Shopping for a Cheap Digital Underwater Camera?

[traveler523]

I'm satisfied with the value I got. The camera's a fraction of the cost of other underwater (and by this I mean water proof to at least 100') cameras and offers reasonable images.

 

I dive maybe twice a year so making a big investment in underwater camera gear just doesn't make sense for me. I use my pictures mostly to share on the web so super-mega-uber-pixel clarity isn't critical for me either.

 

I do my above water shooting with a Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T20 that I use for travel (because the convenience of carrying it in a pocket outweighs most everything else) and a Nikon P100 that I use to shoot my kids in sports. Neither of these is particularly sophisticated (nor is the photographer) but they offer good value.

 

The slow shutter response is the most annoying "feature" on this camera. It's press the button and wait. If you can cope with that, it's a super good deal.

 

Thanks, this is the best info I've found so far... as it relates to me. I shoot the majority of my pics with the Nikon S550 b/c it easy to carry and produces good quality pictures (biggest drawback is that it is slow). The D70 takes incredible pictures, and both are easy to use, the D70 being a bit more bulky. I will definately look into the Suprema Digital. Great info, thanks for sharing!

 

T-523

[SBAnt]

I've had the original (as far as I know) waterproof digital underwater camera since it came out years ago. 5 megapixels, 2 inch LCD, but it's still going strong, and it's been in the hands of myself, my mother (who is responsible for killing at least three of my cameras through mishaps) and numerous children. Also, the battery still works and the pictures still come out looking fine for emailing/printing 4x6. I've also taken it down to 15 feet underwater (briefly) and no leaks. If you don't mind the lack of optical image stabilization, Pentax has put out 5 or six newer cameras since this one came out, and at least one of them has to be very cheap through ebay or amazon.

[galamars]

Thanks for this topic guys! We were going to settle for disposable ones, but definitely really liking the opinions about digital cameras. Might go buy ourselves one :D

[Pilot70D]

Generally speaking there are three price thresholds for "waterproof" or underwater cameras. The first are for the waterproof cameras which are typically good to go down to 10-15' or so. These tend to be the least expensive cameras but can produce some quite acceptible pictures. Pricing for this type of camera ranges from under $25 for disposables up to around $200 for a fairly good point-and-shoot camera which can also be used on land.

The second theshold is for the waterproof cameras that are somewhat ruggedized and are good down to 30-35' or so. They tend to be more expensive point andshoot type cameras and do usually produce better pictures than the less expensive cameras in the first category. I have seen prices for these cameras range from $200-$399. Once again these are point-and-shoot cameras and can be used above water as well as under it.

The third threshold is for cameras and equipment intended more for SCUBA than for snorkeling. This type of equipment consists of an underwater housing plus a regular, non-waterproof camera. There is usually a one-to-one relationship between the housing and the camera in that the housing is specifically designed for one and only model camera. Upgrade to another camera and usually that will mean going to another housing as well. This type of equipment will be good to go down to to depths in excess of 100' and will range in price from a few hundred dollars to the sky is the limit.

The bigeest problem in underwater photograhy is that there is insuficient light to take really good pictures once you get below fifteen feet or so. Almost all cameras do have a built in flash but that built in flash is almost always located too close to the lense's center line for optimum underwater use. In the ocean there is almost always a faitly large amount of particulate matter suspended in the water. When a flash picture is taken with the flash too close to the lense one gets a lot of the flash's light reflected directly back into the lense which is undesirable.

Serious underwater photographers almost always have at least two strobes or lights mounted on stalks that keep these funits well away from the lense center lline. They are also aimed at an angle ratehr than straight ahead. By so aiming them the light reflected directly back from the flash going off tends to travel in a straight line back to the flash unit and therefore doesn't enter the lense and therefore adversely affecting the photo. We are now talking about serious money for this type of rig though. As one previous poster mentioned, this level of expense doesn't make sense for someone that goes diving a couple of times per year.

There are a handfull of excellent books available on underwater digital photography for beginners. Their cost is reasonable and I would look on Amazon for the price & availability.

Hope this is helpful info. Now everyone go enjoy that next dive trip or snorkel excursion.:):):)

[travelfourever]

My father bought me an Olympus Stylus Tough 8000...that turned out to be not so tough. While on-board I checked to make sure each of the compartments were closed and did a giant stride entry. Immediately I turned around to get ready to take a shot for my daughter's entry...only to see that the side battery charging compartment had opened. Water in the camera and it was useless.

 

He's going to take it back to Best Buy and see what they can do, but WOW was I disappointed. The camera barely had any impact since I had it in my hand (away from water tight portions). Think twice before doing anything with this camera! I'll keep everyone posted!

