I bought a Sanyo Xacta about a year ago and love it. It isn't the best pure video camera, but it is waterproof and takes pretty decent stills, but surely not as good as a regular still camera.
I've taken it snorkling, river rafting, swimming a million times and, obviously, to the river a bunch too. We went ape shit in Jamaica with it last year. No one knew what to make of it because I had it in my pocket the whole time. One lady went nuts when she saw me put it in the pocket of my shorts and jump in the water off of a boat. It's pretty cool to watch people's reaction when you get it wet or submerge it.
It's good to 5' (I've definitely beat that) and your videos can be live on youtube in 10 minutes from the time you sit down at the computer. Try that with your digital 8 or minidv camera (which I have, and hate).
I saw it at Costco last weekend for either $300 or $350. If you do water sports, you'll love it. If it is mostly for stills, you should probably compare a waterproof still camera that shoots video.