Underwater/waterproof cameras, cases and housings

[anbouk]

My DDs have the Stylus models. They're a year or so old and we paid $300 for them. I think the newer Stylus models have gone up. My DDs (10 & 13) love them. They're easy to use, take good shots as well as movies above and below the water. They've been dropped a few times and are just fine. For them, they've been perfect. As with any camera purchase, get out and play around with them.

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That is exactly what we will be using for...my teen daughter. This is replacing a Sony Cybershot (which is less than a year old!). It just took too much toll...dropped, banged, scratched. I figure thisOlympus Stylus Tough is perfect for rainy conditions, when we will be at the pool, etc. She loves to shoot videos at WDW...too. I am concerned that perhaps the quality won't be so good at nite for fireworks, but, we'll see? Have you used it at WDW?

 

[MBJmom]

I have had it for about 1 year now (not the tough), and I love it. Takes great pictures.

 

[alan]

Do these cameras float? I have a (very cheap) digital camera in a waterproof case, and a few times it has been useful to throw it to - for example - someone in another canoe.

Obviously I would not want to do that if the caera didn't float!

regards,
/alan

 

[MBJmom]

It does not float, it looks like a regular camera, if you have seen one. You wouldn't be able to tell that it is waterproof. Everyone seems so surprise when they see me with it in the water. But the strap that it comes with has a flotation arm band that you can strap on your upper arm. I too throw it around in the water, and I leave it loose in the water. The camera does not float, but the float prevents it from sinking.

 

[RosiePosie35]

I do not disagree with your decision, but do disagree with your reason. Having 12MP out of a p&s is just too much. The "sweet spot" has always seemed to be in the 6-8MP area. Once you go above that there seems to always be side effects of less detail, more noise, etc. Unfortunately, MPs is a great marketing detail b/c the general public always thinks more is better. No offense to you, I just want people that read this to be informed.

I agree with that. My first digital was a Sony Cybershot with 5 MP's. I was able to get some great images with that camera. Unfortunately it had an issue with the image sensor and after it was repaired, it never seemed the same. I upgraded to a Sony N1 with 10 MP thinking images would even be better. I just never seem to have gotten quite the same results as the 5 MP camera.

My D80 now solves that problem.....

 

[MichelleinMaine]

Re fireworks- I have the Stylus 850SW, brought it along on the 4th (along with my DSLR) just to see how it did for fireworks. I used the preprogrammed fireworks mode, with a tripod, and was very pleasantly surprised!!

That said, it does not do a particularly great job indoors, or at night. (My experience most P&S don't anyway...)

 

[alan]

...the strap that it comes with has a flotation arm band that you can strap on your upper arm. I too throw it around in the water, and I leave it loose in the water. The camera does not float, but the float prevents it from sinking.

Okay, that makes sense... thanks for the information

regards,
/alan

 

[anbouk]

MBJMom....I just picked up the Olympus 6000 Tough Waterproof last nite from PCRichards. You are right about it not looking at all like a waterproof camera. Where did you find that floating strap? Sounds like a neat idea.
Seems like you will be at WDW same time as us...it is getting near!

MichelleinMaine...beautiful fireworks shot. Glad to see the setting on my camera,too! I will finally get some good shots of wishes! My last dig cam didn't have a fireworks setting.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

MBJMom....I just picked up the Olympus 6000 Tough Waterproof last nite from PCRichards. You are right about it not looking at all like a waterproof camera. Where did you find that floating strap? Sounds like a neat idea.
Seems like you will be at WDW same time as us...it is getting near!

MichelleinMaine...beautiful fireworks shot. Glad to see the setting on my camera,too! I will finally get some good shots of wishes! My last dig cam didn't have a fireworks setting.

I was really surprised they came out so well. You do need a tripod, but I was really happy with them.

Best Buy had the float straps in their flyer this week.

 

[Icemann]

Check out this site dpreview.com I looked around and asked peoples opinion and someone told me about this site and it helped me. You can look side by side comparisions of different cameras with the same features

 

[scrappinmom]

I bought this for my 14 yr old at Christmas last year. The main purpose was for our Discovery Cove trip.

