Rugby_Nut
member
Reged: 08/07/2008
Posts: 124
Loc: High Wycombe, Bucks
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Guys
My nephew is 18 next month and is going to Fiji for 10 weeks on a scuba diving course. I thought a good present would be a digicam that could be used underwater. I'm not a millionaire and he has the artistic talent of a walnut so it must be relatively inexpensive and ,crucially, easy to use. Anyone got any recommendations? My local ASDA is selling a vivitar with a waterproof case for £39. Anyone tried it?
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Chris
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surf_digby
journeyman
Reged: 04/04/2008
Posts: 55
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I've not used it underwater, but as a regular digital camera it's horrendous. Completely unable to set it's exposure anywhere near usable.
Outdoors in late afternoon light and it's still blurred.
Indoors using a flash (from approx 4 meters away) and it's a huge white mass with two eyebrows and some hair.
The exposure compensation makes little difference.
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john_g
Pooh-bah Hoo-ha
Reged: 09/05/2007
Posts: 2413
Loc: Surrey
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Quote:
Indoors using a flash (from approx 4 meters away) and it's a huge white mass with two eyebrows and some hair.
Well, that's Boris Johnson for you.
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John
And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom - Anais Nin.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/john_gass
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LargeFormat
old hand
Reged: 24/10/2006
Posts: 1059
Loc: Buckinghamshire and Cumbria
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I suggest one of the Olympus sw range. Good down to 10 metres but far above the price of the ASDA job you've been looking at. Consider it this way. How much is the trip going to cost? What proportion of that is it worth spending to avoid disappointing pictures.
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Hotblack
Dead Horse Flogger
Reged: 07/03/2006
Posts: 7079
Loc: Upstairs in the spare room.
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I'm afraid there's no such thing as 'cheap' and 'underwater' if you're talking scuba diving depths. You'll need a decent compact and housing which will cost several hundred pounds to take it anything deeper than snorkelling depths.
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Cheers
David
David J White Photography
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beejaybee
Marvin
Reged: 18/07/2007
Posts: 4442
Loc: Really Here In Name Only
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Quote:
Well, that's Boris Johnson for you.
Sure it's not Alistair Darling?
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NorthernNikon
Bulls Hitter
Reged: 16/12/2005
Posts: 5613
Loc: Harrogate, North Yorks
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Quote:
I'm afraid there's no such thing as 'cheap' and 'underwater' if you're talking scuba diving depths. You'll need a decent compact and housing which will cost several hundred pounds to take it anything deeper than snorkelling depths.
David's right. if he wants to take photos while scuba diving the best option is to hire one off the dive shop as he'll be wanting to use it deeper than 10m.
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www.BarneyAllen.com the new home of ComicShots.
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Nod
Carpal \'Tunnel
Reged: 08/04/2006
Posts: 4168
Loc: Devon, UK.
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Much below 3m and the light drops off a fair bit so the Oly Mju *** SW will be using higher ISOs - NOT where it excels! Also, as someone else has pointed out, 10m isn't that deep when SCUBA diving and that's as deep as the Olys are supposed to go.
Maybe a book on underwater photography is the way to go - it's possible that the walnut could get some good ideas if he does decide to hire an underwater camera. FWIW, a diving friend finds that having a camera with him is a major distraction so maybe not the best idea for a relatively novice diver.
http://camerasunderwater.co.uk/ is a good place to look for an idea on prices and specs.
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MATWSIJ.....
To avoid being offended, please insert apropriate smiley.
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NorthernNikon
Bulls Hitter
Reged: 16/12/2005
Posts: 5613
Loc: Harrogate, North Yorks
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Quote:
FWIW, a diving friend finds that having a camera with him is a major distraction so maybe not the best idea for a relatively novice diver.
An enormously valid point. On my PADI course in the Cook Islands a lad hired a camera. He was so engrossed taking pictures that he had no idea that he was swimming down a coral wall and not along the sea floor. The master had to race after him and hoik him back. On surfacing we checked his depth gauge and he'd descended to 42m which, if you don't know about diving, is about 2m deeper than even Dive Masters normally go.
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www.BarneyAllen.com the new home of ComicShots.
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Hotblack
Dead Horse Flogger
Reged: 07/03/2006
Posts: 7079
Loc: Upstairs in the spare room.
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Quote:
FWIW, a diving friend finds that having a camera with him is a major distraction so maybe not the best idea for a relatively novice diver.
I'd agree with that. If the person is learning to dive then the last thing both they and the instructor will want is distractions. Diving is challenging enough for a novice without complicating things like using cameras. (I have 10 years diving experience both here and abroad so I know what it's like. Even experienced divers never take more than one new thing, or change one aspect of their kit, at a time, to minimise complications. Things can go wrong very quickly if care is not taken.)
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Cheers
David
David J White Photography
Edited by Hotblack (15/07/2008 11:29)
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Rugby_Nut
member
Reged: 08/07/2008
Posts: 124
Loc: High Wycombe, Bucks
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Thanks Guys. I did not consider the potential perils of being distracted whilst a learner diver. On the basis of your very sound advice I shall abandon the underwater camera idea and get him one that takes nice pictures of palm trees. I'm a bit jealous really!
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Chris
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