I'd like to get a nice digital camera.

It must be able to work with an underwater housing (for diving).

I would like one that has at least a 5.1 MP resolution and something that is relatively small.

I was looking at a Sony CyberShot.....any opinions or suggestions?  Pic quality is pretty important, as well as ruggedness and reliability .

I'm open to any suggestions but I don't really want to go over $3-400.....unless I don't have a choice.

I've been very pleased with the Canon Elph series.  The S500 is 5mp and has a waterproof housing available (don't know about the depth rating).  Very compact, excellent picture quality.

www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=search&Q=&ci=5236

I bought a Sony CyberShot DSC-P200 7.2 mega pixels for $331.00 from butteryfly photo great people to deal with too

I got this one at Sams club for $450 It takes awesome pics
www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml;jsessionid=DRNC5HTYZXI2RFW4FBBHWEEW1YUEK4L4?pq-path=6723&Submit.x=21&Submit.y=10&pq-locale=en_US&_requestid=18260

the canon housings are rated to 30m iirc

Canon Powershot S1 IS is what you want. (or the S2 if you can afford it..sometimes it can be had for about $400 on sale).

Whatever you do, stay far, far, far away from Olympus.

Quoted: Whatever you do, stay far, far, far away from Olympus.

why? I had a Olympus and it worked great.

Look into the Canon Powershot G6.  If you don't need to change lenses (i.e. SLR camera) , then this is one of your only choices to approach a high-end camera.

I also suggest that you price whatever you decide to purchase at beach camera for a highly competive price.  I know several people (including myself) who have purchased from there without problems.

The G6 camera has a waterproof housing available at extra cost.  It is available at $475, but you'd have to pay more for the housing.  If you want a point+shoot then get the cypershot, if you want to use it at home to take a nice photo at night also, then get the powershot.   The powershot will be a full fledged camera, with the ability to accept manual settings, or automatic settings.

Your choice should depend upon your needs/wants.

Good luck,

Thanks for all the replies fellas.....but I definitely need one that can be taken diving.

I really don't want a diving camera.  I would like something that isn't diving specific, but the ability to take a housing and a go to a fairly good depth is imperative.  

So far I'm looking into the Cybershot DSC-P200, Canon Elph S500, and the Canon Powershot S1.

I think the Canon Powershot G6 is a little too steep.

ETA: I just browsed through the beach camera link and found the Canon Powershot SD500 (which is what I'm assuming the Canon Elph S500 is) and it looks nice at 7.1 MPs.  I'm not exactly a camera buff, so alot of the specs are greek to me.  This webpage also list a housing that is rated to 130ft. (plenty enough for me) but the camera ($400) and the housing ($200) is $600 together and that's a litte more than I was looking to spend on a camera......does anybody know of a good camera + housing that would put me more around $400.  If not, I might just suck it up and blow some cash on something other than guns/ammo/mags.....

Go with the cybershot, very very very nice cameras.  I wouldnt own any other.

Quoted: To keep on track (sorta). How does Nikon Digital SLR stack up to Canon. I am looking at the 20D (seems like a great camera) but I have heard that Nikon is a little better. Is it really a toss up between the two?

equal IMHO
I have 2 Canon digital SLRs and my brother in-law has Nikons and we are always doing comparisons and busting each others balls

Quoted: Go with the cybershot, very very very nice cameras.  I wouldnt own any other.

Can you recommend a specific model and if it has a housing available??

Does anybody know the setup DK-prof has (I saw some diving photos he posted, but he didn't say anything other than it was "cheap".....looked like good pics to me).  I may have to IM him.....

That Powershot S2 looks pretty sweet with a 12x zoom and 5 MPs.....but I haven't found a housing for it yet....

ETA:  The Cybershot DSC- P200 also looks nice....I like the 7.2 MPs and the small size....plus if you scroll to the bottom of THIS PAGE it looks like a REALLY good camera for the price!!!  Now to find a housing.....

ETA #2: Well it looks like there aren't any housing available for the DSC-P200 yet (except for the 32ft. rated bags).......I may just have to fork over the change for a Powershot SD500.....someone pull me back or push me over the edge.  

Quoted: Quoted: Whatever you do, stay far, far, far away from Olympus. why? I had a Olympus and it worked great.

I'm going to disagree also. Love mine, only problem I've had was dropping it on the parking lot at Mt. Rushmore. Not it's fault and they fixed it cheap.

Wife about blew a gasket though.

btt for further advice.....