I'm buying my first underwater digital camera and figured the simplest thing to do was to buy one of the point-and-shoot sets created specifically for divers--Sealife DC 500, Sea & Sea DX 750G, or Equinox Seapix. The few reviews I can find seem to favor the Sea & Sea over the Sealife, and I can't find ANYTHING on the Seapix, which is a problem because there's a great deal on it on Leisurepro or Diversdiscount (can't remember which). Anyone volunterring experience, pointers, opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Well you did ask for it, IMHO, they are overpriced POS's and I have yet to see one decent picture taken with any one of them. The best shots I have seen were about equal to the worse shots from regular PnS (point and shoot) and I have looked.

Let's compare value, the DC500/DX750 run about $500 and are 5 megapixel, 3x optical zoom cameras and UW cases. For the same money you can get a Canon A620 and Canon UW housing (maybe even a bit less). That is a 7 megapixel, 4x optical zoom camera. The Canon is a much much better camera that you can grow into (if you want), on the other hand, it's also fully automatic and will take great pictures right out of the box.

I am reminded of a line from Magnum Force where Clint is talking to his boss and says, every man's got to know his limitations. Well it would be shame to have a camera, that you pay a lot of money for, be what limits you.

I just purchased a Nikon Coolpix 7600 Point and Shoot for $200. Ikelite housing $264 and Ikelite Strobe with secondary light for $240. I can't wait to take some amazing pictures. Check out www.digideep.com There's some amazing photos and suggestions for novice photographers like me.

Robert
I purchased a Sealife DC300 from Leisurepro two years ago under the same basic premise you are suggesting (simplest thing to do) and I was greatly disappointed. I don't have any personal experience with the actual cameras you are considering but the Sealife DC300 uses a cheap Vivitar 3.2 MP no optical zoom camera and I could take as good a picture with a disposable.

There was something wrong with the camera right out of the box and I was leaving for Bonaire in two weeks and Leisurepro would do nothing to expedite handling of a replacement - good prices but no service from Leisurepro. I had to go to a local dive shop in Madison, Wisc. who gave me a new camera off the shelf and sent mine in for replacement. I had never been in their shop before but I now buy all my dive equipment from them - fair prices and great service!

There is lots of good info on this board about inexpensive point and shoot cameras with underwater housings. Spend a few minutes searching and you will see what I mean. I have purchased two Olympus cameras on Ebay and am very happy with them and they take great underwater shots as well as are good land cameras.
Tom

I'm with Cecil. Find a good land camera that also has an u/w housing available(many out there). You'll get a better camera for the money. The A620 Cecil mentioned is a good choice. Set it to auto if P&S is all you want to do, but it has the manual options you may want to explore as you learn. I would look for a camera(whatever the brand) that has manual options including manual white balance. Wish I knew that before my first purchase.

Olympus SP-350 with a PT-030 housing is about 5 bills and takes great pic's above or below the water. The Oly-350 has a macro mode that is good and with 8meg, 3x zoom is all you need. The housing even comes with a neutral weight. A 1-gig card will allow 650 shots and all camera controls can be operated when inside the housing. External strobe is avalible, but I don't like the feel of being a babysetter to a camera. Two AA bateries and shoot!

Good luck on your choice and above all enjoy your experiences... Ron

Ron, do you have the Oly SP 350? That's what I got for Christmas along with the housing. I LOVE that camera! The 2.5 inch LCD screen is fantastic. Used it in Hawaii last month and all I can say is I LOVE that camera!

Robert, I bought a Reefmaster point and shoot 2 years ago and it is a POS. You have no button control on the camera. Many times I had it in "review" mode as I had been looking at my pics after a dive and forgot to switch it back to the picture taking mode. Then I'd be underwater and see something great and turn it on, and was in "review" mode so no way to take pictures. Quality wasn't great either (now that I have used the Oly SP350 underwater, amazing difference). Plus the OLY SP350 has zoom, and as mentioned, macro, all sorts of great functions to take the best pics.

If I had to do it all over again, I would have bitten the bullet and spent the extra couple hundred bucks and gotten something better like I have now.

Good luck in your search!

Cyndelee,
Yep you got it! I look for Olympus to market another SP-3?? that will take more then a 1-gig card and when they do I will buy it...

Set your SP-350 on scene mode and check out the 27 different scenes avalible. The underwater wide 1 and 2 with underwater macro is neet. I also like to take flic's on manual and play with the aperture and shutter speed... ENJOY... Ron

I purchased the Sony 7.2 with a 2 gig card and a Sea Life flash. What a great set up. I have been very happy with the results.

Some 27 or so sub-topics below there was/is a similar discussion entitled, "What Compact Digital Should I but?" I stand by my comments there. Mainly ...

