Underwater cameras?

[01Sweetpea]

We are on the 7/3 Carnival Miracle, it's our families first cruise. It will be Me, DH & kids (12,9,9). Our planned excursions (for now) are:

 

Grand Cayman - Sting ray/snorkel - probably on a catamaran

Costa Maya - beach day - probably Mahahual

Belize - Altun Ha/River Wallace tour

Cozumel - Snorkelilng (Eagle Ray divers ?) & Paradise Beach

 

How MANY underwater cameras do you usually bring?

 

Thanks!

[bruce-r]

How MANY underwater cameras do you usually bring?

 

I bring just the one. I have an Olympus C5050 and an underwater housing for it. I can take 100's of photos when I use the 1gig. compact flash card.

 

You are probably asking about those "water-proof" disposable cameras, so I'd bring one for for each of the kids for Coz and GCM, that makes 6 cameras. I don't know about the adults. One for each of them to cover both snorkeling days, so 2 more. You are up to 8 but I'd add 2 more just incase. That will be an even 10 cameras. No worries if you don't use them all underwater, they work good for anyplace you don't want to take a more expensive camera.

[scubaRN]

We get Walmarts underwater cameras that go to 50 ft, and give each person one. They can use it for pictures in and out of water, no problem in any weather. Fun to see the perspective of each person, kid or adult. We found our daughter's pictures we wonderful, and captured things we did see or experience.

 

Cost is about $6.00, inexpensive and works great.

[Hilary]

Look for the kind that you can reload and just take a couple of cameras with extra film.

[KimS.]

The underwater cameras, are they Walmart brand or some other brand??

Thanks for the info.

[01Sweetpea]

So looks like I'll need about 10 then. Guess I'll have to start buying a few a month. We are bringing our digital camera and maybe the camcorder, but I don't want to risk ruining those while on water excursions.

[Pilot70D]

So looks like I'll need about 10 then. Guess I'll have to start buying a few a month. We are bringing our digital camera and maybe the camcorder, but I don't want to risk ruining those while on water excursions.

 

There is a company which makes a nonrigid waterproof enclosure for camcorders. The company is AquaPac and their enclosure allows you to shoot underwater as well as above water. Their encloser is rated down to 5' which is sufficient for most snorkeling. These enclosures are available on eBay and run anywhere from approx. $90 to $125.

 

I have a Hanimex Amphibian which is a 35mm underwater camera rated for 150'. It is a great underwater or land camera either one and I picked it up on eBay for $29. There are a number of underwater cameras on eBay which will go for reasonable prices and now is a great time to shop for one of these cameras. Right now is not peak season for underwater gear and many items are showing up on eBay because the owner is tired of having them sit around unused and/or the owner got something newer for Christmas.

 

Hope this information is helpful. Everyone have a great day out there.

[sportsterjohn]

carefull about buying the low dollar underwater cameras on ebay. I bought 2 chinese no name ones for about $25 each. Neithor of them worked. One of them took all black pictures and the other, the auto rewind broke so I can't get the film out of it.

[01Sweetpea]

but I have never bought anything off ebay before! I guess I'll look into an underwater camera. The truth is, I'm not sure if we'd ever use it again. After this trip, the next "trip" is to the home repair store for siding/roofing for the house. Not sure when the next vacation is going to be!

[breeding]

The disposable kind worked great for us. And they are cheap enough to give them to the kids.

[kathywin53]

Has anyone heard of an underwater camera (disposable) that has a flash and where to buy..In past have used underwater camera and got pretty murky pictures even though the day was sunny, almost wonder if just visual memory is better than wasting time doing the pictures..thanks

[Latitude 20]

Has anyone heard of an underwater camera (disposable) that has a flash and where to buy..In past have used underwater camera and got pretty murky pictures even though the day was sunny, almost wonder if just visual memory is better than wasting time doing the pictures..thanks

 

Don't know about a disposable but here's a regular underwater camera (reusable) that has a flash and only costs $35.

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000W45A4/ref=pd_sbs_p_1/103-8617704-6094241?v=glance&s=photo&n=507846

 

Might be a better deal over the long haul and not so expensive you'd feel terrible if you lost or damaged it.

