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Which water camera? Torn between 2


joan72761

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. We have a wonderful camera for pictures on dry land and we are strictly looking for something for pictures and video in or around the water.

 

My 2 cents if you like the camera you have for topside and know how to use it I would look into getting a housing for that camera. Now it is possible that they won't have a housing for your camera but that is what I would look at first. No reason for a second camera if you like the one you have.

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My 2 cents if you like the camera you have for topside and know how to use it I would look into getting a housing for that camera. Now it is possible that they won't have a housing for your camera but that is what I would look at first. No reason for a second camera if you like the one you have.

 

No offense, but you said it right: Your 2 cents. A decent underwater housing is expensive, often as much or more as a high-end point & shoot camera. The cheaper flexible bags are harder to use, and don't protect the camera from the water pressure. Also, a standard camera does not have the underwater settings, or the color compensation needed to get good photos underwater.

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I would suggest looking at the GoPro Hero 2 HD video camera.

 

While still pictures are great, video cannot be beat.

 

The GoPro Hero 2 comes with a housing and is waterproof to 180', is very small, can be used with a head strap and can shoot 4 hrs of HD video on a 32GB SD card on a single charge.

 

Plus it is only $299.

 

You can use 2 of them with a connection cable and video in 3D.

 

It is going to be my next toy.

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I would suggest looking at the GoPro Hero 2 HD video camera.

 

While still pictures are great, video cannot be beat.

 

The GoPro Hero 2 comes with a housing and is waterproof to 180', is very small, can be used with a head strap and can shoot 4 hrs of HD video on a 32GB SD card on a single charge.

 

Plus it is only $299.

 

You can use 2 of them with a connection cable and video in 3D.

 

It is going to be my next toy.

 

 

Be careful on this one, the GoPro hero is not specifically designed for diving, in spite of its excellent waterproof housing. The lens cover portion is flat, and distorts with depth. Also, there is no color correction, all settings are automatic, no underwater settings with color correction, white balance is reported to be poor, and it is noted to not do well in low light conditions. A great camera for sky diving, but not so much for scuba diving (or snorkeling) I was not able to find any decent imges or video clips below a few feet in water.

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Be careful on this one, the GoPro hero is not specifically designed for diving, in spite of its excellent waterproof housing. The lens cover portion is flat, and distorts with depth. Also, there is no color correction, all settings are automatic, no underwater settings with color correction, white balance is reported to be poor, and it is noted to not do well in low light conditions. A great camera for sky diving, but not so much for scuba diving (or snorkeling) I was not able to find any decent imges or video clips below a few feet in water.

 

The Hero 2 corrects that.

 

This video is one of the best I have ever seen from any camera.

 

 

Google is your friend....

 

 

Looks pretty good to me. Of course lighting is always a problem with underwater video, but the GoPro does do a very decent job for $299.

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GoPro at the DEMA show.

 

 

Nice. BUT, the underwater housing lens adapter is not yet available, and the sales guy did not know price. I am leaning toward Canon D10 per previous recommendations and so many good reviews. Would like to get my hands on one before purchase, but no local shops stock them.

 

The way I see it, advantages of a good P&S over the GoPro2 are zoom, built in flash, better low light, underwater color correction, and more adjustable settings (white balance). I can still do video (with sound) on a P&S.

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Nice. BUT, the underwater housing lens adapter is not yet available, and the sales guy did not know price. I am leaning toward Canon D10 per previous recommendations and so many good reviews. Would like to get my hands on one before purchase, but no local shops stock them.

 

The way I see it, advantages of a good P&S over the GoPro2 are zoom, built in flash, better low light, underwater color correction, and more adjustable settings (white balance). I can still do video (with sound) on a P&S.

 

The Canon D10 is only waterproof to 33 feet. Nice for snorkeling, but useless for me as I am usually looking up at the snorkelers wondering why they even bother. I use an Intova now, but having hands free with the GoPro is very appealing.

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The Canon D10 is only waterproof to 33 feet. Nice for snorkeling, but useless for me as I am usually looking up at the snorkelers wondering why they even bother. I use an Intova now, but having hands free with the GoPro is very appealing.

