Quirks with the DC 600?

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AnneCox

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Messages
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Location
Texas - USA
# of dives
200 - 499
I got my DC600 about 1.5 years ago (after I flooded the stobe of my old Sealife & the store in Curacao only had the entire pkg of the newer DC600 - I guess it's a good excuse to buy a new one!). It worked fine on that trip & I was thrilled with my new purchase. However, since then I sometimes receive a "card error" message on the screen when I turn it on and lately the LCD screen goes black (after the blue "SeaLife" logo appears). Both of these issues have been intermittant and seem to occur when I want to take that "shot of a lifetime". These issues have occured both underwater and on land. Has anyone else had this? I took it to my local dive shop (which of course it worked fine then.....just like when you take your car to the shop). I have only used this camera on a total of 4 dive trips and feel it's too new to have such issues. Any suggestions? I'm getting very frustrated.
 
You are not alone! Here is an email I have just sent to SeaLife:

Hi,
Please excuse the harsh tone of this email, as I have emailed twice before and never had so much as a single response...

I bought a DC600 last year to take on a dive trip. Ever since I first turned it on, I have been sorely disappointed.

My first issue is the complete lack of firmware quality:
· Nearly every time I turn it on, I get a CARD ERROR (I have tried no less than 8 SD cards including your recommended list).
This error is normally preceded by an annoying 60sec wait on a black screen...It can take 6 or 7 attempts just to turn it on.
· On the few occasions where it does "boot up" I get a CARD ERROR when trying to take a picture. On a very recent trip to the Red Sea, I actually managed 1 in 5 shots. Losing 80% of my shots is unacceptable.
· Finally, the firmware is simply slow and clunky.

My next issue is with the build quality:
· The pictures are far too grainy on what is obviously not a great LCD screen.
· The metal trim plate on the front of the housing fell off! Thankfully I caught it but that is shoddy.
· The battery life is virtually none-existent. 3 shots (without flash) and it goes orange. 10 shots (no flash) it goes red.

For a premium product none of this is excusable. In the UK, I have two citizen protection acts that allow me to fight against sub-par products:
1. Trades Description Act You describe this product as a camera I've had better luck using it as a paper weight.
2. Product not fit for purpose As described above, this is not fit for purpose.

I have tried everything suggested on the support area of your site. Just in case you thought I was on my own here, and say you've had no other reports:

<LINK TO THIS FORUM>

Please advise how these issues can be resolved. I look forward to your swift response.

Gareth Bradley
 
Welcome to SB.

I have the DC500 camera and had a different problem than you described, where a FOCUS ERROR shows up in the LCD when you turn on the camera and locks up. I just called the Sealife service center (856) 866-9192, they told me to send the defective camera back and the Sealife technician sent me a refurbished one in its place, free of charge. This was the second time I had to sent my camera for a repair. The first time it happened, which was my fault, I used the wrong cord for the charger and it fried my camera. Sealife replaced it with a brand new camera free of charge.
 
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My strobe flooded in a pool, sent it to selife and they sent me a brand new pro strobe free no questions asked
 
I have had nothing but good service from Sealife and am sorry to hear you both have had issues. If you have contacted Sealife on the Service phone number, I an surprised that you do not have a Return Authorization Number. I am sure that when Sealife Denise sees these issues that she will contact you. Also, post these issues on the other Sealife Board on the Equipment for Scuba Divers it doubles your ability to get resolution. Hope you get results, because when everything comes together, you get hundreds of pictures that you can review to pick out the best.
 
I got my DC600 about 1.5 years ago (after I flooded the stobe of my old Sealife & the store in Curacao only had the entire pkg of the newer DC600 - I guess it's a good excuse to buy a new one!). It worked fine on that trip & I was thrilled with my new purchase. However, since then I sometimes receive a "card error" message on the screen when I turn it on and lately the LCD screen goes black (after the blue "SeaLife" logo appears). Both of these issues have been intermittant and seem to occur when I want to take that "shot of a lifetime". These issues have occured both underwater and on land. Has anyone else had this? I took it to my local dive shop (which of course it worked fine then.....just like when you take your car to the shop). I have only used this camera on a total of 4 dive trips and feel it's too new to have such issues. Any suggestions? I'm getting very frustrated.

Our service department has seen this issue before, but in all cases it was the memory card, not the camera. There are three possible problems:

1) The SD memory card is not completely inserted into the memory card slot. Make sure memory card is pushed into the slot all the way until it "clicks" into position.

2) The memory card is dirty. Check to make sure contacts on the card are clean. You can use a clean, dry, soft bristle brush (like a tooth brush) to clean the contacts. Also check that there is no debris lodged in the memory card slot. Blow or shake-out any dirt or debris in the memory card slot. Do not stick any object into the memory card slot - this can damage the camera.

3) If the problem still persists after you checked the above 2 points, the memory card is damaged and needs to be replaced. We recommend using a 1GB SD memory card which will take about 300 hi-res images or 1/2 hour of video. Our tests with larger memory cards, like a 2GB (SD) indicate no compatibility problem, however we have experienced problems using 4GB (SDHC). Stick with a popular name brand memory card, like Sandisk, Delkin, Lexar, Kingston, PNY.

Please contact us as service@sealife-cameras.com or call SeaLife Service at (856)866-9191, if you are still experiencing a card error message
 
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You are not alone! Here is an email I have just sent to SeaLife:

Very sorry to hear that you have been experiencing all of these problem and not received a reply from our service department. We really try to deliver excellent service support. Please let me know what email address you used and we will research that right away.

