Snorkeling Equipment Questions

[razorbackcruiser]

Hello, we'll be doing Damien's tour in Bora Bora which involves some sort of snorkeling I believe. We're also considering doing Bruno's (I think) in Raitea. Do we need to bring our own snorkeling equipment or do the tours provide that for you? I've seen different answers on the boards.

 

If we need to bring our own, what do we need? I know a snorkel and mask, but what about flippers vs. shoes? Either? I've only snorkeled in Cancun and Grand Cayman, and I've always had flippers. Any advice is welcomed! Thanks!!!

[laurieb]

definitely bring your own. snorkel, mask and we always bring our own fins. We used them all the time and found them sometimes necessary too, currents and all.

[2manyplaces]

Do you really want to put snorkel gear in your mouth that has been used by many before you? Have you ever looked in one of those containers they toss them all into when your return them? Maybe it's just me, but I prefer to have my own equipment--at least snorkel and mask (mine is prescription, however, because I'm blind as a bat). I use fins from the operator. Most will provide all equipment if you need it. Check with them.

[DANofNORTH]

For all the previous good reasons! We also brought our own fins.

 

I don't know about Damien's tour but I'm pretty certain that Bruno doesn't supply the snorkel equipment. At least when we went everyone brought their own! (By the way THIS IS A FANTASTIC TOUR!)

 

I suggest that you look at Snorkelmart.com We found them to have good prices & very good products. I bought perscription goggles for MDW & she loves them. But, wherever to get'em ... bring'em.

 

Hope this helps;

 

Dan

[AZbeachboy]

Hello, we'll be doing Damien's tour in Bora Bora which involves some sort of snorkeling I believe. We're also considering doing Bruno's (I think) in Raitea. Do we need to bring our own snorkeling equipment or do the tours provide that for you? I've seen different answers on the boards.

 

If we need to bring our own, what do we need? I know a snorkel and mask, but what about flippers vs. shoes? Either? I've only snorkeled in Cancun and Grand Cayman, and I've always had flippers. Any advice is welcomed! Thanks!!!

 

I agree. We got our own snorkeling equiptment for our last trip. Always had it with us, used it whenever we went to the beach at the hotel, etc. That is the best way to do it.

[Are we there yet?]

This may be a stupid question, but can you wear contact lenses with goggles or do you have to get prescription goggles? We have never snorkeled before but would like to try it in Tahiti. Also what is the difference between dry snorkels and regular ones.

Thank you

[AZbeachboy]

My wife wares contacts with mask. She has never had a problem. I always make sure she takes extra. Here eyes are not correctable with glasses so we do nove have a precription on for her. I would check with eye doctor.

 

I ware glassed and tried a prescriition on once. I prefer the regular and just do not ware the glasses.

[Are we there yet?]

My wife wares contacts with mask. She has never had a problem. I always make sure she takes extra. Here eyes are not correctable with glasses so we do nove have a precription on for her. I would check with eye doctor.

 

I ware glassed and tried a prescriition on once. I prefer the regular and just do not ware the glasses.

 

Thanks AZbeachboy, this is good to know. We are going to a dive shop when we are on holiday at the end of the month, so the more I know the better.:)

[cruisepop53]

We found this place in Maui years ago to rent snorkel gear and now Snorkel Bob produces his own line of basic Mo'beda gear. http://www.snorkelbob.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.exe/?E+scstore

 

Don't let his sense of humor throw you.

[AZbeachboy]

I may have missed someone else saying this, but there are special threads on the main board dedicated to snorkeling and equiptment. Lots of good information there. It helped us decided on equiptment and what to look for.

[razorbackcruiser]

Thanks for all the answers everyone. We went ahead and bought some equipment. Why not I suppose....

 

What about underwater pictures? The underwater housing for my camera is like 140 bucks! Do the throwaway type of cameras work well enough? I think Damien will take pictures for you and then sell them to you? Any idea how much that costs or if it's worth it? Do other tours do the same thing?

[laurieb]

we got the underwater housing, if you can swing it, your photos will be far better than with a throwaway camera. I don't care much for the disposable kind but they are better than nothing.

[dom_nique]

Damien can provide you with snorkeling equipment if you don't have your own. I can't recall if his equipment is high quality since I didn't use it, but others in our group did.

 

Regarding underwater cameras: I used disposable cameras during our trip. The only pictures that turned out well were the ones that weren't close ups. With amazing fish coming right up to you, you might be tempted to take close-up shots, but they most likely will come out blurry. There should be about one metre between you and the fish/coral/etc.