[MargaritaPlease]

My father bought me an Olympus Stylus Tough 8000...that turned out to be not so tough. While on-board I checked to make sure each of the compartments were closed and did a giant stride entry. Immediately I turned around to get ready to take a shot for my daughter's entry...only to see that the side battery charging compartment had opened. Water in the camera and it was useless.

 

Funny!!! :D Not because of your loss but because the Olympus page for the camera starts out "The STYLUS TOUGH-8000 is virtually indestructible." Maybe not. :eek:

[gregeol]

I'll put in another vote for the Canon D10. I bought it to replace my old Sealife which was good but not great. I'm very satisfied with the D10. The results are great and it is easy to use, the controls are easy even in the water. The big plus is that the view screen is large and easy to see and has adjustable brightness, a blessing for those of us with older eyes. All in all I'm extremely happy with my purchase. As an aside I have talked to several (6-8) Olympus and Pentax owners whose new cameras have crapped out on them after one time in the water. Just people I met on snorkeling excursions; I don't have any personal experience with them, but it makes you wonder.

[Pilot70D]

I have been interested in this thread from the beginning and particularly interested in the Canon Powershot D10. I was thinking that for shallow water pictures it might have some advantages over my Olympus in its bulky underwater housing.

I put this idea on hold for a period due to work engagements then started doing some research over the last two days. What I discovered is that roughly 20% of the user review respondees had moderate to serious problems with this camera. Let me say that I don't think that one out of every five D10's has a problem. Owners who are really unhappy are much more likely to do a review than are those middle of the road owners who neither hate or love this camera.

What I do think is that this camera DOES have a higher percentage of problems than like model cameras designed for shallow underwater usage do. I frequently use Amazon's user reviews for connsumer products like the D10. Here is a link to the user reviews on there for this camera:

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-D10-Waterproof-Stabilized/product-reviews/B001SER460/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

On there, 174 reviews were favorable while 38 were unfoavorable. The unavorable reviews were usually for one of two problems (1) the camera or lense leaked rendering the camera inoperable or (2) "Lense Error - Restart The Camera" error happening over and over.

Now lest everyone that owns one of these cameras starts howling for my head, I am not saying that Canon produced a crappy camera or a lemon in the case of the D10. What I am saying is that the D10 experiences a higher percentage of problems than other similar point and shoot cameras.

Here is what I would do if I had just purchased D10 or I had my heart set on buying one. IMMEDIATELY after purchasing the D10 I would get it good and wet five to ten times and for sevral hours every time I got it wet. This can be done in a tub or bucket. I would tie a small weight to the camera to keep it submerged and then leave it in the water. The first three times I would leave the camera powered off. If everything was OK then I would do three to five static tests like before but with the camera powered on. If still OK then I would do two or three more tests and this time use all of the cameras controls and buttons while the camera was underwater. If the camera was still OK in every way then and only then would I take it on my next cruise.

Yes, all this testing is a pain in the rump BUT it will probably prevent you from experiencing a camera failure shortly after you start using the camera. Once you're out on the cruise it's too late if your camera craps out on you.

Just a thought and my $0.02 worht. I hope this info helps someone. Everyone have a great day out there.;)

[clackey]

I ran across some neat cameras in one of my catalogs. Overton's has 2 camera/video masks. 5.0 MP good to 15 feet, takes a 2 GB memory card and they have another that is good to 33 feet. Check out their catalog at www.overtons.com.

[tjdj]

anyone knows about Olympus X-560WP?

 

JoAnna - wondering how your cruise went and if you had the Olympus X560-WP with you. I bought that camera for our cruise in June and wanted to know if it was good.

 

TIA!

 

Jyl

[maggieworkman]

We plan on going Sea Trek helmet diving in Grand Cayman. I've asked around and they say this is about 12ft deep. Can I get away with a 10 ft. camera or should I go for one of the 33 ft ones? I won't be a diver ever. But i will probably snorkel with the camera (once per trip annually???). I was going to get the Canon D10, but I am wondering if its overkill for what I will use it for? Not sure the ~$300 is worth it. Up until now we have just used the disposable ones.

 

Maggie

[topspot]

maggieworkman - we did the Helmet Dive in Grand Cayman in 2007. It was about 30-35 ft under the surface. So, unless they moved the location, I would think you would need a more robust camera.

 

By the way, we loved the dive. It was one of our "adventures" that prompted us to all get scuba certified.

[Desilin]

Back from the crusie and promised I would post pictures taken with the canon D10

I love this camera I will admit I am not a pro photographer so that may make a difference. But this camera is easy to use and takes great pictres!!

