon D810. However, the rig was definitely portable, compared to what I ended up with later in a DSLR rig.

Here is the rig in Moorea.   Image was taken by my late wife with a Canon s95.

First trip with new RX100 II rig, 2015 French Polynesia

This is one rig that might be doable with only one hand, though the other hand will need to be able to brace things.

Here's a shot from that dive.

Strobes made this shot...

Due to the autofocus issues, I decided to take my D810 underwater the following year.  And four years after that, I took my D850 underwater.   Finally got everything I wanted in terms of dynamic range and autofocus, except with video.

I would be looking at the latest version of the RX100, for sure.  I have no doubt it has improved since the 2014 version.