I've done fair amount of research and as always, it comes back to buying what suits your *needs* and getting the most bang for your buck.

One day I may (although this is only a slight possiblity) go the DSLR route.  Obviosly cost is part of the equation, so to is how often will you be doing UW stuff. For me at best it's going to represent a very small percentage..Probably less than 5% or 10%.  That makes it tough to "justify" the expense.

Two:
Conditions. The waters I fish simply arent clear enough. I suppose if more streams and lakes were clear than it might become more of my work, which then makes the cost less an issue but the fact is even the streams I fish aren't particularily clear.

Strobes:
Depending on the stypes of shots your thinking about they are more an issue. Regardless it's probably a good idea to plan on getting one. What should change then is where it stands in your priorities. High or low

WA ports.
See Strobes. Worth getting one, just adjust where it stands in the acquisition priority.

Size and Bulk.
UW housings are huge and for me the number reason why I will (in all likely hood never go the DSLR route).

I just packed my bag for what I want to have with me for the next 3 or 4 weeks Steelheading.
1DMKIIn paired with the 24-70 f2.8
1DMKIV paired with the 85 f1.2
180 f3.5 macro
Tubes for use with the 180 and 85
spare battery for each body
40gig in cards
Flash/Flash Bracket/spare batteries
Filters.
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You dont want to know how much it weighs and thats a "light" load missing by tripod and some other glass. Not shown is the camera I took the shot with. A Canon S90, and it's UW housing.

I was going to go for the G11 until I realsied its size and bulk when housed in an Ikelite housing. So the S90 which is about half the size, has a brighter lens, less shutter lag ( its remarkably good for a PnS) was more to my needs..In time I expect to outfit entirely with FIX housing, WA port and strobe.

Heres another good site and actually a good write up.
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DSLRs are great, but often over kill in many respects.
Last year I wanted to get a taste, try to figure out how I was going to approach bringing some UW stuff into what I shoot so I jsut bought a Fuji F200 and its propeitary housing.
Sold 3 images taken from it including this half/half published as a double truck
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Start with
where do you shoot most often and what are water condtions like?
Clear vs Murkey
Green water prone to algae blooms etc?
How big a unit do you want to lug around?
How often will you be using whatever it is you get?
Can you use what you get one handed?
etc,
etc

The Fuji F200 ( and Fujis housing) is actually a very nice compact and it takes great shots.As mentioned I picked it up to dip my toes into UW without the expense of what I expected i'd want. Really what i was looking for was to get a sense of how often id use UW and what are the conditions. It made it easy for me to determine that a adv PnS was all I needed. I probably would have used it again this year had my daughter not lost it.../sigh. Cant complain the S90 is really nice.

Two things I didnt care is its lack of RAW. One reason I was pretty sold on the G11 (until discovering the S90). The other thing I didnt care for was its shutter lag...its not bad, but its noticeable...The G11 is pretty good in that respect, the S90 is surprisingly fast. One of the largest detractions for PnSs vs DSLRs

Few Fuji f200 samples I have online other than the above half/half
This from one of the clearer streams I fish
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Typical lake in algae bloom
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Note the light fall off. Yes, its in the middle of an algae bloom which makes is worse but aside from that you can see where a Strobe would have been so much better than the on camera flash.

If I fished the salt or an region where the waters were clearer I might give more thought to a dslr but its really over kill and they are beast. As mentioned Ikelites housing for the G11 is basicall a 6x6x6 box.
Add a tray and a strobe.............

Yeah your going to want a WA dome and a strobe. For the U/Os you may want/need fill is side or backlit. So aside from provingding better lighting et all, its much like using a flash bracket in so much as it gets the head off the body and reduces backscatter.

The time of day could ( I say could as Im only guessing) be related to the suns position relative to the horizon so less about the light being harsh and more about the sun being higher in the sky.

And yes its very expensive, hence why for me its a low priority with less than ideal waters, and the fact its goign to compete with my main image taking pursuits.

Very nice Corey.

You guys have the "bag" housings (for the lack of a better term) down. Corey...I'm digging #1 and Doug....that permit shot is outstanding. I'm headed to the Keys next week and hope to have something to critique soon.

