A quick question about underwater cameras

[bustamove06us]

Is there any reason that i couldnt take a crappy point and shoot that has no electronics under water diving.

 

[alcina]

Nope, none at all.

The results you get will be consistent with the camera's abilities though - some are better suited even as simple point and shoots.

 

[Dive-aholic]

Won't the water affect the film?

What about pressure? Wouldn't there be a point where the camera could crush?

I never thought about doing it, but it does raise some interesting questions.

 

[herman]

If you are talking about the simple $10 disposable ones, most are only rated to around 10 ft or so. Long ago I took some of them down to 40 - 50 ft, they survived the depth but would not work there, back at their rated depth, it continued to work. It was interesting to note that the pressure at some point actually pressed the shutter release and I had to wind the camera once I was back at it's working depth. I have gotten some reasonable pictures out of them.

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

Is there any reason that i couldnt take a crappy point and shoot that has no electronics under water diving.

Are you talking about taking it in a watertight housing? I think Alcina was assuming that you are.

If your just talking about taking a cheap camera without some sort of watertight housing then, no, it won't work. The camera will flood, ruining your film and the camera. You don't just have to worry about electronics getting wet.

There are companies that make watertight housings that are essentially heavy-duty ziplock bags that you could put a camera into. Personally, I wouldn't trust them with an expensive camera. Or, I suppose you could put a cheap camera in a ziplock freezer bag and try it out. Probably not get very good pictures, though.

 

[justleesa]

Is there any reason that i couldnt take a crappy point and shoot that has no electronics under water diving.

Your question is a bit unclear...but if I understand it right the answer would be no. Underwater cameras, just like underwater flashlights, have o-rings and tight seals that allow the camera withstand the pressure it would be subject to and won't allow the water into the camera.

 

[justleesa]

If you are talking about the simple $10 disposable ones, most are only rated to around 10 ft or so. Long ago I took some of them down to 40 - 50 ft, they survived the depth but would not work there, back at their rated depth, it continued to work. It was interesting to note that the pressure at some point actually pressed the shutter release and I had to wind the camera once I was back at it's working depth. I have gotten some reasonable pictures out of them.

There now UW disposable cameras available that go up to 95 feet. They run about 15 or so bucks (with or with out flash) AND it is possible to reload and use the camera a couple of times. The guy that developed these lives here in Hawaii and he has come with us on the boat a couple of times testing the housings. Funny to see a guy with twenty some disposable cameras clicking away

 

[mike_s]

If it's a 35mm point and shoot, then the water will leak in and affect the film. The most noticable effect will be the film gets wet and sticks together and leaves spots on it.

The underwater Disposable cameras ($10 bucks at Walmart) will work on regular diving, but are hard to wind at depth and also the pressure will push in the button to take pics at depth. With no flash either you'll end up with "blue" pics.

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

I was diving with a guy back in '94 who had a camera that was waterproof to 15' or so. He was using it to about 30'. It didn't flood, but, oddly enough, the film advance wouldn't work below the rated depth. So he got one picture per dive.

[Tangent alert!!]
When the AquaShots first came out, I wondered about the wisdom of spending hundreds of dollars on a housing for a disposable camera (whose design will change on a marketing whim). Now they are up to the AquaShot III, I think. AquaShot II owners are scratching to find cameras that fit, and owners of the original AquaShot are out of luck. Actually, I've heard that Ikelite has upgrade programs, but it still seems like a bad idea to me[End Tangent.]

 

[alcina]

lol...yes I assumed we were discussing putting the camera in some sort of housing. Water is bad for film and cameras.

On disposables, there are several out there - my favourite two are Fuji for snorkelling and Snap Sights for diving. Snap Sights are good to 27m, have a flash that can be turned on and off, are reloadable & have changeable batteries and have a close-up add-on.