 

Kathi

[kathywin53]

Don't know about a disposable but here's a regular underwater camera (reusable) that has a flash and only costs $35.

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000W45A4/ref=pd_sbs_p_1/103-8617704-6094241?v=glance&s=photo&n=507846

 

Might be a better deal over the long haul and not so expensive you'd feel terrible if you lost or damaged it.

 

Kathi

 

Thanks for the info...will check it out..in long run the cost is actually minimal.

[ImPcJunky]

they are great... I used them in East Caribean .. Got great shots.. and even at the bottom I got some fab shots of huge turtles.. Got mine at wal mart.. cheap .. and great... We have a very expensive digal camera, but don't like to take it by the beach and sand areas ... So we use throw aways at the beach..

[Hilary]

Great link for that underwater reusable camera! I'd definitely second the idea of getting a couple of those and just taking extra film. You'll be able to use these for years to come and enjoy them anytime you go somewhere that there is water (beach, lake, cruise, etc.). With 2 cameras, you can alternate between you and your kids for use so that everyone has a turn, and keeping track of them will be much easier.

 

Have a great trip!

[friisc1]

So looks like I'll need about 10 then. Guess I'll have to start buying a few a month. We are bringing our digital camera and maybe the camcorder, but I don't want to risk ruining those while on water excursions.

 

Good idea... my husband ruined both of ours on our last cruise.:mad: The video camera could be fixed but had to throw away the digital cam. I learned my lesson and bought a housing for the new camera to use whenever we're near the water!

[stevedam]

Where do you pick up housing for digital cameras? any web pages??

[10X]

Using an underwater camera housing comes with its own issues. Not that they are bad, you just have to be careful.

 

Underwater housing are sealed by o-rings. These o-rings must be kept ABSOLUTELY clean and free from any foreign matter. Even a grain of sand or a hair will cause the o-ring to leak, flooding your housing and ruining your camera.

 

The o-rings must be kept slightly lubricated with silicone grease, which is usually supplied with each housing.

 

Be sure to test the housing in water, without the camera inside. That way, if it leaks, you didn't ruin the camera.

 

If your camera and housing do not float, be sure to attach it to some sort of strap that is attached to you. That way, if it slips out of your control, you won't be watching it drop to the deep where you might not be able to retrieve it. Soemthing like an ID strap that many work places use to display company ID work well.

 

Insurance is a good option here, because, it usually a case of when, not if, your housing will flood and ruin your camera. Be sure you are insuring against flooding.

 

I use an Olympus C5050 with an Olympus PT-015 housing, and my wife uses a Canon A95, with a Canon WP-DC50 housing. I use mine diving while she uses hers snorkeling. Both are 5 megepixel cameras and take great pictures.

 

If I wanted a nice camera for above and below the water, I would highly recommend the A95. You can get the camera and housing for less than $600. I would recommend my Olympus but it's no longer made, nor is the housing. The A95 is a new model as of last fall.

[bruce-r]

Where do you pick up housing for digital cameras? any web pages??

First start at Digideep.com to see if you camera has a housing available. If it does, get the model number of the housing and do a google search, or better yet, a froogle search. I got my housing on Ebay. There is usually a fine selection of housings there, but find out the going online price first, or you could end up paying too much.

[bnairuni]

I did a search for the SeaLife SharkDiver SL 300, camera on google and several shops are offering them. The lowest were Ritz Camera and Wolf camera for $19.10 and $19.99.

 

Looks like a good deal. The cheapest disposible I could find was $6.00 and I was going to buy several of those....

 

Also the disposibles do not have the aiming circle.....

[10X]

If you plan on using disposables, and I used to, be sure you get within 1-2 feet of your subject before taking the picture. The cameras are focused to infinity so if you are any distance from your subject, they will appear very small in the picture. The closer the better. This will also help reduce getting a "blue" picture.

 

If you can afford to get away from disposables, do it. You'll never regret it.

 

Bruce's suggestion about using Digideep for camera/housing selection is excellent. I used it to select my wife's Canon A95 and housing.