What do you folks use for your uw pics/video? I'm asking ahead of my Lake Huron wreck dive trip in July.

I have an Intova Nova HD, little GoPro type knockoff. Camera is built into uw housing. Rated to 200 ft. I got it after a dive buddy had one and I liked the pics it took. $140. The first one wouldn't recognize memory card. Sent it back to manufacturer. The Nova has been discontinued and I was sent the replacement model. That one flooded due to an O-ring on a button failing. Sent that back and got a refurb Nova. Still have to try this replacement in the water. Big buttons good for dry gloves.

Nikon Coolpix AW130. $350. Rated to 100 ft. Knew it worked underwater since I took pics in the fall with in uw. Used it in the pool yesterday and the uw shots were great. The only issue is the small buttons (as on any point and shoot camera) that aren't that great for dry gloves.

I'm looking at one of the SeaLife cameras, the Micro 2.0 64GB one. Link I like that I can expand it later with lights and a tray for not a huge amount of $$ later. I don't need something fancy. I essentially just want a point and shoot camera, as I'm much more into stills, but I like the capability for a bit of video. It has piano keys that will be easier to manipulate with dry gloves.

Wife has the SeaLife Micro 2.0 WiFi and she loves it.  No chance of it flooding, can send pics to anyone via wifi connection (so long as they d/l the app), an it takes great pics.  Only problem is no zoom feature, but the resolution is good enough that you can zoom in digitally and not pixelate.  I also got her a Kraken video light that has white flood, white spot, red, and UV.  Together they take fantastic pictures and video.  We're very happy with the purchases.

I've read a lot of good things about the SeaLife and that's why I'm thinking about it. The flooding is what I'm worried about, plus the button  size issue. The Nikon has a door on the side with a gasket you have to worry about.

What's your budget?

Are you looking at just taking pictures or do you want to take video as well?

Don't want to go more than $700 or so. Pics with video capability. For all I know, when I see the wrecks I might want more video!

The camera really represents a smaller part of your underwater filing/shooting budget than you might think. My camera housing with a general purpose lens and port system is about 5 times what my camera cost. I'll easily spend 1/2 that amount again for decent lighting and I can go much higher than that if I'm not careful. And I haven't even gotten into macro stuff yet which can run 3 times what my camera cost. Waterproofing stuff is expensive.

When it comes to underwater shooting especially when you're just getting started you're better off focusing on the ancillary stuff that makes a great shot/video rather than focusing on the camera itself. It's the little things that will give you a good picture. Lights and filters are going to be just as important for decent image quality.

In all honesty I'd go with a GoPro with your budget. You can head over to bhphotovideo.com and get a Hero 4 Silver for 299.99 or a 4 Black for 329.99. Then I'd use the remaining money for a decent light (stay away from Underwater Kinetics), and a filter kit. For 20 bucks or so at your local hardware store you can make a decent looking camera rig out of 3/4 inch PVC and add 1-2 pounds of loose lead weight which will help stabilize the image and you can get some very decent images.

Like them or not there's a lot to be said for GoPros. Heck, I've still got a Hero 2 that's still going strong.