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"Frankly, I can’t justify $500 for a snorkel camera.
I am a low budget photographer, an even lower-budget diver [my definition of a “low budget diver” is a snorkeler] and a low-budget traveler. Hey, we do what we can afford. I have just done exactly what I recommend above and yes, you read that right $150 for everything. -- Camera, Underwater Case, and Rechargeable Batteries] The reasons for the low price are:

A. the PT-017 housing is available for $49.95 brand new plus ten dollars shipping. I ordered mine through Amazon.com and the item was shipped to me from one of BT talkers favorites -- LeisurePro in NYC. Just go to Amazon.com and type in underwater housing 017 and you should find it. The case is brand new. It is in original Olympus packaging and has full documentation, warranty, etc.

B. The camera was bought at auction on E-bay. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure. I paid[at auction] $60.00 plus 4.36 shipping. Obviously you need to be careful at auctions for cameras and it may take a half dozen tries [before you win]. Try to bid in the last one to two minutes to improve your chance of winning and decide on a maximun before you bid. My maximum was $65.00. Also before bidding on something like a camera, I always ask the seller a couple of questions [via E-mail] relative to condition and whether “All Functions Work?” I also look closely at the seller’s feedback record. 97.5 % positive or higher with good comments is a must. Both my Oly-5050 and my Oly D-560 cameras were bought without any surprises at E-bay auctions. "
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The housing is still available at Amazon for $49.95 plus shipping [I checked] and overall it is a nice package. It's similar to the 350 except it does not have as many scene modes; IR assisted focusing or the hot-shoe. Those are all very nice features but I'm not sure how many of us would use or need them.

Don't get me wrong, I don't disagree with Ron and Grasshopper [Cyndelee], it's just my pockets aren't quite so deep.

The 350 and housing is a DIVING camera to 131 fsw. And I don't like using someone elses dicarded equipment. Ebay is good for somethings, but not electronics! Ron

William, the point and shoot that I bought (reefmaster) was around $300.00. I had high expectations of it and was really disapointed. Cecil had given me the advice of biting the bullet and buying a better camera and housing, but at that time, the extra 300 bucks was not doable for me...in retrospect I'm glad I didn't get a better camera because it would have been the small LCD screen which I still would not have been able to see my subject....again, I love that BIG 2.5 inch LCD screen.

I would trust buying a point and shoot off ebay. Mine has worn well and I haven't given it any special care Hmmmmm....maybe I should sell that and the film one I have...

Read the Instructions:

I'm one of those who rarely, if ever, "read the instructions.” However, this morning, while trying to avoid doing what I should have been doing, I decided to read the manual that came with the D-017 Housing. I was “shocked” to read that it is designed exclusively for the D-350 Olympus Camera. That’s the camera which Ron and Grasshopper have so highly and justifiably recommended. WOW!

That means that if you own or buy the D-350 camera [a much better camera than the D-560] that for just $59.95 dollars more [$49.95 for the housing and $10 for shipping] you can buy a brand new Olympus Case with full controls. That’s about as good as it can get.

Ron: According to the manual the Olympus D-017 plastic case is rated to 40 meters [~131 feet]. Sounds like its the same housing as yours.

I will probably use the housing exclusively with the D-560 [yes, it fits] as I am a three time loser in the water-leak lottery with the old Minolta film cameras of 20 or 30 years ago and I am just not willing to put a better camera at risk. It wasn't that the old minoltas openly leaked but after about 1 year I would go to use them and the shutter wouldn't work because of rust. Minolta believed that the rust was due either to high humidity or even a single drop of water or condensation in the camera. I felt it was a lousy design that used a steel blade shutter. I don't buy Minolta anymore.

WDG

Buyer Beware:

Caution with my previous post. I believe that I have found the reason for the very low price on the PT-017 housing. It is the result of an error in the accompaning manufacturers literature. It appears that the PT-016 housing is required with the Oly-350 not the PT-017.

The accompanying Olympus manual does clearly say, "PT-017 For the Camedia C-350 ZOOM" both on the cover in large letters and inside but I suspect this is an error.

In fairness to Amazon, they are NOT advertising it for the C-350 but for the D-560 a smaller less capable camera.

My apologies. When something looks too good to be true, it usually is.

WDG

William, I'm cornfused. I did a google search for a D350 oly camera and found nada. Ron and mine is the SP-350 Oly. The housing that goes with this camera is the PT-030. The SP-350 as mentioned before has a 2.5 inch LCD screen, which the PT-030 housing has (2.5 inch LCD screen size). The PT-016 does not have the large LCD screen and is for an OLY stylus camera, not the one Ron and I have. Buttons are completely different as well.

