Check out these three items:

Note that the total price is just over $600, and remember that I said “cheap-ish“. You’ll see a few more posts about this setup over the next few days – this is the setup I took with me to Hawaii for my latest dive trip.

The obvious reason you may want to get this (or something like it): price wise, you get a camera and case for less than half the price of an SLR waterproof housing. If you don’t dive all the time, or don’t want to spend $1400 on just a housing, then this is the way to go. Besides, you’ll end up with a spare camera that has most of the features of an SLR.

Guard Crab in Antler Coral

Less obvious: when doing underwater photography you sometimes want to work your way in to some mighty tight nooks & crannies.  You can’t do that with a huge camera.  This setup is already pretty large, but it was small enough to stick into some antler coral and get the pic to the right. Want to get close in tight quarters?  This is the way to go.

Further, the full-size setups are pretty bulky.  If you’re looking to document your trip, then it’s easier (and arguably smarter) to take a smaller camera.  Maybe even one smaller than this (it’s almost the size of a high-end SLR when in the waterproof housing).

Now, if you do want to move up to off-camera strobes, it can be done.  You’ll have a starting point for spending far, far more money.  However, I tend to go light when diving, and I like my equipment to have multiple uses.

The multiple use in this guy?  Inside its housing, it makes for a great beach camera: you can use it in the sand (camera’s safe!), while snorkeling, in the pool, or anywhere that you think might be dangerous for the camera (where it might get wet).

This isn’t to say that it’s perfect for everything.  I did get some gallery-quality shots off of this setup, but the lighting is definitely uneven when using the on-camera flash.  And it is difficult to change settings (shutter speed, aperture) when the camera is in the case.  But despite being a bit put off by the camera’s handling, I’m pleased with the quality that came out.