disposable underwater cameras

[Rustyone]

Hi I am very new to these boards. We are booked for a cruise in Feb 2005. I am looking forward to some of the underwater excursions. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good brand of underwater disposable camera? I want to make sure that I get good pictures. I have a digital camera but do not have a special case for underwater protection and I understand that they are expensive.

 

Thanks

[CaribbeanCruisesRock]

At Meijers there is a cheap one for $8....... we have two of them.

[HOSKI]

We used the Fuji, better depth and better price. We broke down and bought a nice non-disposable one at Ritz camera in Boscov's for about $250. After buying 2 per cruise it didn't seem like a bad deal.

[MartiniMama]

We bought a cover for our digital camera online for about $100. It's great -- we use it in the pool for lots of fun family pictures and plan to take it on the cruise as well. Maybe you could check on line for discount covers -- try ebay!

[Adowning]

I've always used the Kodak brand and I think very nice pictures! Don't try to use them in low light or indoors though, they just don't turn out. But I've taken about six feet under before and they are gorgeous pictures! Be sure to wear your strap that is provided though. I lost a whole roll of film on the Tiki Tour in Nassau in 2001 and am still hoping those pics show up somewhere!!!!!!!!!!! :)

 

See Webshots user name "Adowning100" Enchantment a couple pictures we took underwater in Belize with the Coral Breeze excursion.

[Ta421sBtrHalf]

We used Kodak underwater disposable cameras for our underwater excursions on the first cruise and the pictures turned out wonderful. The second cruise I found a "sunpet underwater camera with flash" at target for 18.00. I thought this would be a good thing since it was my son's first official snorkling experience outside of a pool. I was sadly dissapointed with the fact that the cover somehow came off and all 22 pictures I had taken were ruined. So there were no pictures of his excursion. Next cruise I will go back to FACTORY SEALED disposable cameras. Fooled me once shamed on you, fool me twice shame on me.

 

Jenn

[Amy G]

Try to find one with a flash- that can make a world of difference in the quality of pictures.

[kyriecat]

I've used both the Fuji and the Kodak w/ 800 speed film for snorkeling. I can't tell a difference in picture quality between the two. I have noticed that if you take some pictures in salt water, let the camera dry off, then want to take more pictures, you need to clean the area over the lens off. It can get a thin film of salt that makes you pictures look hazy. Rinsing it with tap water than drying it good with a towel works.

[rngrblu9]

hi...we haven't used this brand yet but we saw them in hawaii...it's an underwater camera with a flash for about $20...it's at snapsights.com...we'll be trying it out on the next dive my husband takes...

[Ellya]

We had a bad experience with the Fuji disposables. Apparently the plastic used to make the lens corrodes if exposed to sunscreen from your body. As you can imagine that is hard to avoid on the beach. I lost almost a whole roll of film to the fogging in the plastic. I have used Kodak ever since and it hasn't happened.

 

This year I bought a "real" underwater camera by Sea and Sea for $125. I hope it is more cost effective in the end and the pictures are a bit higher quality than you can get with a disposable. They are fussy to take care of the seal etc though.

[smudge's mom]

We have always had good luck with Kodak - we buy the ones with the faster speed film - Kodak Max, I think it's called. There are many, many cheap brands of underwater cameras, but I think, in this instance, price does determine quality.

[hkolln]

We got the disposable underwater cameras you can buy at Walmart, Target, etc...for our past March cruise for like 8 a piece. Used one in Grand Cayman on the stingray tour and one in Belize on cave tubing and they came out great! One was Fuji and one was Kodak. I think the kodak one took better pics. The only thing that was bad about them was there was no flash so the pics in the caves during cave tubing didn't come out.

 

You can see some of the stingray pics we took with the kodak one on my website: http://kollnfamily.com/inspirationcruise.htm and go to the Grand Cayman pictures.

