Digital photos underwater!!!

[bubbasmom99]

Gotta pick one of these up for CC!

http://www.smartbargains.com/prod.a...MAklkSZSS&siteid=0038364233&prodID=2080227638

 

[Phyllisi]

Thanks for this information. I ordered one. I usually buy the cheap disposable underwater cameras for CC and snorling. I figure the photo quality of this camera should not be much different than the cheap disposable ones.

 

[Lisa]

I just ordered one as a Christmas gift for my husband. The camera will be great for our January cruise.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[krhardy]

be sure to have the pictures dumped to a CD at Shutters...at 640x480, and 8mb ram, it'll only hold around 50 pictures at best. We always bring our laptop and dump the pictures that way. Have fun and enjoy the new toy.

 

[Lisa]

Just wanted folks to know that Smartbargains shipped the camera very quickly. I ordered it Thursday afternoon and it arrived Tuesday at our house.

It looks great for underwater pictures. Can't wait to try it out.

 

[kmc33]

I just found this post. Wondering if anyone that has gotten one has used it and how it worked out.

I was looking for the underwater case for my digital camera and found out that just the case is $200!!!

So, I was searching on here and thought this might be a better option. I agree with the poster that said the quality shouldn't be any worse than a cheap, disposable underwater camera. Or you can even take it a step further, with a cheap disposable, if I want them as digital I would have to scan the photos in and that quality is not so great.

Well anyway, this price looks very attractive! Anyone have any feedback if it's easy to use and to transfer the pictures to computer. And how the shots turned out.

Thanks!

 

[tltjet]

http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/st...gId=1&langId=-1&categoryId=36994&feat=dp29-xs

I'm not sure if I posted the link right or not. I purchased this case at LL. Bean. I have not used it yet but I think it may be a good option. They also have a bigger size for larger cameras.

 

[kmc33]

Wow, that's pretty cool. At first I though it was just a carrying case. But it sounds like you can take your camera into the water with it to take snorkeling pictures. The nice thing is that it would also protect the camera for splashing even around the water.

Thanks for the link!

 

[MarkRG]

WORDS OF WARNING!

I had the non waterproof version of the camera listed in the first post. Bought it as a cheap one to keep in the car when I used to drive for a living.

The picture quality is VERY poor! And you will not get 50 pictures, more like 18 at 640x480. (not even the 20 listed there) And don't even try at 320x200 (whichis where they get the 50 number from) unless you like a blur. Pictures at that resolution are for all intents and purposes unviewable.

It does not have any kind of memory card that can be removed for Shutters to access, the camera requires pictures be downloaded directly into a pc, with special software, something I think Shutters will not do.

I'm sorry I didn't see this post sooner to warn you.

If anyone wants proof, I'll dig up some off my picture cd's.

To give you some sense of scale, the link below shows the only current real underwater digitals out there. I'm actually looking at buying one of them right now as a matter of fact. Probably going to be the Sea Life SL140.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=search&Q=&ci=5236

 

[TheGottis]

My DH just purchsed an early Anniversary/ Xmas gift for himself... a Sony Cybershot P93 and the Marine Pack that is designed specifically for the camera (YIKES - cost is almost as much as the camera!). Whole setup was around $480. Haven't tested it out yet, but... looks pretty good.

If anyone wants an update on how it worked, PM me and once we test it out next week (return on 30 Sept), I'll let you know how they turn out!

 

[jenlovesdisney]

I think we will try it out. It won't hurt to try especially at $40! The other cameras (you know the $250 or $600 ones) won't really work with my budget but we can sqeeze in the $40 especially for the Dolphin excursion!

 

[justmestace]

Just to add to MarkRG's advice:
It says in the description of the camera (the first one posted) that it is safe in the water for 30 minutes. I think I'd be wondering what happens after 30 minutes.

 

[MarkRG]

I missed that. I would have to guess that its ability to keep out water would be questionable after 30 minutes.

I'd also translate the 640x480 down to something that you'd understand in the scheme of things, 640x480 roughly equals 0.5 megapixels, or one-half a megapixel.

Well, if you want to try it out, by all means do. But I would try it out at home before taking it on any trip. Hook it up to your pc and go around and take some pictures.

