Yeah, definately get an undewater cam. I've never owned one but have borrowed them before and have even taken those Kodak disposables underwater cams down to 30'.
I just got certified a couple months ago. It's unfortunate that I live in West Palm Beach... The hotel I did the pool work in: http://www.thebreakers.com/ My first open water diving site: https://www.google.com/search?hl=en...urce=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=xaoZUM-QNY-u8QTD74DwBw The 10 minute drive from my apartment to the marina for my first ocean dive was really hard too... ugh! Seriously though, shoot me a PM if you ever want to come down to West Palm and do some diving. The keys are only about two hours from me as well
So, you're saying that me getting sea sick in 3-4ft seas and wearing a 5mil wet suit in 74f water isn't hard core?