Is the in-camera flash firing on the Ewa and Digipak bags?

Those oversized housings are not very conducive to an itinerant angler

Thanks for the input.

Adam....I'm no expert but my take is.....to geet mor3e color, you need more light.

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Tim Pask talks a little about his technique. Basically....bright sunlight and crystal clear water.

I scuba dive and I fly fish.  This summer a friend and I have decided to strike out into the Little Red River in Arkansas with out Dry Suits and Scuba gear to get some HD under water video of trout and still pics.  We have been playing around with his new camera in the pool trying to get the kinks worked out. I will post those pictures on here when we get them done.  It will be sometime this summer during low water situations.  If you have done this or know of someone who has done this let me know.

Great thread this.

I took these with my Sony DSC - W80 and under water housing:

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Ok, this one I played with a bit & perhaps the colors are a bit on the "rich" side:

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So what do you guys think?

Corey.

I've thought this housing thing through and through and I've decided to get a quality P&S with a good housing. Right now I'm thinking Canon S90 with a Fisheye Fix housing. I believe it will accept a dome.

Doug Barnes touched on my line of thought in his post....a DSLR housing is large and cumbersome.....so much so....that I would not use it as much because of that fact. I do a lot of backpacking and fishing and a DSLR housing is just not practical.

I bought a used Fantasea housing fro my D70s and it is just too big. By the way...the build quality of that housing is terrible....lots of tiny plastic parts that break!

Here's the Fisheye Fix....msrp $799

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Wow, the quality of underwater shots posted here is incredible, and all of the helpful tips are invaluable!

Thanks Corey for the kind remarks!  I’m a big fan of your work.

I’ve been practicing my underwater photography, with a EWA-Marine bag, the largest one they make, which allows me to insert any sized SLR, with room for a flash on top.   Instead of mounting a flash I mount a PocketWizard radio transmitter, with a motor drive cable, and keep a second transmitter in my vest pocket (in a ziplock bag).  This allows me several options, including submerging and leaving my camera underwater, either near my feet, to allow for leading fish back and forth in front of the lens, while firing away, or, leaving a camera mid-stream while I stand on a bridge or shore waiting for fish to swim past.

On stream, I typically shoot a D300 above water, in aperture priority mode, while my D200 goes underwater, with every setting on fully automatic, including ISO.  Initially I hoped my 17-55 f/2.8 lens would be my underwater workhorse, for various reasons, but it really didn’t work out as well as desired.  The slightest pressure on the front of the lens, including swift current, pushed the lens in, and my preset for 20mm would go tight, to 55mm, leaving me with bits and pieces of fish.  So, I bought a dedicated lens for this type of photography, a Sigma 10-20 f/4.  When the front of the lens is pushed in, it does the opposite of a Nikon, it goes wider as opposed to tighter.  I like to leave it set at 15mm to diminish wide-angle lens distortion.

I think the biggest advantage of EW-Marine bags is the relatively low cost when compared to dedicated customized housings, including the ability to insert a variety of cameras and lenses without having to purchase individual ports and domes, as well as being able to insert a radio transmitter.  The biggest negative is having a 77mm flat glass port, which really is not conducive to over-under shots.  Perhaps someday, I will dunk my head and peer through the viewfinder to achieve nice over-under shots, because my spraying and praying has not worked out all that well.   That said, I often like to fish alone, and I have found it much easier to capture pleasing fish photos underwater, than above water, by myself using the transmitter.

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the photos below were shot from bridges, while my camera was left mid-stream

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Some recent attempt with a Canon G11 and housing. I think the key is that I am going to have to get wet to get better shots. Bonefish species is Albula Forsterii.

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Morsie

Steve -

Have you seen this system?

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I have one of those bags and I kinda hate it; mine is too small to allow even the D70 to be used comfortably, and the barrel is too long for any lens I own to fill it except telephotos.  I am going to rig something up after talking to Graham - I'll use foam to make a tape bumper on the barrel of a cheap lens, so that it can't be pushed in, and I'll use rubberbands to keep the "front element" of the bag tight against the lens.  Then I plan to sink the bag next to a spawning shoal and get some shots of big browns doing their thing with my remote release.  In principle, I think this is the best use for these underwater bags, period.

Zach