Underwater/waterproof cameras, cases and housings

[keishashadow]

Hi

We're afraid to use our "good" cameras when snorkeling/swimming, etc, even with the waterproof housings available.

Getting sick of buying the one-time use versions - pricey buying several new ones each trip.

Several eBay sellers have a flash, reloadable version - Tura.

Anyone have any experience with this brand? Just expecting quality that you'd expect from a disposable Fuji or Kodak.

TIA

 

[Kelly Grannell]

how deep do you go? If you're only going about 3 ft deep for less than 30 minutes each time, Pentax Optio W10 is a good choice.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

oh, and to answer your question, I don't think it's going to be worse than disposable Fuji or Kodak (shudder). I don't know whether it's compatible with ISO 800 film or not, though (the Fuji underwater cameras are all ISO 800)

 

[keishashadow]

Never thought to check what speed film (duh!). We don't go more than 10 ft below surface.

thanks.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

the eBay selling page mentioned it comes with ISO 400 film, but ask the seller anyway whether it will electronically accept ISO 800 film (or if there is a manual selection to set it to ISO 800).

 

[Jeanne B]

I know you said you're afraid to use an u/w housing with your camera but I just wanted to mention that I bought the Canon housing for my A610 in March and I let my brother borrow it while he and his wife were on vacation in Belize. He had no problems with it and he got some very nice pictures. DH, DD and I are going to the Virgin Islands in 3 weeks and we'll be using it a lot since we'll be snorkeling almost every day. I saw some u/w pictures recently taken in the Virgin Islands with an A95 (I think) using the Canon u/w housing and the pictures were fantastic.

Although I don't have any firsthand experience with the housing yet other than my brothers experience I just wanted to give you some feedback from someone who owns an u/w housing.

 

[spoon2003]

I just looked on Ebay and the camera look alot like something Target used to sell under the Minolta or Pentex brand for $19.99 and it was awful. I bought one and tried it, the seal did nothing in the bathtub.

I also second the u/w housing, I have one for my digital elph and it has been great.

Sue

 

[keishashadow]

Thanks, just can't get over being afraid I'll hit the wrong button & camera will open & get wet.

I'm "hard" on cameras.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

considering the relative high price of UW housing, I've checked last year's model Pentax Optio WP, it's about US$250 and it's waterproof down to 5 ft. IIRC, it's a 6 MP camera with 3x zoom.

hope it helps.

 

[keishashadow]

will check it out - thanks again

 

[spoon2003]

considering the relative high price of UW housing, I've checked last year's model Pentax Optio WP, it's about US$250 and it's waterproof down to 5 ft. IIRC, it's a 6 MP camera with 3x zoom.

hope it helps.

Wow, the price has dropped! When I bought the u/w housing in late 2004, the cheapest waterproof model was around $500.

At this price, I would go with the Pentax, which is roughly 10 disposables plus cost of processing.

 

[extreme8]

FYI,
I wanted a fairly rugged P&S to compliment my DSLR and decided on the Optio W10 (newer version of the WP)
I found it on ebay, new in box, full US warranty for $205 shipped.

 

[webshark3]

considering the relative high price of UW housing, I've checked last year's model Pentax Optio WP, it's about US$250 and it's waterproof down to 5 ft. IIRC, it's a 6 MP camera with 3x zoom.

hope it helps.

I got the WP and love it (5mp), the WPi is 6mp and improved, and the w10 (6mp) is even better yet in performance and image quality.


Any way you go with the Pentax, they're waterproof without a case, and make a great backup for those rainy days in the parks.

Also, Olympus has the Stylus 720 SW (Waterproof) Same as the Pentax, however, you can buy an additional waterproof shell for deeper dives. Definately gives more flexibilty.

 

[kaw1218]

considering the relative high price of UW housing, I've checked last year's model Pentax Optio WP, it's about US$250 and it's waterproof down to 5 ft. IIRC, it's a 6 MP camera with 3x zoom.

hope it helps.

I have the 4mp version of this and it takes great underwater shots! I love it for the beach, sesame place, and even out back in the pool. It is pretty durable(I have dropped it twice)
This was a quick point and shoot shot.

and this was taken in epcot.

 

[rtphokie]

Found this on one of Adobe's customer submission pages. It's a free Photoshop Action which does about the best job I've seen of color correcting underwater photos.

I've used it on all of my photos taken at Castaway Cay on a recent Disney Cruise. These are from a Canon Powershot G3 in a EWA Marine bag. I'm no expert but I think the results are nearly as good as what you'd get with a several hundred dollar strobe flash and has be added benefit of not lighting up the particulate matter that floats in the water.

Before:

After:

underwater color correction (requires free registration to download)

Not sure if the link will work or not, if it doesn't, visit Adobe Studio Exchange and search on "underwater correction".

 

[Kelly Grannell]

also ctrl-shift-B will do the same thing. (well, not 100% the same, but very close)

 

[DebºoºS]

wow thanks! I have quite a few CC pics and Nassau pics that could benefit from this.

 

[lbgraves]

OK, I downloaded this but my computer wont recognize the file. Do you have to have photoshop installed or something?

 

[rtphokie]

also ctrl-shift-B will do the same thing. (well, not 100% the same, but very close)

I tried automatic color balance and wasn't happy with the results. It overdoes the contrast, still has an overly blue cast to it, and the colors are too oversaturated (something I'm sensitive too because Canon digital cameras produce so very rich blues and greens).

Thats just me though.

 

[Buddy Bear]

OK, I downloaded this but my computer wont recognize the file. Do you have to have photoshop installed or something?

an "atn" file is a Photoshop Action File which performs a series of actions to accomplish the desired results. The short answer is yes you need Photoshop since this is a photoshop action file. The link above will give you more details.