Regarding the Card Error issues, please refer to our previous post in reply to AnneCox. In your post, you mentioned that you have used several different cards, no less than 8GB. We recommend using a 1GB SD memory card which will take about 300 hi-res images or 1/2 hour of video. Our tests with larger memory cards, like a 2GB (SD) indicate no compatibility problem, however we have experienced problems using 4GB (SDHC). Stick with a popular name brand memory card, like Sandisk, Delkin, Lexar, Kingston, PNY.

Here is some more information regarding the other issues:
- Pictures are too grainy There are many factors that can effect image quality and result in a grainy picture. The most common cause for grainy pictures is shooting in low light without an underwater strobe accessory. You need a fair amount of light for good underwater pictures. At depths greater than 50ft, it is essential to have an underwater strobe. Our website includes a guide to underwater photography which has some helpful tips. Check out Great Pictures Made Easy located at this URL address http://www.sealife-cameras.com/assets/pdf/technical_support/GreatPicturesMadeEasy_OnlineGuide.pdf

- The metal trim plate on the front of the housing fell off! Sorry about that. Our UK distributor has an excellent service center that will correct that for you. Here is there contact information:

Cameras Underwater in Devon
Phone: (44) 1404-812277
Email: sales@camerasunderwater.co.uk
website: Cameras Underwater: Digital stills and video cameras and housings. Gates, Ikelite, Epoque, SLR, DSLR, Sealife, Sea&Sea.

- The battery life is virtually none-existent You should get about 100 pictures with a fully charged battery. If not something is not right with the charger or battery. Here is some more helpful battery information from our website:

Battery performance upgraded and tips to maximize battery life:
SeaLife has recently upgraded the performance of the DC600 lithium rechargeable battery from 650 to 700mAh. A freshly charged battery should yield about 1 hour of use or approximately 100 pictures depending on how you use the camera and conserve battery power. It is helpful to have a spare battery as back-up. A DC600 Spare Battery (item # SL1614) is available at your local SeaLife Dealer. Here are some tips to maximize battery life:
- Make sure the battery initially charges overnight (minimum 8 hours). Then, the battery must be fully discharged through normal use prior to the next complete charge. This only needs to be done the first time the battery is charged.
- Keep the Auto Off setting set to 1 minute. This setting is located under the set-up mode menu. The camera will power off in 1 minute to preserve battery power.
- Turn the camera power off when not in use. It has a fast 3-second start-up so you won't miss any of the action.
 
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Our service department has seen this issue before, but in all cases it was the memory card, not the camera. There are three possible problems:

1) The SD memory card is not completely inserted into the memory card slot. Make sure memory card is pushed into the slot all the way until it "clicks" into position.

2) The memory card is dirty. Check to make sure contacts on the card are clean. You can use a clean, dry, soft bristle brush (like a tooth brush) to clean the contacts. Also check that there is no debris lodged in the memory card slot. Blow or shake-out any dirt or debris in the memory card slot. Do not stick any object into the memory card slot - this can damage the camera.

3) If the problem still persists after you checked the above 2 points, the memory card is damaged and needs to be replaced. We recommend using a 1GB SD memory card which will take about 300 hi-res images or 1/2 hour of video. Our tests with larger memory cards, like a 2GB (SD) indicate no compatibility problem, however we have experienced problems using 4GB (SDHC). Stick with a popular name brand memory card, like Sandisk, Delkin, Lexar, Kingston, PNY.

Please contact us as service@sealife-cameras.com or call SeaLife Service at (856)866-9191, if you are still experiencing a card error message
Thank you for your response. I've tried multiple cards and the "card error" message continues. None of my cards are over 2GB and 1 is only 512MB, so size isn't the issue. I've blown on the card slot & nothing seems to come out. The problem is very intermittant, as it will be fine, auto power down, and then appear when I turn it off. Sometimes if I keep turning it off & on, it will go away. Sometimes.

However, my bigger issue now is the black LCD screen. When I turn on the camera, the blue screen with the SeaLife logo appears and then the screen goes black. The camera continues to take pictures (as discovered when we put the memory stick in our computer & saw several shots of feet, floors, etc. as we were trying to figure it out), but obviously I don't know what is in the shot since I can't see the screen. Any suggestions?
 
Anne, our service department will need to evaluate the camera and memory cards. Please include the blank memory cards with the return. PM me with your full name and address, and I'll issue you a return authorization number for you to reference.
 
Don't really know if this the right place for this, but really just wanted to say what great support I received with a problem with my DC-600. Maybe I was pushing it, but I bought the camera in December 2007 to use on my first dives after being certified. Fortunately, the dives were a week in Bonaire where the diving is easy and the coral and marine life abundant. Didn't really get to use the camera as much as I had intended because I was still getting bouyancy and breathing techniques under control. It did exhibit a shut down symptom, but I thought it was something I had done. Used it on a trip to Bermuda and the same thing happened. When I went back to Bonaire for another week of diving in September, I figured out it wasn't me, but the camera. It would act up after several pics with the external flash on and switching to video and back to photo mode. Camera waould shut down, lose the current photo or video and not power back up no matter what. The only way to get it to work again was to remove the battery and re-insert it. I took it to the local dealer per the warranty and after he gave me a little bit of ag for buying it on line and not from him, he sent it called Pioneer research and got an RA# and sent it in for me. About two weeks later, they called and told me to pick up my camera. I really took him for surprise, when I told him that the one in the box was not my camera. It was a brand new one!!! I did not expect that at all. I expected to be told it had been somehting I was doing wrong or that they couldn't get it to act up. At the most, I expected a repaired or refurbished unit. Never had any belief they would send me a whole new camera. Thanks very much, Fred (Rick) Murray Fredericksburg, VA Since, I am now hooked on underwater photography, You can rest assured that when I move up a better camera I will remember how I was treated. Please visit my profile page and look at my photo gallery to see some shots from a person who has only been diving for a year and using the camera on 3 dive trips.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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