And to compare, keep in mind any pictures you take underwater in the ocean will be of even poorer quality, as the ocean water will interfere. Not a fault of the camera, but the medium, the salt water affects the light, muting the color and adding a bluegreen hue. All cameras are affected by this, but the ability of the camera to begin with is going to determine how good a picture you will get underwater. And to be honest, the ability of the disposable underwater cameras from Fuji and Kodak are both superior to the I-Cam.

Take what I'm saying as you will. Just don't want to see anyone be disappointed using it on their trip for the first time and come home surprised.

 

[mrsfuzzmo]

justmestace, it's safe at 30 ft. deep for up to 30 minutes. Not just in the water for 30 minutes. That's 3 times deeper than the regular underwater disposables. I'm not sure why it happens, or how, but I've taken a disposable "good for up to 12 ft. deep" on a shallow dive. It would work at around 12-15 ft. deep and above, but below that depth, it wouldn't take a picture. After I rose back up to 15 ft. it would work again. It must have something to do with the pressure.

I went on the site and ordered one too. It can't be any worse than the disposables, and I will only need it for snorkeling in KW in October (for Fantasy fest!! WOOOOHOOO!). I usually only take 15 or so pictures underwater anyway, and if I can download them at home, and then use the camera again for my next couple of trips, GREAT!!! It's paid for itself! AND the flash will help make the colors brighter! For $40 bucks it's worth a shot.
Thanks for the link. I'll let you all know how it works when I return in November.

Mrsfuzzmo

 

[musicgirl]

We used the following underwatercase for our digital camera. DH had a great time using it. We found it at our local scuba shop (yes, even in Columbus, Ohio!) for about $45.

http://www.fuertecases.com/CameraShield.html

It is the 3rd camera down CS-100

 

[jjnv]

hi musicgirl,

The CS-100 does not include a camera. Which camera do you put in there? Is it easy to take out?

Thanks,

Jane

 

[musicgirl]

Hi Jane,
You are correct that the camera does not come with it.

You must have a camera that is smaller than the box. It should say how big it is. There are pieces of thick foam to help secure the camera.

Fortunately, we have a number of cameras. It is dh hobby. We bought a digital camera that was around $100. It is an Olympus D-390. This past trip was the first time to use it and we didn't want to risk any leakage with our good digital camera.

He didn't seem to have many problems, just take your time before you get in the water.


http://groups.msn.com/WhatIdidonMySummerVacation/magic2004.msnw?Page=4

Here are some of the pictures. There are more on other pages.

Lorie

 

[markºoº]

I would be leary of just how waterproof the case is. Whenever you have a case that opens, you need to have a good high quality seal and a very tight fit. A cheap seal will nick and disfigure quickly resulting in leaks. It only takes a little bit of salt water to ruin the camera.

As MarkRG also stated, the resolution of this camera is very poor by current digital standards. You generally need at 1 or 2 megapixels to get decent prints.

First check to see if there is a waterproof case for your current digicam. It will be expensive but it will be a good case. I would not want to risk a $300 camera in a cheap case.

If the case is too much, stick with disposables. If you want digital pictures, your photo processor can make a cd with all your prints at the same time they make the prints.

 

[Thunderrd]

I found a camera in a waterproof casing at walmart that is re-usable. It uses AA batteries and came with 800 speed 35mm film and the camera has a flash. The cost was only a few dollars more than the disposables ones so I thought I'd try it out since we like to take pictures underwater at the pool or ocean every year.

I've taken a few rolls with it all underwater shots and the pics at CC were fairly good. The shots were all in focus. I swam with it out to the underwater Mickey at CC to get pics and didn't have any problems. The pics taken at a swimming pool were much better due to the water being clearer.

When I developed the roll, I had the pics put on cd. Some places you can get the pics put on cd only at the time of developing, that way you don't pay for prints you don't want and you have the option to print at home etc from the cd.

 

[jjnv]

I like your pictures. I do have a number of cameras I can try to toy with too. A nice little P&S and an Olympus C3000. What I really do not like about the disposibles is that I never got one decent picture out of them. They are always cloudy and out of focus. My boys love water parks and beaches. I always I wish I had the camera on hand to catch the right moments.

Another question, is the shutter level attached to the shutter button inside? Do you still press half way to set focus? I like the case over other bags because the shutter is outside providing easy access. But it is hard for me to picture how it links to the camera inside.