Underwater still/video camer

[sissy_ib]

Wondering if anyone has a recommendation for a good underwater video camera? I have a Fuji finepix that I really like but we dropped it last year at WDW and the casing cracked.
It still works but I don't think it is waterproof anymore...

 

[2disneydads]

We have a Panasonic Lumix waterproof camera and like it a lot. We bought it last year and have used it only a bit underwater, with good results. We'll do more with it this summer. We bought it on Amazon. We also have a Sanyo Xacti underwater video camera, which is a few years old now and which we really like, both on land and on the water. It is very easy to use, very portable and gets us lots of comments when we use it. It looks something like a pistol and is held and operated very easily with one hand. I would recommend either or both. We had bad luck with the Olympus underwater still camera.

 

[truck1]

My first question would be how much do you want to spend?
The camera I have, and plan to upgrade, is a Sealife DC600. The newest model is the DC1200. They are both a video and still camera.You can switch on the fly, and both have digital zooms. It retails for around 450 for the camera,waterproof case, battery, and charger and a few small accessories.

 

[TNSallyUSA]

We have a Kodak Playsport and LOVE it. You can search youtube for samples of it's quality. They aren't terribly expensive. We got a great deal on Amazon.

 

[slmarkert]

We have a Kodak Playsport for video and DH got me an Olympus Stylus Tough for X-mas. The Playsport did a great job on our cruise last year, both in pools and salt water. The Olympus worked well at a waterpark, but we haven't tried it in salt water yet. Our Sam's Club has it with a float strap and case. I've also seen the Fuji Finepix at Sam's Club for a reasonable price. I guess it depends on what you want and what you want to spend. I wanted something that would take better photos that a disposable camera, but couldn't justify spending a lot when I already have a really nice Sony point and shoot.

 

[sissy_ib]

Thanks for all the replies!
Ideally I would like to spend $300ish.
I liked the Fuji finepix but I am worried about getting another since the casing cracked.
Yes- we did drop it (on the concrete and DF lost it on a water slide and found it again)
but it was dropped from like 2 feet....
We don't cruise until January and probably wont have a need for it before then so I will take my time looking for one.

Thanks for all the suggestions I'll take them in to consideration and if anyone else has any I appreciate it!

 

[disneymomofmyca]

We have the playsport...fabulous! And I am investing in the Sony Cybershot TX10...waterproof, freeze proof, shock proof. Takes video, sweep panorama, and has new DSLR technology to blur the back ground...I normally shoot a DSLR so quality is important to me in a point and shoot...plus it has a small, sleek desing. Its brand new so its 329.99...

 

[Anal Annie]

We have a Vivitar Vivicam that does great underwater pics and takes videos. It has a rubber housing so it's very durable. We used it on our Dolphin Swim, while parasailing and using jetskis. It is more of a true underwater camera than a dry land camera and is fairly inexensive. You can find them on Amazon.

We also have a Kodak Playsport. I wouldn't say I LOVE it tho as we've had spotty performance. It's just OK. DH got it for me to be able to take pics & videos of our DS at his swim meets. It doesn't have much of a zoom for that tho & the still pics are sometimes blurry. You have to hold pretty still. DS used it in the pool to take a few pics & videos and they're OK if you're pretty close to the subject. I also felt that the battery life was fairly short so we had picked up a spare battery to have too. We're actually on our 3rd unit tho!! The first one stopped working after only ONE day. It just wouldn't turn on. Took it back to Best Buy & exchanged it. The 2nd one was not used a WHOLE lot and it wigged out just a few days after the Best Buy return policy was up. We were on vacation at HHI and had gone out on a watersking / tubing excursion and when I took it out to try to video DS learning to waterski it was BURNING UP HOT!! It would not come on. I had charged it before we left on vacation and this was the first time I'd had it out. So I took the battery out, let it cool off & tried the other battery. Same thing. Shortly after I changed the battery it got hot again and still would not turn on. Since it was past the Best Buy return date I contacted Kodak and they had me send it in for repairs. They determined it could not be repaired and replaced it with a refurbished unit. This one has done OK but it's not been used a whole lot as I am not overly happy with the zoom for the swim meets. The meet facilities are too big & we can't get close enough in most cases to get a good video. I had wanted something to slip in my pocket and this DOES fit in my pocket so I'll give it that. We will bring it on our Med cruise this summer but it's really not as good as I would've liked. It's OK I suppose for a $130 or whatever. But you kinda get what you pay for. DH's Droid phone takes just as good of a video - but of course it's not waterproof! I'm sure if we weren't on our 3rd one in less than a year I'd have less whining to do about it.

