I'm looking at cameras. Currently I have a Sony Cybershot digital camera. It's awesome cause it's waterproof, dustproof, and shock proof. It takes great shots and fits right in my lifejacket. BUT I want to upgrade or see what else is out there.
I'm looking for a camera that may NOT be waterproof, but takes great water shots and has the ability to take action shots (multiple photographs quickly). I am looking for a camera that picks up color well also. I've seen some sports shots colors come out pretty washed out in the water setting.
I'm just wondering what other folks out there are using. I see lots of awesome pictures out there on facebook and here on PP.
Any insight that people are willing to offer would be awesome!
Cheers!!!!!!

Basically you're looking for manual controls.

If you don't have any interest in video, you can get into the DSLR game pretty cheap.  I would look into a used 30d, or 40d and then buy a cheap prime (fixed focal length) 35mm, or 50mm and the canon 70-200 f4L non is.  Cheap zoom lenses are versatile, but lack build quality and image quality and generally are pretty slow on the long end (this isn't too important if you plan on shooting paddling in the afternoon).  The primes also force you to learn the machine a bit more and the 70-200 is super affordable and ridiculous sharp... L glass also doesn't lose it's value... like ever

The other option would be to go the canon g15, or nikon 7700 route.  These are high-end compacts with pretty impressive optics and full manual controls.  The newer ones are also said to shoot at 10 fps, which is ridiculous, but i would read some reviews on that feature before you buy into it.  If you go the canon route, look into the G12 and on...they put a control dial on the front of the camera that makes a world of difference.

All of this said, it's mostly about understanding how to use your controls in relation to your environment as well as the digital sensor.  Shutter speed/aperture, white balance, ISO (that one is huge) and how to apply it to your lighting and your subject (if you want to get good, consistent imagery veer away from automatic settings)....In the film world, you want to expose for your shadows, because you can bring your highlights back in post (the darkroom).  With digital sensors, it's the complete opposite and you want to expose for your highlights, because you can bring your shadows back in photoshop... So if it looks dark in the LCD screen, but you can see lots of detail in the sky, you're in a good place for post production... which brings me to my next point.  For truly finished images, you want to look into an image editing software... There are a ton of them and they aren't all super expensive like photoshop.  You basically want something that will allow you to learn curves, color balance, saturation, etc.... Beyond brightness and contrast.  The most beautiful, unphotoshopped looking images 99% of the time look this way because of photoshop....

I don't know where you are with your understanding of photography, but if this sounds like absolute gibberish, it's because photographers like to make photography sound way harder than it is.  The concepts are super simple and they take like maybe a few hours of hard experimentation to get a competent grasp on and that will make a world of difference in your images... and it will make your investment far more worth it...

Wow. That was big text.

I make my living with a camera and a portion of the work is whitewater kayaking / adventure sports photography.
My .02 cents worth is that brand just doesn't matter. Get something with the features you are looking for. Will you be shooting in manual (you will want to work toward this especially with white water pictures) There are numerous models in all brands that offer full auto in several modes, aperture or shutter priority & program.
I would find one that has the features you understand today but the ability to expand to more challenging modes. I don't name drop on brands and models, so I will stay out of that part.
Most important for whitewater! It MUST have the ability to set the color balance. Look at Slickhorns picture, It has a distinctly blue cast. The white balance was set on auto. (Good shot Slick, just using as an example)
Yes white balance can be corrected in PS and Lightroom, but how much time do you want to spend editing as opposed to shooting. And no matter what you do in editing it will never look as good as if it was exposed correctly.
The most important thing is to SHOOT, get a camera and spend as much time as you can looking through the viewfinder. Don't get bogged down with features and crap. The camera is just a tool and the better you know how to use it, the better the results.
Have fun.