We are going to Bonaire the end of July and would like to try taking movies with either our Olympus 5060 &/or Olympus SP-310 digital cameras. Of course it would be nice to have an underwater video camera but that is not in the budget for now. Since we will be only snorkeling I don't think the lighting will be too big of a problem. The auto focus and zoom are locked (I think) while in movie mode. Anyone have any experience or suggestions?

Tom

Tom,
Think about renting a video cam for a day or two instead of the oly still camera. My SP350 with a 1 gig card will take minutes of video. Film clips is what they are designed for not movies. Their are many places on the Island to rent video equipment. Good Luck... Ron

Tom, I also have the SP350, and my old reefmaster POS, had a 60 minute movie clip option. I used my POS in the BVI's and got some great footage of an octopus. If you want long video, do as Ron suggests. If you are happy with the shorter clips that the SP310 has, I'd say you would be just fine with the light. This of course, is coming from an ameteur (sp)

I have taken a couple of shorts with my 5050. They are OK but very grainy even on a computer screen and they do eat a lot of memory. Renting a video camera is the best option if you really want video. Why not try a couple around the house and see if they are acceptable to you.

Thanks Ron, Grasshopper, & Herman for your suggestions. I would only hope to take short clips while snorkeling and combine them together when back home. I may take my laptop along to copy my movie clips and pictures and free up space on camera memory cards. I will also look into renting a video camera for a day.

Does anyone have any suggestions where to rent a video camera and what to expect to pay for a day rental?

Thanks,
Tom

It's been a long time since I rented a video but the shop at Sand Dollar use to rent some pretty nice vid cameras. I would suggest you email/call them and see what they offer. Looks like they still have the Hi-8 cameras I rented plus some new digital ones. Here is a link. http://www.infobonaire.com/fisheye/rentals-hi8.html

Thanks Herman
I visited their web site tonight and I will contact them to rent a video camera for a day. Although I still will try video clips with my digital camera I would like to get a longer length video of underwater Bonaire.

Since you have used their equipment before I am wondering how your videos turned out. Since we are snorkeling we should not need extra lighting but did you get satisfactory results with their equipment?
Tom

Mine came out reasonably good. The camera man stunk but I can't blame that on the equipment. Lighting even at a depth of 30-40ft was good. I was using natural light. The camera I rented came with a detachable color filter, if you are snorkeling you may choose not to use it. It helped a lot at depth but close to the surface and above water it needs to be removed or your video will have an orange tint to it.