Underwater Cameras

[Jan T]

Can anyone give some advice on underwater cameras? We're cruising the southern caribbean in September and I'd like to take one along. I rented one last year that took some fantastic photos. I've searched around some and have seen a few digitals as well. I've been interested in a digital too. Maybe I could save some money and buy a combo and use it on land as well as in the water. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Jan T:)

[Coral]

No personal experience but a friend who is a diver just bought this digital camera:

 

sony camera

 

and if you click on accessories - you can add a marine pack:

 

marine pack

[sunluva7]

No advice on underwater digitals, but we bought disposable Fuji underwater cameras for our last cruise for snorkeling, and they took great photos. We were very happy with them, and they're very inexpensive. :)

[005flyer]

Unless you are an actual diver, I wouldn't buy a underwater digital or SLR camera. The quality of the disposibles is great these days, and they are easy enough to operate that you can pass the camera to someone else to take a picture of you .

[Jan T]

I've tried the disposables and never can seem to get it quite right. The object is always just out of frame, or never exactly what I wanted. :(

 

So, I"m going to try to buy something with a better viewfinder. I'm looking at a Sealife Reefmaster for about $400. The good thing is that it's also a digital that I can use for land photos as well as underwater.

 

I'm going to look at the Sony that Coral posted about as well.

Thanks everyone

Jan T

[Bob & Barb]

I have one of the Sony Cybershot T-1's mentioned a few posts above and love it. Had it on the Tahitian Princess in May and took some wonderful underwater shots. It is very easy to use and pictures come out well consistently. It has an optional underwater pack which I bought and used and loved. It enables you to use all of the picture controls underwater just the same as you would if the camera was not in this special case. I used it about 15 times underwater and there was no leakage at all. It is the best of all worlds. Furthermore, the camera lens does not protrude from the camera body as other digitals do. It is slim and fits in your pocket like no other. It started at $600 and came down to $500 and can now be bought on line for about $415. It also has a dock for quick and easy tranfer of pictures from camera to computer which also recharges the battery. Bought an extra battery and have never needed it. Took 1200 picture on that trip alone. Haven't found a single "negative" with this camera. :D

 

Bob

[spongerob]

We have a Canon ELPH that has a waterproof body. It takes good pictures underwater, all the controls are readily available, and it doubles as a great land camera. It uses APS style film.

[PeabodyNVL]

The problem I find with the disposables is it seems the mechanism on some of the brands to take the photo is getting harder and harder to push! With the last camera I had, I had to push so hard for the shutter to click that many of my photos were blurry, due to the movement of the camera.

[Jan T]

Thanks for all the replies. I am seriously considering the Sealife Reefmaster DC300. It's about $400. The Sony discussed about is about $600. But it seems to be a much better camera. 5.1mp vs the Sealife at 3.3mp.

:rolleyes: Hmmmm....tough choice.

I can hear the Jeopardy theme song now......

 

:)

Jan T

[starsjohn]

I am a diver with an older Nikonos underwater film system, and a Canon G-5 digital mounted in a Ikelite Case. Both of these systems take extreme care in loading, cleanup, and O-ring-seal maintenace.

 

Whatever system you decide on, keep maintenance in mind as one little slipup means a totally ruined camera. Even if not used much, many of the underwater cameras may need yearly servicing and inspection by a reliable agent.

 

Those of you that want better pictures need to consider wide angle lenses and aux. flash units. You need to get up close for those really colorful reef specimen shots.

 

John

[Jan T]

ok everybody....i'm up to about $700 with all the accessories.....underwater housing, 256meg card and extended life battery. :rolleyes: :confused: :cool: :eek:

 

Can you tell i'm not sure?

Do you think it's worth it?

 

Jan

[Desertbelle]

I own a Canon Powershot S-45 with a waterproof case and I love it. It's a great camera all by itself, and with the waterproof case it's especially great for vacations. I put the waterproof case on it whenever we are around water, not just when we are snorkeling, just for safety purposes. Keeps it dry and free of bumps and bangs.

 

True, it was an indulgence for myself, but hey, I'm worth it! :)

[NCP]

I own a little Minolta Dimage. On December my husband gave me an underwater case for the camara and it is fatastic!!!!

He took the camara diving and got great pictures.

And the best is that the camara fits in my pocket and the quality of the pictures is very decent.

[Colo Cruiser]

As far as the disposible cameras we have had great luck with the Kodak but the Fuji's have leaked twice and destroyed our pictures. Will not buy them again.

[ItsMe]

We bought a disposable Kodak camera in March for a snorkling trip in Belize, the pictures were not great, so I was thinking about buying a better camera(but was a little intimidated by all the maintainence that was needed and I wasn't sure how much I would use it), but decided to try one more time. We were in St. Thomas in June and took another Kodak disposable with us, this time the pictures turned out great! The difference was, you have to make sure that you are very close to your subject when taking the picture, because the more water between you and your subject the more the colors will be lost.

[Colo Cruiser]

I have a Cannon Power Shot S-50 which runs around $450. They sell a waterproof casing for it for around $200 but I am petrified to do that.

[Desertbelle]

Colo Cruiser, that's the next model up from mine and I love the water-proof case. I guess it could break, but I take care of it the way they suggest and it's been good so far. :)

[Snorkelcat]

Jan T,

 

Do you presently own a digital camera? If so, what make and model. I have an Olympus 750. I got the underwater housing made by Olympus specifically for the 750. My underwater pictures are great. There are some things you have to be careful about when using an underwater housing, but if you pay attention to the instructions, all will go well. When not in the water, have my digital for every other situation I need a camera for. It is the best of both worlds.

When you take the time to check out ebay, look locally, and then check out the large photography warehouse prices, the costs go down. You can get a camera and housing for far less than $700. You just have to check around. If you go to www.scubaboard.com and go to the underwater board, you can get a lot of info. A lot of divers use the Olympus 5050. It is too much camera for what you want.

Have you checked the scuba and snorkel thread here yet? There are some notes about cameras there too. Be careful with some to the Sealife cameras, as they are low quality cameras inside a waterproof housing. Remember, you get what you pay for with cameras.

Another thing to consider is are you going to do this again? If the answer is yes, by the time you add up the disposable camera costs, the developing costs, especially for the shots that are no good!, and you still don't have a good camera to take to the concert or dinner the next night.....what adds up to be the bast route? I used disposables for 2 trips before I got the housing. All the difference in the world!

Beware...once you go digital, all the rest is old hat!!!!! It's so much fun and much easier. You will love it!!!

Not an easy decision, nor one to take lightly. I would advise you to 'do your homework on the web'. There is so much info out there to assist you with your choice.

Good luck!

[Colo Cruiser]

Margie, thats good to know. Someday I will get up the nerve to try one.