Water proof cameras
 

Thinking of getting this camera any thoughts from you photo guys would be cool

Thanks in advance

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/a...599FFFE834.jpg



Sent from my porcelain aquarium

I own one of these and like it a lot.

Canon Power Shot D10 Water Proof Digital Camera - $100
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/bn...465930528.html

Just a small tip with any under water cam, remember to apply small layer of Vaseline on the rubber seals.
Avoid sudden pressure changes like an ocean waive may hit it for example, or when you snorkel try not to move your hands (with cam in the hand) too quickly as this will increase the pressure and seal may leak.

I know because i ruined two and sunk one LOL.
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http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/o...6/IMG_0374.jpg
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I have the Olympus Tough Stuff and it's not too bad. I've played around with the Lumilux in the stores and I really like the quality of the pics, I think it will be my next one.
I thought this might be of interest to you, it was posted on Reef Builders
http://gizmodo.com/5916329/the-best-...ium=socialflow

I've got a Panasonic TS3 (now it's the TS4) and it's by far the best tough camera that I've tested out. I tried out the fujifilm, olympus toughcam, Nikon toughcam, and Sony toughcam (never got a chance to check out the Pentax one). The Panasonic claims to be waterproof to 45 feet (which I tested in Maui) as most other toughcams are only good from 10 - 30 feet of depth. I've also never had a lens fogging issue with it in the 2 years I've had it which is a very common complaint on most waterproof cameras due to design of these cameras.

The camera you posted Jeff is the same one that dreef has and I know he has been happy with it for taking photos in his tank. For the price, the Fujifilm camera is a much better buy than the Panasonic and if you don't plan on taking it snorkeling or scuba diving too deep, it's definately the best bang for your buck.

Forgot to add, I've never had any problem with leaks on the TS3. When I took it down past 40 ft, there was a very slight bit of condensation inside the battery/SD card compartment but not enough to do any damage or worry about. It has a dual rubber gasket with an external lock that pretty much eliminates the possibility of water getting inside the camera.

I work with their Toughbook laptops and they're pretty tough, I imagine their cameras are as tough!

I have the Pentax Optio W10. Wicked little camera. It's been on every hunting, fishing, surfing, biking, hiking trip I made in the last 10 years. It's now very beat up and ugly, but it keeps ticking like a champ. This baby owes me nothing.
That being said, if I was looking for another one, I'd be looking long and hard at the GoPro line with a housing which they sell for it.

I picked up an olympus underwater camera last year around this time for under $100. I took the thing diving in Maui figuring if it was washed away it was only $100. Downside is with the viewfinder cover I found that if your water was gritty that the particles got trapped between the cover and the lense, not a great combination.

I have one of these too and had a similar experience with the lens cover. Just have to make sure to rinse it first before you close it. Although the lens is pretty tough and after a couple of years of opening and closing with sand in between the lens and the cover I haven't actually noticed any scratches. If mine crapped out and would probably get one of their newer ones. My kids have thrown this camera across the room a few times and it is still trucking along.

We are looking at the GoPro ones as well. Will wait for boxing week sales to pick up tho!!

PM Sent

Lots to think about curse you lol thanks for all the replies and options


Sent from my porcelain aquarium

Fuji bad!
 

My girlfriend had an older model and it was awesome! I bought that one and have had nothing but trouble, the menu button sticks as well and now the shutter button works intermittently and that is the second one I got ( I had it replaced under warranty)

FYI! My parents had an Olympus and it works well!

Are you going somewhere tropical or just looking for tank options?? :lol:

The only tropical place I will ever be at until the twins are older. Is my bathroom when I'm steam cleaning our fake Indoor trees and plants playing jungle sounds on my phone. Lol this is just tank related and possible with durability for the twins to take pics of their day as they wander around they love to play with cameras


Sent from my porcelain aquarium

I have a Canon D10 which is obsolete now but replaced by a D20 (which is smaller than the D10 and does HD video which are both nice things to have). What attracted me to the D10 was that unlike most underwater cameras which are good to 10' of depth, these are good to 30' (or 10m). It is essentially so good of a camera that it is my everyday camera (not just for when I go swimming or whatever). I'd say the D20 is totally worth a look.

The GoPros are great cameras but they are really meant to be worn, or mounted, to capture the "experience" of whatever it is you're doing. If you want to set up a shot then you need the backpack with a LCD screen and so on and the interface is really kind of clumsy (it's not really intended as an interactive camera). Don't get me wrong, I love the GoPros and what they have done to personal photography/video capturing of activities and so on but if you want a "look through the viewfinder/viewscreen and compose a photo" type camera they might not be the best tool for that.

