for what its worth, i bought this for my sony on ebay for $15. works great. from my older post:
This is very neat!!! I bought this nifty little Sony sports pack for my camera. Since I'm taking a cruise next month and we will be going snorkeling, I wanted to get some underwater pics. I can submerge my camera up to 10ft with this thing:
So I decided to try it out on my planted tank. Pics came out very cool!!! But, its a fish tank so the fish kinda look the same, but its still a lot clearer and gives you a different angle. I'll try some later in my 210
You had good luck with the Olympus Stylus 770 SW? I had one waranteed twice for water damage before giving up on it. Here is a pic. Notice the waterspots from the inside. This was it's first use.
You had good luck with the Olympus Stylus 770 SW? I had one waranteed twice for water damage before giving up on it. Here is a pic. Notice the waterspots from the inside. This was it's first use.
Mine has been trouble-free (knock on wood) so far. I've taken thousands of photos with it, several hundred underwater. I've even pushed the limits, diving to 35' with it a couple times.
Most reviews have been good, hopefully yours was an exception, not the rule. My only complaint is that the optics are only so-so, great for close shots but not so good for landscapes.
John PTC's comment about renting higher-quality equipment is a good option, too. I have an HD-cam (Sony HDR-HC7) and housing (Top Dawg). It is really nice, but if you aren't into video-editing I would definitely go with a still camera - There's nothing worse than sitting through piles of unedited underwater footage.
Although it's a film camera, the Nikonos V is a cheap alternative that should produce some awesome pictures. There are some pretty good deals out there on these cameras including flashes and sometimes additional lenses. Just plug in some 35mm Kodak Portra 400 VC and you're all set.
You can find a camera shop that has a high resolution film scanner 400 dpi. Your pictures will be as good digitally as they are from the negative and you can have them put on a DVD.
Although it's a film camera, the Nikonos V is a cheap alternative that should produce some awesome pictures. There are some pretty good deals out there on these cameras including flashes and sometimes additional lenses. Just plug in some 35mm Kodak Portra 400 VC and you're all set.
You can find a camera shop that has a high resolution film scanner 400 dpi. Your pictures will be as good digitally as they are from the negative and you can have them put on a DVD.
If you already have a Nikonos this would be worthwhile, but I sure wouldn't go out and buy one.
With underwater photography only a small percentage of images taken are good ones, even if you're a pro. The main drawback to film cameras is the amount of images you can take. Being limited to 36 shots per dive is a real bummer. Also, changing rolls between dives can be very difficult, depending on the conditions. With a digital camera you can take hundreds of shots and then delete the majority of them.
The cost of developing is another drawback, especially because you end up paying to develop 20-30 photos per roll of rejects that you will never use. It won't take too long for the ebay bargain to cost you more than you would have spent on a digital camera.
The ability to change levels and otherwise digitally manipulate your images prior to printing is another huge benefit to a digital u/w camera.
While I don't disagree that you could get good images the way you described, the old film cameras with their bulky housings fall short of the modern digital setups in every way except initial cost.