usvi-on-line
Underwater Camera Reccomendations?
Underwater Camera Reccomendations?
I did a search on the forum and looked at some of the previous discussions on underwater cameras. Based on what I've read I am interested in getting a digital, underwater camera that does not require an external case to go into the water (less stuff is good).
Can anyone share their direct experience with underwater cameras please? Comments on picture quality, ease of use, reliability, versatility?
Thanks in advance & Happy Holidays!
Can anyone share their direct experience with underwater cameras please? Comments on picture quality, ease of use, reliability, versatility?
Thanks in advance & Happy Holidays!
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StjLoverEi
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2007 11:26 am
- Location: Chicago
I purchased the Pentax Optio W30 (using the link from the site 
) before my recent trip to St. John in November. I chose it after reading a lot of reviews of that and other cameras and then deciding to buy the cheapest one! I am very pleased with it. The pictures in my recent trip reports were all taken with it if you want to take a look at those. Keep in mind that I am not much of a photographer. I just want a camera for fun pictures. I thought the pictures both in and out of the water were good. It is also very sturdy as I found out when I dropped it a couple of times on vacation! I had originally wanted to by underwater housing for my old camera but it was going to cost more than the Optio W30, so I decided that it was worth a try. The only issue I had was that since the camera doesn't have a viewfinder it was sometimes difficult underwater to have a good idea of what you were focused on. If it was sunny out this wasn't much of a problem underwater but when it was cloudy I would just kind of aim at what I wanted to take a picture of and keep my fingers crossed.
All in all I feel that it was a good camera for the price.
) before my recent trip to St. John in November. I chose it after reading a lot of reviews of that and other cameras and then deciding to buy the cheapest one! I am very pleased with it. The pictures in my recent trip reports were all taken with it if you want to take a look at those. Keep in mind that I am not much of a photographer. I just want a camera for fun pictures. I thought the pictures both in and out of the water were good. It is also very sturdy as I found out when I dropped it a couple of times on vacation! I had originally wanted to by underwater housing for my old camera but it was going to cost more than the Optio W30, so I decided that it was worth a try. The only issue I had was that since the camera doesn't have a viewfinder it was sometimes difficult underwater to have a good idea of what you were focused on. If it was sunny out this wasn't much of a problem underwater but when it was cloudy I would just kind of aim at what I wanted to take a picture of and keep my fingers crossed.All in all I feel that it was a good camera for the price.
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California Girl
I also have a Canon with the underwater housing and I also couldn't use the viewfinder or LCD screen. I would just aim in the general direction and snap off 2 or 3 shots and hope one was good.
With the light conditions underwater and with a mask on, I really don't know how anyone could see what they were aiming at with or without a housing!
With the light conditions underwater and with a mask on, I really don't know how anyone could see what they were aiming at with or without a housing!
I own an Olympus 770sw and love it. What about the new Sealife digital point and shoot, ECO SL321? There is also a bright offering from Vivitar (6200W) that looks like the exact same camera. The Sealife is about $200 and the Vivitar is at Target.com for $120. The sealfe claims 75ft and the Vivitar 30ft and both are shockproof to some extent. Take a gander:
Here are the spec pages
Vivitar 6200W
Sealife
Here are the spec pages
Vivitar 6200W
Sealife
Last edited by Steve S on Fri Dec 21, 2007 5:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
cameras
Thanks for the inputs everyone, I likely will get the annual Amazon gift certificate for christmas from my brother 
, and I was thinking this year I would aquire a camera for my summer 2008 visit to STJ. I already have a Sony "land" digital that gets the basics done but if I want to keep up with Ya'll (just kidding)- I'll need an underwater gizmo too. My kids would really love to see the underwater photos too (not even going to consider bringing my kids on our Caribbean trips...no way!). So, maybe the Vivitar is a good option since I really only want it for underwater...I'll have to beat the heck out of the specs for a few weeks, as I usually do before I spend a couple hundered bucks...Then make the purchase, ya'll should see pics by July 2008.
Thanks Again!
, and I was thinking this year I would aquire a camera for my summer 2008 visit to STJ. I already have a Sony "land" digital that gets the basics done but if I want to keep up with Ya'll (just kidding)- I'll need an underwater gizmo too. My kids would really love to see the underwater photos too (not even going to consider bringing my kids on our Caribbean trips...no way!). So, maybe the Vivitar is a good option since I really only want it for underwater...I'll have to beat the heck out of the specs for a few weeks, as I usually do before I spend a couple hundered bucks...Then make the purchase, ya'll should see pics by July 2008.Thanks Again!