They do have the wireless backpacks and iPhone/Android apps now mind you so that's pretty cool. If the intention is just to take tank shots underwater that might in fact be the way to go. Setup the camera on a pole or whatever and use your phone to see what it sees rather than craning your neck or using guesswork. :)

I bought the fujifilm xp last year to go to Mexico and I got about 15-25 pics underwater and it fried. I just bought a new Olympus and it seems to be much higher quality and takes good underwater pics.

Oops, sorry, totally meant to put a link to the product description of the D20. Um .. better late than never? :redface:

http://www.canon.ca/inetCA/products?m=gp&pid=13815

I have the GoPro 960 Hero. You cannot shoot inside your tank with the included lens you needed (at the time) to buy a third party lens that had a flat front to it otherwise nothing was in focus.

The newer models might have fixed this I'm not sure.

I love my Olympus Tough. Has a macro setting which I use for in my tank.

Under $300.
Waterproof, freeze proof, shock proof.
Very durable camera. And 12mp.
I bought it for my trip to Dominican. Worked great.


Mike

I bought my GoPro this summer and love it. It's not the newest version that came out a few months ago, but the one previous.

I had wanted to use it for both in tank shots and for trips. Unfortunately, underwater, their focus is poor, so close up shots in tank are out and when I took it snorkeling in Mexico underwater shots were not very crisp either. That said, in open air, they are amazing! Crisp HD video. I enjoyed transition shots, going from air to under water was really cool.
These cameras are built tough and take excellent pictures and video for such a compact device, but underwater, their clarity is lacking.

Husband and I are both divers he uses an ikelite housing for his Sony camcorder that can take pics while filming. To me it's worth getting a good camera and ordering a great housing for it. I use a Sony t1 with a Sony underwater housing since if it ever falls out of my hands it will be safe. Hubby now has 2 gopros and they are also awesome!! The new gopro black is wicked!! Great clear shots/video. We have dive warm and cold (as in ice) from Guam to glacier fed lakes here in Canada all without fail. I am getting a housing from ikelite for my Olympus tough. Also never out anything on your seals unless it came from the manufacturer. It may degrade them quickly and even then after a 5 dive a day trip I may only line my rings if there is alot of sand stuck to it. Just what I've experienced as a diver and underwater photographer.

from DP review

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canon-powershot-d20

Conclusion and samples
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canon-powershot-d20/5

Canon PowerShot D20
This is the first in a series of short underwater/rugged camera reviews on DPReview. We're testing the cameras concurrently, and once all six cameras have been reviewed, we'll publish a roundup of the class, comparing them directly.

While other camera manufacturers have been making rugged cameras for many years, Canon didn't enter the market until early 2009 (preferring to create optional waterproof housings for many of its 'regular' compacts instead). Canon's first truly waterproof digital compact camera, the PowerShot D10, had a rather unique (and chunky) design, but its solid performance photo quality earned it a 'Highly Recommended' badge in our 2009 Waterproof group test.

Three years later, the PowerShot D20 emerged, whose colorful, curvy but less bulbous design appears to have been be inspired by tropical fish. The D20 offers a host of improvements over its predecessor, that include the use of a CMOS sensor (which Canon touts as 'high sensitivity'), plus a 5X zoom lens (versus 3X), larger/sharper LCD, built-in GPS, and 1080p video recording. While the D20 can be submerged as deep as its predecessor underwater (10 meters), it's slightly more shock resistant and able to take a slightly higher drop than before (1.5 versus 1.2 meters).
Specification Highlights

12.1 effective megapixel BSI-CMOS sensor
F3.9-F4.8, 28-140mm lens (5X)
Optical image stabilization with 'Intelligent IS' feature
3.0 inch LCD with 461,000 dot resolution
Built-in GPS with logging function
Waterproof to 10m, shockproof from 1.5m, freezeproof to -10C
1080/24p movie mode

While the D20 has the same number of pixels as its predecessor - that's 12.1 million - its use of backside illumination technology promises better low light picture quality. That said, the D20's lens is on the slow side, with a maximum aperture range of F3.9-F4.8. This compares especially badly next to competitors like the Pentax WG-3 and Olympus Tough TG-2 (at least at wide-angle) - so the sensor has its work cut out for it.