[Rustyone]

thanks for all of the great suggestions. I want to make sure that I get the best one. Definately want to get some good pics.

[LoriLinay]

I totally agree with the Kodak brand WITH the flash! I was amazed at how nice our pictures turned out. My kids had ones without the flash and there was very little clarity to their photos.

[RDMOREU]

Hi, I have the Kodak Max Underwater one use 800. But, I can't find a similar one WITH FLASH. Can you give me the name, please? Dolores

[smudge's mom]

Hi, I have the Kodak Max Underwater one use 800. But, I can't find a similar one WITH FLASH. Can you give me the name, please? Dolores

I have been asking and asking - I don't think Kodak makes an underwater camera with flash. I don't think any other company makes one with flash either.

[RDMOREU]

Hi,

 

I can't find an 800 with flash! I even corresponded with Kodak a few weeks ago because I found different names on the Internet for their 'current' underwater, one use, 800 and they said the 'Max' was the only name currently in use - they never mentioned anything with flash! I hope the previous poster responds - I'd love to know of such a unit with flash.

 

Dolores

[Ta421sBtrHalf]

Kodak.com shows NO underwater disposable camera with flash. They have a whole page with all of the disposables they have availible and they only had one underwater camera availible.

[Snorkelcat]

RustyOne,

 

What digital camera do you have? I have an Olympus 750 & my underwater housing costs ~$150. The quality difference in the photos, the number you can take & delete after your back in the cabin, and by the time you get the disposables developed, lousy shots and all, the cost of the housing isn't all that bad. Especially if you plan to snorkel again. I would look around before deciding on disposables. I did them for 2 yrs. The difference is phenomenal in the pictures. Think about it.

You can go to www.scubaboard.com underwater photo section and get lots of good feedback there too. Have you been at the scuba and snorkel thread here? There are other photographer divers/snorkelers there too.

Good luck.

[Knighton]

I agree-we have a Canon Power Shot a70 and the housing was about $150 for that, too. :eek: If you plan on doing underwater stuff frequently, definitely get a digital camera and a housing for it, it's well worth the investment. (Besides, if you don't have a digital camera at all it's about time to get one-it's great to be able to print your own pictures out at home, a real time and money saver!) When we used to use the one-time use underwater cameras, we always found that the pictures came out a little too blue, since they won't bother to put a filter on such a cheap camera. The digital we have comes out with fantastic pictures.

[justacruisin]

We got the disposable underwater cameras you can buy at Walmart, Target, etc...for our past March cruise for like 8 a piece. Used one in Grand Cayman on the stingray tour and one in Belize on cave tubing and they came out great! One was Fuji and one was Kodak. I think the kodak one took better pics. The only thing that was bad about them was there was no flash so the pics in the caves during cave tubing didn't come out.

 

You can see some of the stingray pics we took with the kodak one on my website: http://kollnfamily.com/inspirationcruise.htm and go to the Grand Cayman pictures.

 

 

Awesome website. Loved reading about your cruises and seeing your great photos.

[tkd]

I have used both Kodak and Fuji. The main differences that I see in the two are the level of "blue". The Fuji seems to capture the blue/greens better and the Kodak seems to be a little better for the Reds/yellows. The most important thing to remember is DO NOT exceed the depth rating. It is there for a reason. I personally upgraded to a Reefmaster with external strobe. Let me tell you, the secret to a good picture underwater is the flash. The other big thing that no one thinks about when using and underwater camera is the magnifiation effect of the water. Water makes things appear roughly 25% larger that on land. This is important because you will not be as close as you think you are when you snap the pictrue, resulting in a small subject with a whole lot of blue background, which does not make for a good picture.

 

For those of you who are purchasing good quality housing to use on a digital or other, I highly recommend that you pick up some silicon lube (not vaseline or other petroleum based product) to lube the rubber o-rings and help with the seal. But as always follow the manufactures recommedations.

 

Hopefully this hasn't confused anyone