It takes GREAT underwater pictures! it has both a wide and a macro underwater setting. We took over 400 pics at Discovery Cove. She has also used it at pool parties, water parks this summer and loved it!

It does fairly well with normal every day pictures.

Cons:
Poor zoom - I'm not sure what the specs are exactly, but I get better Zoom shots with my younger dd's sony cybershot!

Doesn't float...but let me tell you she has dropped it from a bike, on the ice while skating, behind the bleachers at a basketball game...and it STILL works!

 

[DisneyDayTripper]

We had this camera and it was a nice camera and did everything we wanted, but it broke a few weeks after the return policy. Everything worked fine, but when we would record videos there was NO sound at all and just a hum. We sent it back though GeekSquad at Best Buy and when it came back it was still broke. Best Buy was nice enough to exchange it for us because of our troubles, but we were afraid that with it doing that so soon would it also do that again and then we'd have to go through all the trouble again. So we took the unopened camera back to Best Buy and exchanged it for a DSLR and paid a little bit more. We were happy with the Olympus, but just were worried it could be an issue that hasnt' been dealt with. We haven't heard anything widespread regarding this issue so it may have just been our luck we got a bad connection with a wire or something.

 

[cmwade77]

I have the Olympus 770 SW, the Fuji loks like a good camera as well and has some pretty cool features, but didn't exist when I got my camera. One thing to keep in mind is that the fuji cameras only take XD cards (a couple will take micro sd cards with an adapter).

my camera takes good pictures, but it is also not my only camera, but it is what I use the most at theme parks as it shock proof and water proof.

 

[zackiedawg]

BTW - update for anyone following the thread - DPreview's waterproof camera test linked above was updated yesterday to include two additional cameras that were not in the original test - the Pentax W80 and the Panasonic TS1.

Not unexpectedly, the Pentax W80 didn't fare as well as the Pentax W60 (much like the Olympus Tough 8000 was worse than the Tough 6000...further proof that too many megapixels on a tiny little sensor can result in worse image quality, even though it's the 'better' model and higher priced).

The Panasonic did quite well, equalling the Canon in IQ in daylight, equalling in movie mode, and excelling above all in higher ISO shooting. It has been ranked in a tie at #1 with the Canon in the test. Plus, it had the biggest battery in the test. So it sounds like a decent option for those looking for decent image quality in a slimmer package than the Canon.

 

[tazdev3225]

I just bought the Fuji Z33 for my trip to the Jersey shore. I wanted a camera that I could take on the beach and not worry about it getting splashed. I wound up taking it in the ocean with me and loved it. I got some great shots of my DGS playing around in the ocean. I didn't really care about indoor shots with it as I have 2 other cameras for that reason. One or two shots have water droplets showing in the pics but that was also to be expected. It's a good camera for the purpose I wanted.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

So DH wants to go canyoneering. Personally, I can think of quite a number of things I'd rather do, but I'm willing to humor him. Thing is, he's lured me into this with a promise of good photographic opportunities at the end. Canyoneering, apparently, involves a certain amount of wading/swimming, so cameras need to be protected.

1. Any recommendations on waterproof camera pouches?

2. Any that will fit a DSLR?

3. Should I just forego the nice camera and let DH risk his point and shoot?

Thanks, oh great photo-board of knowledge.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I've used an EWA Marine bag successfully for years. I only use it with my non-primary DSLR and I only use it when I am on or around the water. I used to use it for underwater shots, but I've had too many small leaks to make me comfortable doing that.

 

[Ohiodislover]

I just bought one today. It says that you have to have the waterproof seals redone every year. That is fine, but I can't find much info on the website about cost.

Wondering if anyone has an idea on how much it is to have done? Hate to spend a ton of $$ on a fairly cheap camera-KWIM?

 

[cmwade77]

Wow, I am glad that I have an Olympus waterproof camera, it doesn't have to have the seals redone every year, you just have to visually inspect them periodically to make sure there is no damage to them. That's a bummer to here about the Fuji camera, as it has some nice features.

 

[YesDear]

I have a waterproof case for a fuji 50fd. I have written Fuji asking how to get. THey are one their website and I see several sites in Europe that have them!

I will let you know what they say!