 

Alas, I am but one of those snorkelers you look up at! I dreamed of scuba diving from the time I was about 12 (Loyd Bridges - Sea Hunt, etc), but my only scuba experience was about 9 years ago, at age 53: A resort scuba lesson and dive in Cozumel. Living in land-locked Nebraska, it wasn't until I could afford the time and cost of vacations to the ocean that scuba even became an option. Meanwhile, my son has lived my childhood dream, and has dived the Baltic, Mediteranean, Red Sea, Indonesia, etc. Wife and I love to snorkel on our yearly winter vacations to warm climates. Sons and grandson will be along in January for cruise with snorkel/dive opportunities in Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Roatan, and Belize (some of our favorites).

 

Back to reality. 33 feet depth is more than adequate for me, son will be bringing his dive camera.

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Alas, I am but one of those snorkelers you look up at! I dreamed of scuba diving from the time I was about 12 (Loyd Bridges - Sea Hunt, etc), but my only scuba experience was about 9 years ago, at age 53: A resort scuba lesson and dive in Cozumel. Living in land-locked Nebraska, it wasn't until I could afford the time and cost of vacations to the ocean that scuba even became an option. Meanwhile, my son has lived my childhood dream, and has dived the Baltic, Mediteranean, Red Sea, Indonesia, etc. Wife and I love to snorkel on our yearly winter vacations to warm climates. Sons and grandson will be along in January for cruise with snorkel/dive opportunities in Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Roatan, and Belize (some of our favorites).

 

Don't give up on diving. There are plenty of lakes, quarry's and even rivers to dive in the heartland. Many opportunities exist for freshwater diving. Even elevation diving such as lakes in the mountains of Colorado. They present another challenge as the dive tables are figured for sea level air pressure not the pressure found at altitude.

 

Just because there is no salt water nearby is no reason not to get wet. Go for it! You won't regret it.

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No offense, but you said it right: Your 2 cents. A decent underwater housing is expensive, often as much or more as a high-end point & shoot camera. The cheaper flexible bags are harder to use, and don't protect the camera from the water pressure. Also, a standard camera does not have the underwater settings, or the color compensation needed to get good photos underwater.

 

 

My point was that not knowing what camera they/you use ikelite makes a quality housing typically in the 300-500 range for a non dslr cameras. If you are talking about 300 for a new camera its not much different. If a camera you have on land has manual white balance, aperture, and shutter settings you will get much better results then a preset underwater setting that has no adjustment for conditions.

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Don't give up on diving. There are plenty of lakes, quarry's and even rivers to dive in the heartland. Many opportunities exist for freshwater diving. Even elevation diving such as lakes in the mountains of Colorado. They present another challenge as the dive tables are figured for sea level air pressure not the pressure found at altitude.

 

Just because there is no salt water nearby is no reason not to get wet. Go for it! You won't regret it.

 

Wife loves to surface snorkel, but she is afraid of being underwater in spite of loving the resort scuba experience. I couldn't scuba without taking her along, so must convince her to get certified if I want to do same. Maybe in 2 1/2 years after I retire and have more time on my hands. As to fresh water diving, I think no coral or colorful critters would make for boring diving. One exception I am aware of, one of our very experienced son's favorite dives was drift diving in the fast current below the dam at Lake Francis Case in South Dakota - diving with 15' visibility, being carried over suberged obstacles along with very large catfish, gar, and paddlefish.

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Wife loves to surface snorkel, but she is afraid of being underwater in spite of loving the resort scuba experience. I couldn't scuba without taking her along, so must convince her to get certified if I want to do same. Maybe in 2 1/2 years after I retire and have more time on my hands. As to fresh water diving, I think no coral or colorful critters would make for boring diving. One exception I am aware of, one of our very experienced son's favorite dives was drift diving in the fast current below the dam at Lake Francis Case in South Dakota - diving with 15' visibility, being carried over suberged obstacles along with very large catfish, gar, and paddlefish.

 

My fiance cannot dive due to a lung injury, so on cruises I dive once and snorkel with her the rest of the time.

 

Fresh water diving is not as colorful, nor as interesting to most of us, but unless you live near the ocean as I do, it is the best way to keep the skills current.

 

Diving at the Hoover dam is also exciting.

 

As for those cameras, there are many alternatives. I have gone from the Sea-Life 35 mm to a 3 MP digital, to 5 MP, to 6 MP.

 

Like computers, there is no keeping up with the technology.

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As for those cameras, there are many alternatives. I have gone from the Sea-Life 35 mm to a 3 MP digital, to 5 MP, to 6 MP.

