avpoh8
Registered
Are there any decent under water disposable cameras? I just want to be able to take some pictures of what we see under the water to make a scrap book. Any suggestions?
Disposable camera?
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C8TFISH
New
Yes!
I've used disposables a few times. The name escapes me, but you can pick it up in any dive store ( or Walmart down south for half the cost). Here it costs around 40 $. Be sure to get one with a flash and the deepest rating I've seen is 95 ft. Whats great is you can take the camera out of the housing, rewind the film, pop in a new film (and batteries if needed), and put the camera back into the housing to use as many times till it breaks. You have to keep the cardboard case around the camera to have the camera fit back into place in the housing, making sure the film advance works.
I did 11 rolls of film with one disposable!
Happy diving!
I've used disposables a few times. The name escapes me, but you can pick it up in any dive store ( or Walmart down south for half the cost). Here it costs around 40 $. Be sure to get one with a flash and the deepest rating I've seen is 95 ft. Whats great is you can take the camera out of the housing, rewind the film, pop in a new film (and batteries if needed), and put the camera back into the housing to use as many times till it breaks. You have to keep the cardboard case around the camera to have the camera fit back into place in the housing, making sure the film advance works.
I did 11 rolls of film with one disposable!
Happy diving!
mike_s
Contributor
I've used the kind of throw-aways cameras you buy at wal-mart diving before.
They are good for shallow water photos, but you won't like anything deeper than 20 feet unless there is lots of light.
A flash on it might help some, but colors dissappear as you go deeper.
you'll also have problems winding it if you go past about 20 feet. I could wind it down to about 40 feet, but not after that. Pressure will also click the shutter button and take a picture as you go deeper. you can get by this by winding it untill you hear the shutter click depress by the pressure.
Not the easiest way to take pictures, but they don't come out that bad. Just don't expect "magazine quality" great pics and expect them to be low in color and dark.
mike
They are good for shallow water photos, but you won't like anything deeper than 20 feet unless there is lots of light.
A flash on it might help some, but colors dissappear as you go deeper.
you'll also have problems winding it if you go past about 20 feet. I could wind it down to about 40 feet, but not after that. Pressure will also click the shutter button and take a picture as you go deeper. you can get by this by winding it untill you hear the shutter click depress by the pressure.
Not the easiest way to take pictures, but they don't come out that bad. Just don't expect "magazine quality" great pics and expect them to be low in color and dark.
mike
mike_s
Contributor
you might luck out with a Ikelight? but I couldn't find one for mine.
mike_s
Contributor
RonFrank
Contributor
avpoh8:
For between $50-100 there are several reasonable 35mm film camera's out there that would be a MUCH better option vs. a disposable camera.
I'm seriously considering this route as I'm rather into photograpy, but I'm not sure I want to spend the even $400 it would take to get a decent digital with a housing, and may want to invest that into something MUCH better in the future.
For me the Jury is OUT!!
I'm going to keep an eye out on Ebay as well as film camera's are CHEAP these days...
Ron
mike_s
Contributor
RonFrank:
I might sell my 35mm Reefmaster camera if you're interested in it. I really didn't plan on selling it, but was thinking about buying the Digitial version of it. I've got the Pelican hard waterproof case for it and the Reefmaster foam insert.... ( I think the case alone costs about $40 bucks new).
Only reason I can see to sell it is that I can't easily carry two dive cameras on the plane at the same time
heh.
In Australia there area great little disposables for around $60 Australian. They are called Snap Sights...there are several models but the best is rated to 95 feet, has a flash that you can turn on and off and you can reuse the case (be careful when resealing the oring, of course). The other nice thing that they don't tell you is that you can also replace the batteries for the flash. There is a close-up kit available.
Now, if you are going to use this thing a few times or need a camera that can take a massive beating, it's a good option. The photos taken within it's capabilities are very nice. The biggest problem is getting to know what this camera can and can't do...because it's film, it's a large learning curve!
For my money, i would head to the digitals with manufacturer housing (Canon, Olympus, Sony etc) Then you have a camera for every event and the housings aren't that expensive. And you can correct immediately so you know that when you get home you have the shot you wanted.
We sell a ton of those little cameras and we always keep one ready to go on each boat - just in case something unique pops up. They aren't my first choice, but they are a very good option if they suit you.
BTW - I personally took all cameras we sell out and tried them. No problems with any of the buttons down to 30m with the Snap Sight camera above. Flash was good to about 3 - 4 feet, no way to temper it. Anything within around arm's length (layman's 3 feet) will be blurry.
Hope this helps.
Now, if you are going to use this thing a few times or need a camera that can take a massive beating, it's a good option. The photos taken within it's capabilities are very nice. The biggest problem is getting to know what this camera can and can't do...because it's film, it's a large learning curve!
For my money, i would head to the digitals with manufacturer housing (Canon, Olympus, Sony etc) Then you have a camera for every event and the housings aren't that expensive. And you can correct immediately so you know that when you get home you have the shot you wanted.
We sell a ton of those little cameras and we always keep one ready to go on each boat - just in case something unique pops up. They aren't my first choice, but they are a very good option if they suit you.
BTW - I personally took all cameras we sell out and tried them. No problems with any of the buttons down to 30m with the Snap Sight camera above. Flash was good to about 3 - 4 feet, no way to temper it. Anything within around arm's length (layman's 3 feet) will be blurry.
Hope this helps.
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