Canon 710 or Panasonic TZ3

[Hokie89]

Please help me decide between these two cameras. I am looking for a camera with a underwater casing and image stabilization. These are the 2 good cameras that I can find that would fit my requirement. Please let me know if you have any other idea. Canon is cheaper but it has redeye problem. Panasonic camera and unwatercasing is more expensive ($100) but it does not has redeye problem. BTW, does anybody know where I can buy the underwater casing for the Panasonic?

Thanks

[bascom]

TZ3 has no viewfinder. Will the LCD be viewable under water?

[chstout]

Did you ever buy either one? I'm in the same situation looking for a good uw camera, and am leaning towards the TZ3. The things it has over the canon I like, are:

- 28mm focal length gives it much better wide angle shots than the 710.
- longer optical zoom
- 16:9 video

One big downer which has kept me from already buying it is that you can't use the zoom while filming video :( that sucks for chasing after sharks and such.

[fwtong]

I'm pretty much in the same boat as well, trying to decide between the A710 and TZ3. However, after recently looking at another review site, I'm leaning towards the A710 because it has better indoor performance. After all, what good is the extra zoom on the TZ3 if I never get the chance to use it because poor lighting prevents good pictures being taken at the extra zoom range. That might translate to underwater because I'm sure that underwater, the lighting is less then ideal, and the A710's better low lighting performance and manual controls might be better.

A710 Performance in low light about 2/3 down
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/A710/A710A5.HTM

TZ1 Performance in low light about 2/3 down
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/TZ1/TZ1A5.HTM

I know that the the TZ3 is different from the TZ1, but unless the low light performance is vastly improved, I'm not expecting a significant difference between the two in terms of low light performance.

[John_Reed]

A friend shot these (http://sharono.smugmug.com/gallery/1706033#83997130).

[speaklightly]

Thanks for posting that link, John-

That set of photos are quite impressive.

Sarah