Grasshopper:

Thanks for the clarification. The camera I have is the OLY D-560 for which I purchased the PT-017 housing with which it works fine. When I discovered an APPARENT error in the PT-017 manual saying it was exclusively for the CAMEDIA C-350 camera I assumed that that was the camera that you and Ron were talking about. It didn't occur to me that Olympus had an unrelated SP-350. I tend to think in terms of the numbers. I own the Olympus 2100c; a 5050, a 310 and now the D-560. It never occurred to me that they used the same numbers in different series.

Once I realized my mistake, [that the case did not fit the SP-350] I wanted to post as quickly as possible to prevent someone from buying the $49.95 housing thinking it would fit the SP-350. As I indicated, I did not realize at that time there were 350 models in different series. Now the case probably fits a C-350 [???] but not the SP-350 that you and Ron talked about.

I am no expert on the Olympus cameras and I am the one who was confused. Apparently there is a C-350 ZOOM that is physically identical to the D-560. If so then the manual is correct and I am the one who was wrong. I guess I could claim an age related disability of jumping to conclusions.

All I can say at this point, other than apologize for posting misleading/confusing/erroneous information, is that the $49.95 D-017 housing seems to work well with the D-560 Olympus Camera. Beyond that I believe I have demonstrated that I know nothing -- at least not relative to Olympus products.

I will also promise not to consult the Instruction Manual again as that is where my confusion began.

Perhaps the moderator can pull or edit my two earlier posts and prevent others from being confused by my inputs.

WDG

William, no problem...I'm cornfused too...a lot! I am just getting familiar with all of the functions of my SP-350 Oly...I can firmly say I know nothing and have a LOT to learn about underwater photography (other then the reefmaster that I bought a couple years ago is really a POS)...lol!

Grasshopper or anyone else...
Have you actually used the "preset" u/w modes on the SP-350? Results?

I just acquired one and will be getting the (correct) housing... have been using C5050 with respectable results.

I also add that the Oly PT-xxx housings are excellent. They are clear and use a red gasket, making it easy to prevent leaks b/c:

1. You can inspect for sand grains, which have high contrast to the red gasket...
2. The grease, although clear, makes the gasket appear pinkish when sealed, further allowing careful inspection before submersion.
3. Compared to Ikelite, they are affordable.

I have over 25 dives on my C5050 (many to >75ft) with zero leaks.

The only fault I can find is that the release clamp on the PT housings have tiny spring-locks that might be tricky for large-fingered operators.

Lief, nice to see you pop in I've only used it in the "auto" mode. It's only been on 3 dives (just got it). the first dive was to 110 feet without the camera to check any housing leaks, and then the next day 2 more dives. I was looking for the macro button where it is on the camera when I was diving but it wasn't there. Then I figured out I had to dial it on the settings dial. I'll have more time to play with it on my next dive in a couple of weeks (hoping it will be DRY dive...lol)

I bought a SeaLife last year at Beneath the Sea & took it to Bonaire this year (never got around to posting pics). In summary, I was disappointed with it. It eats battery power and by the time I would find some really cool stuff on a dive (side-by-side eagle rays at Alice!) it was out of juice and the strobe was not very powerful. I did get some great pics at the reef balls and in the shallows of BelMar (good natural light), but I would not recommend it. I will probably buy a better set up & let my kids use it.

PS - I use LeisurePro for lots of stuff and have been happy with their service. Since I work in NYC, talking to them face-to-face with a receipt and item in hand is much easier than over the phone. The camera setup is from a big dive shop here in NYC and they have been less than helpful with it. I haven't priced underwater cameras with them, but most NYC residents swear by B&H for photo stuff (despite the annoying radio ads!).

Having experimented with the SP350, albeit above sea level, I can see how you were flustered about getting to macro mode. (menu, down arrow, down arrow, menu = four buttons to push) The SP350 has fewer controls than my trusty C5050. But the "AEL" button can be programmed as a custom button. For instance, I can set it up to be a "MyMode" selector, then I can set each of the 4 user modes to a desired group of settings. On my 5050 I have used the custom "MyMode"'s together with the standalone custom function button to enable rapid switching between my four most used settings (1 = wide-S w/ strobe sync, 2= wide-A with no flash, 3 = supermacro, manual focus, no strobe, 4= macro, spot auto focus, strobe sync.) This allows me to quickly get the camera set for a subject before it wanders off.

I'm looking forward to trying similar customizing on the SP350 using the AEL/custom button to switch between the user modes and setting the user modes to the pre-programmed "scenes" for underwater wide with/without flash and macro.

Unfortunately, it will be late August before I can try out the SP350 underwater...

Leif, how is your other half?

(Message edited by cyndelee on May 17, 2006)