 

Like computers, there is no keeping up with the technology.

 

Back to the main thread topic:

WOW, you mentioned your INTOVA, so I checked it out. INTOVA 9 mp available including housing for $60, INTOVA IC-12 for $159.95, and the very capable INTOVA IC-14 for only $239 complete with housing, battery, charger, memory card, and case! I can get a 14 mp camera with 180' depth rating, 5x optical zoom, HD video, and most of the bells and whistles (no GPS, but I don't really want that in a camera) for less than a Canon D10 and less than even the cheaper Ikelite housings (which would be for my obsolete Sony 5 mp - that would really be a waste).

 

Does your INTOVA do OK for above-water photos, without the housing?

 

I THINK I HAVE FOUND MY CAMERA!

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Back to the main thread topic:

WOW, you mentioned your INTOVA, so I checked it out. INTOVA 9 mp available including housing for $60, INTOVA IC-12 for $159.95, and the very capable INTOVA IC-14 for only $239 complete with housing, battery, charger, memory card, and case! I can get a 14 mp camera with 180' depth rating, 5x optical zoom, HD video, and most of the bells and whistles (no GPS, but I don't really want that in a camera) for less than a Canon D10 and less than even the cheaper Ikelite housings (which would be for my obsolete Sony 5 mp - that would really be a waste).

 

Does your INTOVA do OK for above-water photos, without the housing?

 

I THINK I HAVE FOUND MY CAMERA!

 

The Intova is a great camera for still photos both in and out of the water. Video is ok, but not as good as I would like. You won't regret the Intova!

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Ya know, I just might reconsider the GoPro and stay with Intova. Just upgrade to the IC 14.

 

Somewhere I saw a helmet mount for INTOVA - not sure if it was just for the naked camera, or for the housing.

 

Do you use a flash diffuser and/or a red filter with your INTOVA? What white balance setting works best underwater?

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Somewhere I saw a helmet mount for INTOVA - not sure if it was just for the naked camera, or for the housing.

 

Do you use a flash diffuser and/or a red filter with your INTOVA? What white balance setting works best underwater?

 

I do use the red filter. The red light spectrum does not make it past about 6 feet or so. Without it, everything looks greenish.

 

Don't use a flash diffuser as I tend to dive in the morning when the sun is very bright, so flash is not really an issue.

 

I use the auto setting for one simple reason. Taking underwater pictures is difficult enough. You are unable to remain perfectly still, your subject is quite often moving, and trying to make adjustments underwater is pretty much impossible even with perfect conditions.

 

I have taken many excellent pics with the Intova and some decent videos, but my current model is not HD so the conditions have to be perfect, which is very seldom the case. HD would go a long way in compensating for that.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Ya know, I just might reconsider the GoPro and stay with Intova. Just upgrade to the IC 14.

 

WOO HOO! Got a surprise bonus of $1000, so I am treating myself to the INTOVA IC-14. Just ordered it from Sears online, comes in a kit with a lot of extra stuff for $284.95. Should arrive Christmas week, in time for our January cruise. A photographer friend at work says he has an extra red filter that will work, so looks like I am set. After some serious research, I found out that it takes the same battery as my Olympus (LI-40 or 42), so I even have an extra battery!

 

Also bought a new mask and some bifocal inserts at my local dive shop today, so I am set!

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  • 2 weeks later...

just back from Cozumel snorkel using new Canon D10.. photos are amazing.. I have pentax and and Olympus underwater cameras.. the canon d10 blows them away... price drop to 199.00 just noticed it today :(.. well, not very good for me anyway but for anyone looking for the Canon D10 199 is the lowest I've seen it...

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have a Fuji XP anf it takes great pictures If yiou are lucky enough to get the picture you want. You cannot see the lcd screen at all in the sunlight we were on a cruise in August we bought this camera specifically for snorkeling all you could rally do is point it in the direction of what you wanted to take a picture of and hope. So my question is does the Canon D10 have the same problem

Thanks

Jeff

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I have a Fuji XP anf it takes great pictures If yiou are lucky enough to get the picture you want. You cannot see the lcd screen at all in the sunlight we were on a cruise in August we bought this camera specifically for snorkeling all you could rally do is point it in the direction of what you wanted to take a picture of and hope. So my question is does the Canon D10 have the same problem

Thanks

Jeff

I didn't have any problems seeing the lcd when snorkeling.. got some great photos

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