 

[2010Raptor]

We have the Olympus Stylus Tough, and I wouldn't recommend it unless you only use it underwater. Underwater shots turned out awesome! And video was pretty good too, but on land, I hate it! The picture quality is awful. But it got really good reviews, so maybe it's just me!

 

[CandyMandy]

We have a Vivitar Vivicam that does great underwater pics and takes videos. It has a rubber housing so it's very durable. We used it on our Dolphin Swim, while parasailing and using jetskis. It is more of a true underwater camera than a dry land camera and is fairly inexensive. You can find them on Amazon.

We also have a Kodak Playsport. I wouldn't say I LOVE it tho as we've had spotty performance. It's just OK. DH got it for me to be able to take pics & videos of our DS at his swim meets. It doesn't have much of a zoom for that tho & the still pics are sometimes blurry. You have to hold pretty still. DS used it in the pool to take a few pics & videos and they're OK if you're pretty close to the subject. I also felt that the battery life was fairly short so we had picked up a spare battery to have too. We're actually on our 3rd unit tho!! The first one stopped working after only ONE day. It just wouldn't turn on. Took it back to Best Buy & exchanged it. The 2nd one was not used a WHOLE lot and it wigged out just a few days after the Best Buy return policy was up. We were on vacation at HHI and had gone out on a watersking / tubing excursion and when I took it out to try to video DS learning to waterski it was BURNING UP HOT!! It would not come on. I had charged it before we left on vacation and this was the first time I'd had it out. So I took the battery out, let it cool off & tried the other battery. Same thing. Shortly after I changed the battery it got hot again and still would not turn on. Since it was past the Best Buy return date I contacted Kodak and they had me send it in for repairs. They determined it could not be repaired and replaced it wibth a refurbished unit. This one has done OK but it's not been used a whole lot as I am not overly happy with the zoom for the swim meets. The meet facilities are too big & we can't get close enough in most cases to get a good video. I had wanted something to slip in my pocket and this DOES fit in my pocket so I'll give it that. We will bring it on our Med cruise this summer but it's really not as good as I would've liked. It's OK I suppose for a $130 or whatever. But you kinda get what you pay for. DH's Droid phone takes just as good of a video - but of course it's not waterproof! I'm sure if we weren't on our 3rd one in less than a year I'd have less whining to do about it.

You must have the first generation model (the zx3). The second generation model zx5 is better (new integrated lithium battery, shockproof housing and a macro mode). And unlike just about every other vidcam mentioned earlier, the playsport shoots in true 1080 HD. For the money it absolutely blows away the other vidcams mentioned here. Anyone who is sceptical can go to YouTube and search "zx5."

 

[scootch]

I bought the Sony tx5. Chose it over the Olympus since it had a touch screen. Mostly used it when we were at Atlantis and Blue Lagoon, but the pictures and video turned out great. Shock proof, freeze proof, water proof. The best feature definitely is the touch screen, I could go from video to pics with just two taps on the screen, even could do in the bright sunlight. The battery life was a bit small though(we took a ton of video at Atlantis), so i did buy a second battery once we got home. Camera runs around $290, extra battery was $25.