I upgraded my Sea&Sea D200 housing to a new Sea&Sea D800 housing, and a couple of new Sea&Sea YS-D1 strobes a couple of months ao, just back from Lembeh Straight in Indonesia:)

http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/...90033423_o.jpg

http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/...93439802_n.jpg

http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/...51887381_o.jpg

I am looking at the one the OP listed also, every where I look at them the fiji is the best seller out of all there stock, but I will make one change, I am not looking for a camera to take pictures underwater I am looking for one to go in the canoe with me that can handle a splash or the ocasional capsize :mrgreen:

Steve

I have the older version (tx10) of this and I adore it.
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Cyber-sho...dp_ob_title_ce

It can go anywhere, takes nice photos and I can put it in my fish tank! for a point and shoot it does everything that is required, Mainly it goes anywhere I would be afraid to take my Canon 7D

I have the Pentax Optio WG-II and agree these are great cameras! Being a point and shoot it obviously has terrible zoom, but it is great for close up stuff. The WG-II also has an AWESOME 1cm macro focus in addition to regular macro. It has its own ring of LEDs on the front that illuminate close objects too. It's as close to a dissection microscope as a camera can get I think!

What lens do you usually dive with? You run equipment similar to me, except I am a dry lander :)

For the Lembeh trip I was using 105mm AF-D micro since it's all macro work, I also have the new 105mm VR, but tem I would have to buy a new port and gear set, but I only go diving 1 or 2X a year.

My lens pack that I use on holidays, is 16mm fisheye, 17-35mm f2.8 AF-S, 28-70mm f.28 Af-S, 70-200mm 2.8 VR, 1.7X teleconverter, and 60mm micro

I have a fisheye dome port for the housing, so I have the gear set for the 16mm and 17-35mm, and the gear set for 60mm micro.

I plan to go back to Lembeh in about 4-5 years, this system is way heavier underwater than my D200 system, I was getting arm strain, so I will be ordering bouyancy arms.

Nice haul! I like the 105 VR, it's a sharp lens and still usefull for portrait work. My usual holiday haul is:105 VR f2.8, 14-24 f2.8, 28-70 f2.8, 70-200 VRII f2.8, tc-2eIII, D800e & D700+grip, RRS mounts and tripod. If it's sporting or birds I will bring the 200-400 f4 VRII or the 300 f2.8. Check out www.lithicimages.com if you get bored!

Back on topic! Nikon just released their inter changeable lens system that is shock and water "proof". May be worth looking at. I do agree that Canon's P&S's are usually better than Nikons.

Cheers,
Scott

My next lens I want is a 200-400 VR, 14-24mm, or the 24mm tilt shift lens, After using a D800, it's hard to use my D700:(, have both grips also
I am using Gitzo carbon fiber tripods and monopods, with a Kirk BH-1 and RRS small ballhead BH-25, on my monopod, along with the RRS and their portrait setup and gary Fong lightspheres, etc. RRS body plates and battery plates.
My lens are 10.5DX, 18-200mm DX, 12-24mm DX, 16mm,18mm,20mm, 85mm f1.8, 24-120mm, 24-120mm vr, 17-35mm, 28-70mm, 70-200mm vr, 80-200 2.8 AFS, 35mm PC, 60mm micro AF-D, 105mm AF-D, 105mm VR.

What do you think or the 28-70mm vs the new 24-70mm?

Yung

D700 with a grip is still the better fast action camera. What are your thoughts on the wide primes. I have been debating one for sometime now. Also the 200 f2 would make me happy :)

Sorry if I'm hijacking. I own that camera and it worked great for me in Mexico for the last 2 weeks. But my question is: what settings have those that own this camera have on it when taking pics under LEDs in their tanks to NOT get the cartoonish look?

If you want the best primes, buy ziess but it's manual focus:)

I want the 24mm tilt shift lens

Depending on what you LEDs are, try adjusting the color temperature, then look at your photos

I have this camera and its amazing!
I have taken mine down to 60 ft :)
The back screen starts caving in with the pressure and around 50ft the screen gets a blurry spot in the centre and then the camera shut off to avoid harming itself :)
I have tried several cameras like this such as the nikon and the panasonic is way better.
Never any leaks. takes amazing pic above and below water.

My only complaint is that the GSP locater is a POS basically anywhere off the beaten bath. Didnt work in Roatan. Definitely didnt work anywhere i went in SE asia.

Honestly, I haven't tried the new version. I love my 28-70 though. It's a tank. 28 is wide enough to make it a useful landscape lens but it's great for a large family shot. Sometimes I really have to back up if I have the 70-200 on the body when doing a family shoot, then you lose some of the dynamics you have going with the client.