 

 

 

 

 

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb207/sunshine42419/cruisepart21216.jpg

 

 

 

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb207/sunshine42419/cruisepart21117.jpg

[Pilot70D]

We plan on going Sea Trek helmet diving in Grand Cayman. I've asked around and they say this is about 12ft deep. Can I get away with a 10 ft. camera or should I go for one of the 33 ft ones? I won't be a diver ever. But i will probably snorkel with the camera (once per trip annually???). I was going to get the Canon D10, but I am wondering if its overkill for what I will use it for? Not sure the ~$300 is worth it. Up until now we have just used the disposable ones.

 

Maggie

 

Go for the more robust camera. Many if not most of the disposable cameras with a stated max depth of 10 Ft. will not survive at depths much greater than 15'-20'. Some will and some won't so how much are those memories worth to you?

Here's the story. The pressure doubles for every 33' you descend. At sea level we are under one atmosphere of pressure. At 33' we have two atmospheres. At 66' we have three atmospheres. Granted no helmet dives go down to 66' but many do go to a depths of 30' or so.

If that helmet dive goes only to 12' then that 10' camera will survive quite nicely. The pressure difference between these two depths is not great and all of the disposables are designed with a small safety factor as far as depth goes. If however you descend to 30' or deeper then all bets are off. Flip a coin - the camera may or may not succumb to the pressure.

Enjoy that dive no matter what camera you choose.

:):)

[MargaritaPlease]

Flip a coin - the camera may or may not succumb to the pressure.

 

It's not a question of the camera succumbing. I've taken 10' disposables to 60' or more without them leaking or being crushed. The primary failure is the spring in the shutter release button - it's not strong enough to push the button back out under pressure. Once you take that 10' camera much below the 10' level, you'll only get one shot - and that might be taken automatically for you as the button is compressed!!

[peter_krynicki]

Look at the Olympus "Tough" brand.

 

 

Just as good above water as below.

Pjk

[heavenlysea]

PJK-which Olympus tough took the picture you posted? I'm trying to decide between cameras for snorkeling.

[heavenlysea]

PJK-which Olympus tough took the picture you posted? I'm trying to decide between cameras for snorkeling. I'm willing to pay around $200-225.

[peter_krynicki]

PJK-which Olympus tough took the picture you posted? I'm trying to decide between cameras for snorkeling. I'm willing to pay around $200-225.

 

Mine is the 8000 which I checked and they are going for about $380.00. There is one more expensive one, the 8010, but they start with the 3000 which goes for about $230.00.

 

hth

Pjk

[peter_krynicki]

This was taken with it above the water-line...

 

 

Pjk

[heavenlysea]

PJK-

Thanks for the info! :)

[JackGrey]

After lots of searching I've decided to get a waterproof case for my Canon SD1200IS. It's a great camera, and despite the price, I've got high hopes for the case.

 

If you'd rather an actual waterproof camera, consider checking DPReview's Waterproof Camera Comparison. Their reviews are generally fantastic, and their community is almost as helpful as the one here.

[maggieworkman]

I ended up purchasing the Canon D10. I'll post some pictures when we get back from the helmet dive. I have a Canon Powershot SD1100IS for my regular camera, so I thought getting the waterproof camera in a Canon style would be good. I'm hoping the battery and charger will be the same.

 

I bought a couple Kodak disposable cameras for the kids to use. Can these go through checked luggage on the airplane or will the scanning of the bags ruin the film? Should I bring them in the carryon? Should I ask for handcheck of these? What about going through the ship's scanner?

 

Thanks,

Maggie

[kirbmeister]

I just returned from the Majesty. I purchased a Pentax W80 for about $160. I was real happy with the pictures and video in and out of the water. Pictures and video from Coco Cay can be found at the links in my signature below. My only complaint is that the battery can be put in backwards, so make sure the camera comes on before entering the water.

[Pilot70D]

I bought a couple Kodak disposable cameras for the kids to use. Can these go through checked luggage on the airplane or will the scanning of the bags ruin the film? Should I bring them in the carryon? Should I ask for handcheck of these? What about going through the ship's scanner?

 

Thanks,

Maggie

 

Maggie, the scanners at the airport and at the cruise ship WILL NOT harm the film in those disposable cameras. You can leave them in your luggage without any worries or hand scanning etc.

I have kept a couple of disposable cameras in the bottom of my gear bag that houses most of my SCUBA gear. These two cameras have been in there for six years or so. About two months ago I was going do some pool work testing a set overhauled regulators and I wanted pictures underwater. Being basically lazy I didn't want to assemble an underwater housing and camera so I used one of the disposables. The pictures came out fine even though I was way past the expiration date for the film. This bag along with the cameras have been on several commercial flights as well as on many different cruise ships. No harm was done to the film.

:):):)