 

[AmandaRG]

We love our Canon PowerShot D10. I bought it for DHs birthday and used it on our cruise last month. It takes great pics! It took amazing pics, even of sunsets and fireworks.

The biggest thing I read in doing all of my research is to always make sure that the camera/card slot doors are closed (sounds like common sense, but it tends to be a problem) and rinse it off after having it in salt water.

Amazon.com had the best price for us.

 

[dededisney]

We are also looking for a waterproof camera and based on all the reviews we have read, it looks like we will be getting the Canon Powershot D10. I looked over on the photography board and this got the best feedback as well. We'll be getting it from Amazon...going to coinstar to trade in all our coins to get an Amazon gift card...hopefully it will cover a lot of the price

 

[concept5123]

go for the GoPro HD by Hero. I have one they are made for water and sports so they can take a beating and there 199 to 299 depending on what style you want. but be warned they are not as easy as point and shoots. but its very small and great wide angle to you can get all of your shot.

 

[dunnhorn]

I just bought the sony cybershot Tx-10 for our cruise 2 weeks ago. IT IS FABULOUS!!! Waterproof, freezeproof, shockproof. Amazing HD video - fantastic quality, amazing panarama pictures, fast shutter speed - and we took totally awesome underwater pix and videos. The video we took (from the water) of our kids doing the dolphin swim was better quality than the video that they were selling! We got the bright green camera, and also bought a bright yellow foam hand strap from Amazon that keeps it floating. We used this camera in the pools at Disney, on the beach - and it is small and easily goes everywhere. It gave our Nikon SLR a run for the money. It was around $300 and I wouldn't for a second hesitate to recommend it to anyone. The video is really awesome. I used it last weekend to record my daughter do a ballet performance (we were in the audience) and it took awesome video in low light without an accessory light. It was just recently released a couple weeks ago so it is the latest and greatest technology. Even better - it uses "regular" SD cards instead of those Sony specific ones. Don't know what your budget is - but if you can swing it, this is the one. It even comes in a range of colors.

 

[dunnhorn]

Okay, I looked it up and regardless of what camera you choose you MUST get the Chums waterproof camera float from Amazon. It keeps your camera afloat in the water and makes it easy to spot/see. We bought one and absolutely love it. Less than $9 from Amazon... it's a must have for your waterproof camera.

 

[Anal Annie]

You must have the first generation model (the zx3). The second generation model zx5 is better (new integrated lithium battery, shockproof housing and a macro mode). And unlike just about every other vidcam mentioned earlier, the playsport shoots in true 1080 HD. For the money it absolutely blows away the other vidcams mentioned here. Anyone who is sceptical can go to YouTube and search "zx5."

Yes, we have the Zx3 as we got it not too long after it came out last year. I didn't realize they had another version now. I sure hope if the new battery is integrated that it lasts longer than the ones we got with this model because I can't record too many of DS's swim events before the battery life is at half. That's why we bought a spare.

 

[catzle]

We just bought the new Sony Tx10. Have used it around the house and the pictures are amazing. Will be using it under water in about 2 weeks! Will let you know.

 

[Luv_Tink]

DH has the Olympus Stylus Tough on the advice of my adventure seeking cousin. It took great pictures when we went snorkling in Cozumel last fall. Our guide even took the camera down about 15-20 feet to take some pictures of a lobster he found under a rock. We didn't shoot any underwater video with it, but DH did take some video of an impromptu jam session on the ship (not DCL) and the picture and sound were great. Which was good considering it was one of my favorite memories of the cruise.

 

[SILLYANDI]

We have a Kodak Playsport and LOVE it. You can search youtube for samples of it's quality. They aren't terribly expensive. We got a great deal on Amazon.

I agree! We have the playsport and I LOVE IT!!!

Here is a sample from our camera:
http://www.youtube.com/user/sillyandi?feature=mhum#p/a/u/2/gjbP8tZZGC0

I take full credit for the aweful camera control!