Underwater Cameras

[downunder]

Not knowing the Panasonic TS1 I looked at a review using Googgle.

Again this is not a camera to take diving without a housing but great surface camera around boats.

The standard wide angle lens is a must for people photos (28mm equilivant v/s 35mm standard). Don’t know why your photo quality is not good.

However the range of digital pocket cameras just does not compare with the cheaper range of Nikon/ canon SLR’s which aren’t much more expensive these days. The cheaper SLR however are bulkier and not splashproof.

Portion of a REVIEW below
“The Lumix TS1 was not built to handle quite the same abuse as a rugged notebook, but it was designed for the average consumer photographer who tends to be careless with his precious camera: taking it to the beach, tossing it on the counter, dropping it on the ground, taking it out in the rain. But the Lumix TS1 was also built so you could use it outdoors, at the beach, on the boat, and even under the water when snorkeling or just swimming.
Conclusion. Panasonic has produced a real winner with the Lumix TS1: a digital camera that you can take anywhere, rain or shine, underwater, and you can even mistreat it and it'll still turn in better photos than many other digital cameras on the market. Although there are other rugged digital cameras -- some more rugged than the TS1 -- none so far comes close to the high image quality of the Panasonic TS1. Its 12-megapixel sensor performs very well, and though the Lumix TS1 still exhibits the luminance noise that we used to warn people about, it's of no consequence in the printed results, so not worth worrying about. Some of the heavily touted features of the Panasonic TS1 fall short, including the Face Recognition mode and some elements of the Movie mode, but I still like that one can zoom while capturing video, something most pocket digital cameras don't offer; and the image stabilization is excellent. When it comes to actually giving me most of what I want from a digital camera that I can take anywhere, the Panasonic TS1 really delivers. Its wide-angle lens lets me capture more of the outdoors, and I can use it regardless of the weather without a whole lot of thought -- either for the image quality or the camera's safety. For that reason, the Panasonic Lumix TS1 earns a 4.5-star Dave's Pick.”

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by downunder

Be carefull

Waterproof really means splashproof.

5m is better than 3m however these are not diving housings.

There is no cheap solution. Unfortunately.

Great on surface, in rain, or in dingies, on sand.

Which , in reality, is all I would be asking of the xacti (or similar) that I linked to above

[Stillraining]

Originally Posted by Sailndive345

A glance at my trusty old Nikonos V while reading this thread makes me feel ancient....

Well....that makes two of us...I think about selling mine every once in awhile but I couldn't probably get squat for it so Ill just hang onto it....film sucks though...I never have bought an underwater flash though and really put it to a fair test.

Built like a brick crapper though..all metal construction, unfortunately all manual focus and settings to....But if your looking for a bullet proof real dive camera, it fit's the bill.....but it is film not digital.

Probably pretty cheap on ebay if you find one.

[downunder]

Now the earlier Nikonos models and the Nik V are true underwater cameras and use 35mm film.

The SeaLife cameras are possibly the closest to the Nikonos range in true digital waterproof cameras tested to 60meters (200ft).

Catmando,

you have it sorted, many however do not realise the expensive limitations.

MarkJ for one found out the expensive way.

Cheers.

[Canibul]

Of all the digital cameras I have used underwater, the best was actually a Sony, in an underwater housing.

My major issues with the 2 Olympus Stylus SW's series I have been through ( other than the fact that both leaked within a year of purchase and Olympus doesn't wanna hear about it) was that they seem to not be able to get good telephoto images. I think they have a problem ever achieving a true infinity focus on max optical zoom ( I never use digital zoom, I turn it off day one), and of course there is no manual focus.

BUT underwater, you never use the zoom function anyhow. I have been surprised at the difference in image quality between the two Stylus cameras and the new Pentax W80 I got in November to replace the Olympus 1030SW. Sad to say, the image quality of the Olympus is noticeably better than that of the W80.

I have also been through a SeaLife and a Reefmaster. Both failed within a year.

[Cormorant]

About that Pentax W80 I had sent away for warranty repairs a couple of weeks ago -- I was half expecting to get back a mealy-mouthed letter saying something along the lines of, "Your waterproof camera has malfunctioned due to water damage. Water damage is not covered by the warranty."

