Disposable cameras

[Confused]

Ok, I know this might oughta be in the photography section but I was a little embarrassed to ask about disposable stuff over there.
Anyhow, while in the drugstore tonight I saw that the 35mm cameras were claiming to be waterproof to 50 feet. So my question to the folks who have used these is: will they really make it to 50 feet? And how far past 50 have you taken one and still not had a problem?
Ok that was two questions, but you get the drift.
Kirk
Well I guess it's gonna make it to the photo section any way!

 

[lowery399]

I used one on a dive that was rated for about 35 ft if i remember correctly and i noticed it leaking at around 25 or 30. After that I just bought a sealife off of ebay so I wouldn't have to worry about it. I'm not sure what type you looked at and I'm sure that this is not very helpful to you but I have always found that you get what you pay for. Just be cautious if you're going to try a camera like that. You might try looking at other sites as well that might have user feedback reviews on them.

Matt

 

[alcina]

Hehee - don't be scared, we don't bite here in the UW section

The biggest "problem" I see with disposables, forgetting about quality of images etc, is that the pressure as you get deeper pushes on the shutter release and/or the winding mechanism and so they don't work properly. Most of the time coming back to the surface will allow the camera to work again.

I've rarely seen water get into these types of cameras due to depth, but it does happen.

 

[Confused]

Thanks Matt,
I'm sure your right about getting what you pay for but a real camera is gonna have to wait till all the spearing stuff is bought. Will probably try one of these and be giving a report before long.

 

[bigred177]

i just got back from a trip to blue hole in new mexico and was using a kodac disposable and while i was sitting at 79ft on the bottom i noticed it said it was only good for 50ft. i didnt have any leaking or any issues with the winding or shutter.

 

[Larry C]

Even if the disposable doesn't leak, you won't get much in the way of pictures below 20 feet. Instead of wasting 20 bucks on that trash, spend a bit more and get one of those cheap Intova digitals. One of my buddies took one to Coz and came back with very serviceable pictures, and one truly excellent shot of his dive buddy swimming next to a Turtle. Not for the hardcore, but way better than buying a new disposable for every dive.

 

[jenazah]

Yes I used one down to 50+ feet. But just like Larry said, you won't get any good pictures. It's all blueish. You will get some decent pictures around 10-15 feet, if the viz is good and there's lots of sunlight.

 

[geraldp]

Ok, I know this might oughta be in the photography section but I was a little embarrassed to ask about disposable stuff over there.
Anyhow, while in the drugstore tonight I saw that the 35mm cameras were claiming to be waterproof to 50 feet. So my question to the folks who have used these is: will they really make it to 50 feet? And how far past 50 have you taken one and still not had a problem?
Ok that was two questions, but you get the drift.
Kirk
Well I guess it's gonna make it to the photo section any way!

Hi Kirk: I had a disposable on my Maui trip a couple of months ago. Here's a comparison with a picture I shot vs. one a professional photographer shot with a digital camera w/ext. strobe.

My camera was a 35mm film p&s camera with a case rated to 100 feet. So it wasn't quite disposable, but the whole thing only cost me $17 at the grocery store. I forget which brand - I gave it away after I got my pictures developed. I guess it was disposable I had Costco develop and digitize the photos. I don't know what camera the pro was using.

As jenazah says you can see the cheap camera is ovewhelmed with a blue color. I had a little bit of the problems that alcina mentioned with the shutter release button sticking, but pulling it up fixed that. I took it down to about 80 feet.

I did have an experience of taking a true disposable that was rated to 12 feet down to 25... when I brought it up it was full of water and lost everything.

Jerry

 

[geraldp]

My camera was a 35mm film p&s camera with a case rated to 100 feet... the whole thing only cost me $17 at the grocery store.

Just a bit more info... Over the last 5 years I've had 3 cheap 35mm film cameras... the first one was a true disposable with an external case. The case with camera was about $30 and the replacement disposable cameras were $12 each. It was rated to 80 feet. I lost it on a dive when I let it go, thinking it was still attached to me.

The second one was a $125 Bonica Snapper that I got on sale for $25. Like the one I used in Maui this was a cheap P&S film camera with an external case that was rated to about 100 feet. I ended up flooding that one - not because I went too deep but because in a pre-dive fumble I put the back on upside down

The bottom line was I got "OK" photos when I was diving in warm clear waters in fairly shallow depth (<50fsw), but when I was diving locally in cold green water or in deep water every shot was ruined. As Larry C advises, it's best to wait and get a higher quality camera. It doesn't have to be real expensive... I just paid $170 for an underwater case for my digital Canon p&s, but I haven't tried it out underwater yet. I hope to get an external strobe soon. The Intova that Larry C talked about can be had (w/camera) for about the same price as my Canon housing.

I had Costco develop and digitize the photos.

If you do decide to get a film camera, I had fairly good luck using Kodak Sea Processing for my Bonica camera. It was a lot more expensive than going through Costco, but it did produce better results.

 

[Confused]

Thanks Geraldp for the pics comparison, I can't tell a difference in the two.lol
And thanks to everyone else too! I think I will keep the fifteen bucks in my pocket for now.
Hope everyone has a good weekend.
Kirk