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Shopping for a Cheap Digital Underwater Camera?


MargaritaPlease

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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.

 

:):):)

The checked luggage scanners at the airport say that they will damage film. The scanners for carry on say that they will not damage speed of 800 or less. Cruise ship scanners are more like the carry on scanners.

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The checked luggage scanners at the airport say that they will damage film. The scanners for carry on say that they will not damage speed of 800 or less. Cruise ship scanners are more like the carry on scanners.

 

We used to go through this back in those days when we used 35mm film cameras before digital came along. They may say that they can damage film but I have never had any film damaged in my checked baggage. These two cameras went through eight to ten commercial flights as checked luggage. No damage to the film.:cool:

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We used to go through this back in those days when we used 35mm film cameras before digital came along. They may say that they can damage film but I have never had any film damaged in my checked baggage. These two cameras went through eight to ten commercial flights as checked luggage. No damage to the film.:cool:

You are probably right, but both airports I checked bags in this past week emphasized not checking film. I am not willing to risk pictures that may be once in a lifetime pictures by putting the film in a checked bag.

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I looked at a lot of underwater cameras, and finally decided it was worth the extra money to get a good one. Most of them appear intended more for kids around the pool or at the beach, where the waterproofing is more a matter of protection, rather than for actual use diving. They seem to be limited to around 10 feet, which for any sort of serious snorkeling, which may go down to 12-15 feet leaves you a bit short. If you SNUBA or SCUBA, forget it. Both Olympus and Canon make a good camera that will go down to 33 feet, which is all you need for snorkeling of SNUBA. I went with the Olympus 8010, which is 14 megapixels, has a 5x optical zoom, a 1260 x 720 video mode, sound (even underwater), and several underwater settings that will help with the color loss you get underwater. Oh, it runs in the $360 range, not counting any extras, and I did go for the protection agreement (considering the risky environment I intend to use it)

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  • 4 weeks later...

When I was in St. Thomas in March, I picked up an Olympus FE-360 with the Olympus PT-044 Underwater Housing for $199. The housing is good to 40m. The shutter speed is slow but for the price I am pleased with the results I get with it.

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Another vote for the Canon D10. we have had it for almost a year and used it free diving to about 15 feet with great success. On the Internet you can buy one for $300 or less with shipping. be careful to keep it dry when changing chips is the only safety precaution. It is a little bulkier than the slim point and shoot for above ground cameras and takes a day or two of use to get use to.

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  • 1 month later...

+1 for the D10. I picked mine up for $258 from http://www.centraldigital.com. I bought a 3 year "anything happens" warranty just in case for another $60-$70.

 

The one thing I did to make sure I didn't have any failure the first try was to buy some underwater camera O-ring grease. Before our first time in the water I applied it to all the compartments to make sure I had a water tight seal.

 

Once in the water (after worrying all morning on if it would actually work) it powered right on and worked like a champ. Just turn the settings to "underwater" and shoot away. I'm really impressed with the camera (it shouldn't be a surprise as all of my cameras are canon) and how well it worked. Here's a couple of pics I got

 

IMG_3683.jpg

 

This one was on a very cloudy day in Freeport

IMG_3783.jpg

 

IMG_3785.jpg

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  • 3 months later...

DW wants to buy me a waterproof camera for Christmas. I see Amazon has the Canon D10 for $249 including shipping. I have read a few poor reviews on the D10 on other sites and thought I would ask people here how their D10 has stood up?

Any other recommendations at under $300.

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check www,backscatter.com for their recommendations. I bought the point and shoot they like, used on ebay for $30., Olympus FE-360 and the new Olympus housing for the camera for $100. from Adorama. Used it a lot for about 14 months now without problems. It works reasonably well using the builtin flash and diffuser and uw settings or, in shallow water the normal macro and fill flash.............I shot for years with a big rig, Nikonos with 2 strobes; and am pleased with this little solution.

 

btw, I am a scuba diver and the housing has been to 100ft and is rated to 130ft.

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The Canon D10 produced excellent pictured down at 15 ft. free diving. We have tried the $110 camera vs. the D10 and would say for the memories the D10 is worth the $200 difference. Just make sure after using the D10 you whip it off well before opening to change battery or chip.. We made a UTube "Indonesian Pleasures" with the D10 that is quite good.

