#21007 - 03/13/05 04:31 PM
Underwater Digital Camera
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reubenray
Member
Registered: 02/27/05
Posts: 116
Loc: New Orleans
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Has anyone used one of these cameras? The one I am trying to find will work underwater (in a waterproof case) and doubles as a regular digital camera above water.
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#21008 - 03/14/05 06:06 AM
Re: Underwater Digital Camera
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jarredk
Member
Registered: 08/27/04
Posts: 36
Loc: New York
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Used one of which cameras? I think your question may be a bit broad - there are tons of digital cameras that you can buy with underwater housings and use below or above the water. Are you looking for suggestions? If so, you should try to be a little more specific - price range? features?
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#21009 - 03/14/05 06:11 AM
Re: Underwater Digital Camera
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reubenray
Member
Registered: 02/27/05
Posts: 116
Loc: New Orleans
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I was not aware that there was very many of these type cameras. I did a search using google with no luck. Price range would probably be less than $500. Features - I have no idea.
My wife wants a digital camera and I want a better underwater camera than the disposables. Thus the reason for this question. It will mostly be used for snorkling, but may be used eventually for scuba.
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#21010 - 03/14/05 06:33 AM
Re: Underwater Digital Camera
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Patti.
Expert Advisor
Registered: 03/28/04
Posts: 2448
Loc: Las Vegas, NV
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Look in the Money Weather and Bugs section. There is a post started by me about underwater disposable cameras. In it Thomas Marshall talks about his underwater digital camera. He took some amazing underwater pics last summer.
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#21011 - 03/14/05 07:14 AM
Re: Underwater Digital Camera
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jarredk
Member
Registered: 08/27/04
Posts: 36
Loc: New York
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Ikelite makes some good underwater housings for a lot of digital cameras. Check out there site to see which digital cameras can be fitted with u/w housings. click here For an even more complete listing, you can check out b and h photo's website by clicking here
I think Thomas Marshall's camera is an Olympus 5060 - which scuba divers swear by. The camera is now out of production, as Olympus is now making the 7070 which retails for about $600 (the housing is not out yet), I think. You may be able to find a few stores that still carry the 5060, but with housing, this camera will still be well above $500.
Another factor that you should consider is an underwater strobe. One of the biggest differences between shooting above water and below water is the lack of lighting below water. Without sufficient lighting, most pictures (no matter how good of a photographer you are) will come out very blue and lack color. Having a strobe is probably the single biggest difference maker in underwater photography.
Now - considering that you will probably want a decent u/w camera, a housing and a strobe (for starters), there are not too many choices in the $500 or below range.
Either way - good luck.
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#21012 - 03/14/05 10:40 AM
Re: Underwater Digital Camera
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Thomas Marshall
Moderator
Registered: 02/10/04
Posts: 1152
Loc: Newport Beach, Ca. USA
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Check out "Scubaboard.com" under Underwater Cameras and you'll find excellent advice both on what kind of camera to buy and how to use it.
I copied this comment from my Album on this forum, you can check out my album by clicking on the "Photo Albums" area above. My album is titled "Tahiti, Taha'a, Bora Bora and Moorea - Aug 04". I have some nice Shark shots, and be sure and look at the other UW shots at the end of the Album.
This is my rig:
Underwater: Olympus C-5050 Zoom (5.1 Mega pixels) with an Olympus PT-015 waterproof case. I also had an attachable Inon UWL - 100 Wide Angle Lens (used for all the Shark pictures). I used the C-5050's internal flash for close up pictures (Macro use inside 3 feet). No external strobe was used.
This unit cost $600.00 (camera $400, case $150 and accessories $50) not including the Wide Angle Lens.
You can easily get a very good setup for around $500.00, and the camera will take great underwater or land pictures.
If you’re going to take additional vacations IMO it’s well worth the investment.
_________________________
Thomas
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#21013 - 03/16/05 11:34 AM
Re: Underwater Digital Camera
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shan97
Member
Registered: 03/15/05
Posts: 55
Loc: Houston, TX
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What's your advice on the reliability of the underwater housings? I have a Sony DSC-V1 camera that is a 5.1 megapixel camera that I paid about $600-700 for I think, which I think takes great pictures. I was concerned that if I got a housing for this camera, that it might leak and then ruin the camera for the rest of the trip. So I was thinking about buying a cheaper digital camera (3 megapixel or something for around $150-200) and a housing and using this just for diving pictures. Then if it leaked it wouldn't be as big of a deal. I know you can get equipment insurance, but I would still just hate to be in the middle of a vacation and have my nice digital camera ruined in addition to a memory stick that might be full of pictures already taken.
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#21014 - 03/16/05 01:15 PM
Re: Underwater Digital Camera
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jarredk
Member
Registered: 08/27/04
Posts: 36
Loc: New York
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It's always a risk. It's usually human error that causes the problem, though, not the housing. Either forgetting to grease those o-rings, getting something caught in-between the o-ring and housing, or just plain stupidity. If you're careful and take good care of the equipment and o-ring maintenance, the chances are pretty slim (said while knocking on wood and praying to the scuba gods).
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#21015 - 03/16/05 02:54 PM
Re: Underwater Digital Camera
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Thomas Marshall
Moderator
Registered: 02/10/04
Posts: 1152
Loc: Newport Beach, Ca. USA
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Regarding reliability, I totally agree with jarredk, 99% of the time a flooded case is due to user error, not the equipment.
I've never had a problem with my case. Every time you open the case you need to be sure the o-ring is clean and well greased (silicone). Just follow the user guide and you’ll be fine, but lay off the Beer when doing maintenance on the unit.
With that said, I still use two cameras, one for underwater and one for land. No way I'm taking my Cannon EOS 10D underwater, especially considering how much I enjoy Hinano Beer 
_________________________
Thomas
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#21016 - 03/17/05 11:55 AM
Re: Underwater Digital Camera
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shan97
Member
Registered: 03/15/05
Posts: 55
Loc: Houston, TX
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Thanks, guys. I just ordered my "dive camera"....a Sony DSC-P73 and the housing for it. $350 total which I didn't think was a bad price. It seemed to have good reviews on picture quality and will be compatible with my other Sony camera and memory sticks. I love diving and can't wait to take some honeymoon pics in Tahiti. I'm sure I'll be glad I made the investment for many years to come!
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