Blue Hole March 15th - 16th

[RonFrank]

Make sure to bring the manual.

I read a bit on this camera. It does not have any manual control. It has a fixed focal length lens, and you can choose either a macro setting, or normal setting.

Some LCD's try to compensate for the exposure selected. I can find nothing on that on Sealifes site. Does your camera display EXIF information? R the shots washed out? I'd be very interested in seeing some info on what shutter and aperture this camera is using especially on those shots that don't turn out well.

We'll take a good look, and see if we can find the issue. I don't have experience with this model, so I'm not sure what normal behavior is, but I think I will be able to determine if it's not functioning correctly.

Sure it's not those aging eyes of yours big guy!

 

[havnmonkey]

Dan,

I have the same problem with my new camera. I am very, very disappointed with it. The LCD screen is very tiny - I can't hardly see it underwater. Also, with two big strobes attached, I needed to add 3 pounds of weight to make it slightly negative. Otherwise, I thought I had a lift bag attached to me! The batteries (brand new and charge-cycled several times before the trip) only lasted about 5 shots. I finally took the strobes off, and put alakline batteries (non-rechargable) and they lasted the rest of the trip, but I still didn't use the camera much since I couldn't see what I had taken. I have an external viewfinder, so I could kind of "aim" it, but I couldn't see what I shot underwater. That was the main reason I went to a digital. My 35mm camera takes much much better pictures. And, if I can't see what I capatured until I surface, the digital doen't do much for me. I now know I need a very large screen. Mine is probably less than 1.5"

That said, I'm sure I had much better diving conditions in Bonaire than you did at BH :mooner:

NiMh is the way to go when it comes to batteries... there should be brightness adjustments on the LCD screen... Sizing??? well that comes to informed shopping... Remember you are taking pics underwater, through a housing, through the water, and through your mask... all that adds up to DIFFICULTY So make do and learn for next time... Maybe find a magnifier and attach it to the housing in front of the LCD screen????

 

[Waterskier1]

Rick,

I'd try and get those battery packs replaced. I assume they are NiCad, and they likely sat on the shelf for a few years. That kills NiCad batteries as they have memory, and if they go dead, and are not charged, they will no longer charge. If you have a refresh or recondition mode on the charger, you could try that.

I bought the package off eBay, so don't think there is much chance in them replacing the batteries. They are Ni-MH, Not NiCad, so they should not have any memory or shelf life problems. I have run them through my charger recondition mode, and they still don't really charge correctly...they won't charge in the SeaLife supplied charger, and the get extremely hot in my good charger. I think the batteries are toast. I may try and purchase some quality batteries. But, I'm not sure I'll even keep this setup. It's just too hard to use. I didn't dive with a camera 3 days while there, because this is such a PITA. Even after taking the strobes off. I was wishing I had my old MX-10. It seems built much beefier too.

 

[havnmonkey]

Canon P&S + Canon Housing + DS-51 strobe + 'lil practice = fantastic shots!!!

Underwater Digital Camera Housings | B&H Photo Video

 

[RonFrank]

There is a lot of good information on camera selection in the photo forums. Canon is certainly a good option, and there are a lot of others as well. The DS51 is a good strobe (I shoot with the DS125) but I think that Inon maybe a better choice for a small setup for a few reasons.

In any event, I'd start in the photo forums if you are considering a new camera setup.