[CSloan]

What about underwater pictures? The underwater housing for my camera is like 140 bucks! Do the throwaway type of cameras work well enough? I think Damien will take pictures for you and then sell them to you? Any idea how much that costs or if it's worth it? Do other tours do the same thing?

 

I've heard good things about the aquapac. It's a lot less expensive than an underwater housing, especially if you're not going to use it very often. I'm going to give it a try in Sept. I have a Pentax Optio underwater camera, but it's only guaranteed for 5' depth, and I plan on a helmet dive and snuba on our trip.

[ArizonaRalphie]

 

What about underwater pictures? Do the throwaway type of cameras work well enough?

 

We bought a half dozen of the disposable cameras (for our group of 4), as well as special "Sea Processing" mail away folders for our Tahitian cruise in February. End result??? Much less than anticipated. All of our photos were pretty well "washed out" On the other hand, the photos that Bruno took with his Olympus underwater camera were outstanding.

 

On our next outing, I have already purchased a DiPaCam so, for a $40 investment, we're going to give it a try. If that doesn't do the trick I'm going to have to invest (secretly and on the sly) in a decent underwater camera.

[dot73]

Ralph, the Olympus Stylus 720 SW that both Bruno and I have, has now been upgraded to 770 SW. The new one is good enough now for 33 feet deep (from 15). I'm going to upgrade mine next year. The camera also takes pretty good pictures above ground and you don't have to worry about dropping it or getting sand into it. I think it's a good investment. The price is a bit hefty (about $399 Cdn) but keep an eye on sales.

[lovesyorkies]

Hello. I bought and used the new Olypus 770 SW underwater digital camera in May when I went on the TP. My underwater photos were just "OK" but this was mostly due to my skills (or lack of them!). however, my underwater video clips that I took with the same camera came out pretty good.

 

Overall, I think the 770 was worth the money.

[texswamper]

I just purchased this camara for our upcoming TP cruise online for $292. It's advertised everywhere for $379. We've always used the disposables with less than stellar pictures, so we're hoping this new one will give us better photos. We also have 2 other Olympus digitals, so my DH knows all the settings, etc.

 

Just thought I'd pass along the info on price.

 

Marcia

[dot73]

$292 for the 770SW -that's a steal! As to the quality of pictures, my first ones weren't that great, but they got better and better as I went along. It's hard to keep the camera steady in the water and the fish move so fast. I had a large card, so sometimes I just pointed the camera in the right direction and shot pictures. Also, the colour depends on what kind of a day it is. On bright sunny days and in calm water, the pictures turned out pretty good. I also found that the photoshop elements auto correct feature does a great job in correcting some of the colours and shadows. All in all, I love this camera and will definitely be upgrading to the 770SW so that I can use it in deeper water. It's also a good camera if you are a klutz on land, as it is almost impossible to damage.

[ArizonaRalphie]

I just purchased this camara for our upcoming TP cruise online for $292. It's advertised everywhere for $379. We've always used the disposables with less than stellar pictures, so we're hoping this new one will give us better photos. We also have 2 other Olympus digitals, so my DH knows all the settings, etc.

 

Just thought I'd pass along the info on price.

 

Marcia

 

Might I be so bold as to inquire where you found this deal?

[dot73]

Ralph, make sure that you are buying the 770 version and not the 720. The biggest problem with the 720 is that if you take it out of salty water and then go back in, there are spots on the lens. the new version has corrected this problem and the spots no longer appear. Also, the 720 is only good for 15 feet depth while the 770 goes down 33 feet. I went to a digital imaging show in April, and one of the sales people mentioned that the camera may even be upgraded some more in November.

[ArizonaRalphie]

Ralph, make sure that you are buying the 770 version and not the 720. The biggest problem with the 720 is that if you take it out of salty water and then go back in, there are spots on the lens. the new version has corrected this problem and the spots no longer appear. Also, the 720 is only good for 15 feet depth while the 770 goes down 33 feet. I went to a digital imaging show in April, and one of the sales people mentioned that the camera may even be upgraded some more in November.

 

Dot,

 

Well, for starters, at my age I'm only good for about 5 feet. That being said, I'm probably not going to buy one, but I was just curious. Pammie would never let me make an investment like that. I still like to dream about stuff like this though.

[catergirl]

we used to use the disposables and after many hit and miss pics we saw a digital pentax waterproof camera. WOW is it great! use it on all our excursions. people keep saying when i get in the water with the sharks or rays,"you've got your canera in the water!!" ya its great down to 5 feet or so. clear pics. cheaper than most. check it out!

[texswamper]

Ralph,

 

I found it at Broadway Photo and their web address is www.bwayphoto.com. I ordered the Olympus 770sw. Hope this helps.

 

Marcia