digital underwater cameras

[Becky&Brian]

we are planning our next trip to stj in may and we are looking to update our digital camera. We are looking at the underwater digital cameras--like sealife i think is one that we looked at and olympius is the other--any input would be great--looking to spend between $200-$300 if thats reasonable?? Or is it better to buy a nice digital and then buy the underwater housing for it??

[Kentuckygirl]

I bought the Olympus and I'm very happy with it. I know that a lot of people really like their Canons with underwater housing too. I think you will get a lot of responses on this here.

[wwbbd]

We bought the underwater Olympus last year before a snorkeling trip to Kauai. We got some great pictures and video and I would definitely recommend this camera.

I would also recommend that you thoroughly test it out before your trip. Our first few day's pictures did not turn out well because we didn't realize that our settings were not being saved. It would revert back to a standard setting. One of the many, many options that you have on the camera is a setting to remember your settings. Once you actually read the manual or spend some "quality" time with the camera, it is great.

[Sun4MySoul]

I just got back from STJ with my brand new Olympus 770. I loved its versatility. Great pics in and out of the water. And some good video too. Hopefully, I will have some of them posted for viewing soon.

I agree that its best to spend some time with the manual. It has alot more bells and whistles that my old compact point and shoot, so I still don't know how to use everything on it!

So far, I definitely recommend it. I hope it stands up to the test over time.

[soxfan22]

I am planning on purchasing one of the two Olympus cameras before out next STJ trip in July. I'm leaning towards the 790, because I have read that it takes better pictures. Also, while on STJ in Dec 07, I asked the guy at Cruz Bay photo which one he recommended, and he said the 790. Of course, they don't even carry the 770 anymore, so that may have played into his recommendation!

In terms of differences between the two - I believe the 770 is waterproof up to 30 feet, while the 790 only goes to about 10ft. I asked the guy at CBP about this, and he said you really only need about 10' of waterproof depth to snorkel on STJ (I agree).

Bottom line for me...If diving, buy the 770. If snorkeling and not freediving to crazy depths, buy the 770.

[soxfan22]

Sun - I would love to see some of your underwater pics taken with the 770. You took video as well, right?

[luvinsun]

we just got back from STJ 2 weeks ago using the Olympus 790, and it was great . The only downside that I could find was it doesn't have a view finder, you have to use the screen on the back. It got a little difficult with the sun, but I just kept snapping away and got a lot of nice pictures! I definitely recommend changing the setting to underwater when in the water and not auto. Pics came out much nicer underwater when I remembered to change the setting. I am very happy with this camera. Definitely worth it not having to mess around with underwater casings.

got some cool video of the sea turtles on Maho Beach!

[wwbbd]

On the 30 feet vs 10 feet waterproofing--be sure everyone that will be using the camera will stay at the 10 feet or less level if you pick this camera. We have the one that will go to 30 feet and thought that would be plenty. My daughter, who is an absolute fish, took most of the underwater pictures and must have gone past 30 feet. The flash flooded and wouldn't work until we dried it off and let it sit for a while.

I think it's unlikely for that to happen again at 30 feet, but it would be pretty easy to go deeper than 10 feet by mistake. (Not for me--I pretty much float at the top the whole time.) Just consider everyone who's going to be using the camera.

[sherban]

some other info on this topic here...

http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... highlight=

[Sun4MySoul]

Sox- I do have some videos that I think turned out quite well. The ones that didn't were due to operator error, not problems with the camera. Just took me a while to get used to all the buttons.

I hope to post links to pics/video within the next week or two when I get my trip report together, but if you would like to see something sooner, just send along your email in a PM.

Go Red Sox!

[Schnell]

Have the 790 here and really like it. Super easy to use. Second the comment about the underwater settings. Don't use the normal setting for underwater. The underwater macro one is really good too. Takes awesome close ups within about 5'. Another tip not mentioned....buy the floating wrist strap. That way if it comes off your wrist it won't sink to the bottom and ruin the camera. $20 strap is cheap insurance!

[LMarie]

Question about these digital underwater cameras: When they say the cameras can "withstand up to X minutes of continuous operation at an underwater depth up to X meters" - can they be in longer than said time if the camera is not on continuously? I'd like one for snorkeling, but I wouldn't keep it on the whole time in the water, but typically am in the water more than say 30 minutes at a time. I'm thinking about an Olympus SW or Pentax W.

Thanks for your help!

[Schnell]

Never even noticed if my olympus 790 had a certain amount of minutes. I doubt it, but it could be there and I missed it. That being said I snorkeled for probably an hour a couple times after I bought it in STT and its still like new.

[Steve S]

We'd snorkel for at least an hour at a time with our 770sw submerged. The battery would last a little over an hour continuously on. Make sure you bring a backup battery and keep it charged.

[jimg20]

We bought the SeaLife Ecoshot last week. It costs about $200. It is compact and light weight. It looks like it is as tough as nails.

The settings are somewhat complicated. It looks like after a little time using it will be sufficient to master it.

The camera requires some special care when it comes out of the sea. The salt needs to be washed off of it before the water dries.

JIM