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DW wants to buy me a waterproof camera for Christmas. I see Amazon has the Canon D10 for $249 including shipping. I have read a few poor reviews on the D10 on other sites and thought I would ask people here how their D10 has stood up?

Any other recommendations at under $300.

 

I've had 2 olympus underwater cameras (I broke one when I fell on it and the other I just wanted a new one so I got the D10). I have the Canon D10 now. I took it on our cruise in January, and snorkeled with it 10 of the 14 days and multiply times a day. The picture quality is great and it held up great. Since then I have used it randomly around here (no snorkeling Alberta, Canada) but I took it to Niagara falls so I didn't have to worry when it rained all day and got wet from the falls etc. It is my favourite so far for sure.

 

If you get one of these (or the olympus, etc.) make sure you soak it in tap water when you get home. The books say to do that and I think that is why I have had any issues. My olympus ones held up good. The one went on 4 cruises before I replaced it and it still works.

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I use an Intova IC-600 that I bought on Amazon for $139. It comes with a housing and the red filter can be added for an additional $22. I have had it for 3 years now and have had no problems with it at all.

 

I only use it in video mode now as still shots are just too generic and while a picture of a parrotfish might be colorful, it is nothing compared to seeing and hearing a parrotfish eating coral.

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DW wants to buy me a waterproof camera for Christmas. I see Amazon has the Canon D10 for $249 including shipping. I have read a few poor reviews on the D10 on other sites and thought I would ask people here how their D10 has stood up?

 

Any other recommendations at under $300.

 

Very happy with my Panasonic DMC-TS2 (here for example: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=panasonic+ts2&N=0&InitialSearch=yes). It has a good set of features and the photos have been very good quality both in water and out. It doesn't compare to my two Nikon D-SLR's but for a point and shoot it's definitely a quality product.

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I use an Intova IC-600 that I bought on Amazon for $139. It comes with a housing and the red filter can be added for an additional $22. I have had it for 3 years now and have had no problems with it at all.

 

I only use it in video mode now as still shots are just too generic and while a picture of a parrotfish might be colorful, it is nothing compared to seeing and hearing a parrotfish eating coral.

I also have had the Intova for a couple of years. At first I wasn't to happy with it, but with practice and a red filter the pics are much better.

232323232%7Ffp5337%3B%3Enu%3D3237%3E9%3B%3A%3E%3B%3B%3A%3EWSNRCG%3D353%3B3%3A5%3A64325nu0mrj232323232%7Ffp5339%3A%3Enu%3D3237%3E9%3B%3A%3E%3B%3B%3A%3EWSNRCG%3D353%3B3%3A5%3A62325nu0mrj232323232%7Ffp53398%3Enu%3D3237%3E9%3B%3A%3E%3B%3B%3A%3EWSNRCG%3D353%3B3%3A5%3A5%3A325nu0mrj

These were taken at 50-60 feet with the red filter.

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I also have had the Intova for a couple of years. At first I wasn't to happy with it, but with practice and a red filter the pics are much better.

232323232%7Ffp5337%3B%3Enu%3D3237%3E9%3B%3A%3E%3B%3B%3A%3EWSNRCG%3D353%3B3%3A5%3A64325nu0mrj232323232%7Ffp5339%3A%3Enu%3D3237%3E9%3B%3A%3E%3B%3B%3A%3EWSNRCG%3D353%3B3%3A5%3A62325nu0mrj232323232%7Ffp53398%3Enu%3D3237%3E9%3B%3A%3E%3B%3B%3A%3EWSNRCG%3D353%3B3%3A5%3A5%3A325nu0mrj

These were taken at 50-60 feet with the red filter.

 

The red filter makes all the difference for sure!

 

Awesome pics! The Intova is, to me, the best camera for the money by far.

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I would appreciate any other suggestions at or below the $200 price point as I think I am about ready for one.

I just bought a Panasonic Optio w90 on ebay for 180. submergable to 20 ft. I will be trying in in the southern caribb in feb.

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Beautiful pictures, what is a red filter?

 

It is a small red disk that fits over the front of the camera to replace the red spectrum of light. From what I have read, the red light spectrum cannot penetrate more than 6-10 feet of water. Without the red filter, most underwater pics look very green.

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