Well, what I got back today was a bit of a surprise -- a whole new W80 camera, in the box, with all the fixings, and a nice letter.

So, kudos to Pentax for good customer service. Now I'll see if I can keep from ruining this one. . . .

[troymclure]

I just bought a flip HD with an underwater camera case. Video camera not still, but rather affordable (ie whole lot camera+case costs less then getting an underwater camera case for my old canon would).

So far it seems pretty cool, havent' gotten a chance to do any major snorkelling with it yet though.

[Talbot]

I have a Panasonic Lumix TZ5 and panasonic marketed a proper underwater case to go with it.

I have an earlier Sony 3 mpixel camera that I also have a proper underwater case for, and I have a decent strobe and arm set up that will work with either.

The sony was a little slow between pressing the button and having the picture taken, but the results were still satisfactory:

[Jetexas]

All of the higher-end Fujifilm, Canon, and Olympus point-and-shoot cameras have aftermarket underwater cases available. They're not expensive.

I have a fujifilm f60fd with an underwater case I got three years ago, and it was only about $400 for bothe the camera and the case.

If you go with Canon, there's a ton to choose from: canon underwater housing

[rebel heart]

The guys I dive with have housings for their regular Cannon point and shoots. The pictures they take look pretty good. I'm sure for hardcore brochure level stuff you're going to have to spend $10K for a setup but for a normal picture the housings seem great.

Amazon.com: Canon WP-DC17 Underwater housing for Canon SD870IS Digital Cameras: Camera & Photo

For testing them people put take them to depth sans camera and see if there are any leaks first.

The biggest problem I see is light down there. Depending on the water certain shades are gone and others are more pronounced so you need an incredibly powerful light in order to overcome that.

[maytrix]

I think any camera that takes good pictures out of water will take good pictures under water with the right case.

We have a Canon Powershot and an underwater housing for it that has worked very well and I recently got the Canon M30 High Def Video Camera and the Underwater housing that goes with that. Great video and great pictures!

The M30 has an underwater mode which corrects the colors without needing added lighting. This works great for video as well as photos.

[capt_douglas]

I bought a housing for my Canon G9. It's good to 130' and the built-in light does an OK job if the subject's close. It's somewhat bulky but the controls are easy to use and appears bulletproof.

[reinerg100]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

The guys I dive with have housings for their regular Cannon point and shoots. The pictures they take look pretty good. I'm sure for hardcore brochure level stuff you're going to have to spend $10K for a setup but for a normal picture the housings seem great.

Amazon.com: Canon WP-DC17 Underwater housing for Canon SD870IS Digital Cameras: Camera & Photo

For testing them people put take them to depth sans camera and see if there are any leaks first.

The biggest problem I see is light down there. Depending on the water certain shades are gone and others are more pronounced so you need an incredibly powerful light in order to overcome that.

Got the same- TZ5 which is a great camera and bought a underwater case also
never would have thought it would work that great

[lunasea.ds]

We got ours in 2009. Shockproof (6.6 ft), waterproof (33 ft), 12 megapixel, 3.6x optical wide zoom and 5.0-18.2mm 1:3.5-5.1.

It's compact enough to carry in our front pocket. Tough enough to get tossed around the dink or shoved in with snorkel gear without worry. We fresh water rinse it well when we're done and so far it's been watertight and reliable.

We love the panorama feature (3 photos merged in camera that come out mostly seamless), and the decent quality movie and sound (zoom available before filiming) features. These features are available underwater too! We're happy with the clarity and color of our pictures and the clear underwater shots. There's even a beauty feature that smooths and evens out skin tone. The thing we don't love is how it takes low light indoor shots.

I attached a long rope so it hangs around my neck while snorkeling, and a bright yellow key float to have something comfortable to hold while shooting. If it falls in the water we can spot it easily.

[jim_thomsen]

We have had a couple of underwater Olympus point and shot and they were OK for snorkeling.
We just purchased a Sealife DC1200 with strobe and wide angle lens for $750 and have used it on a couple of dives and love it. The colors come out great, the pictures still need some work.