help with sealife dc600 please

[LI Diver]

Does anybody have one of these or have any advice for me. I bought one last month and I don't like how long it takes in between cycles. Or how much battery time it gives me. I tried different settings and it still takes forever to get ready for the next shot.I thought maybe setting for the smallest image or using landscape focus would speed it up but it did not help.Also can the review be turned off? I have yet to compete a dive without the battery at least going into yellow if not completely dying. Yes i shoot a lot of images but my old canon a70 takes it in stride w/no problems. I can get at least a half dozen dives w/50+ images each on one set of double a's. Does anyone know anything about shark mode on the dc600?? I have seen it advertised but don't see it on any settings or manual.
Ed

 

[LI Diver]

wow a real popular camera huh!

 

[alcina]

ROFL - you might want to give people more than two hours

If you go into the Sticky (follow the Pink Link below) you might find some links to the Sealife cameras that might answer your questions while you wait. I can't remember all of the details, but I'm sure this isn't an isolated problem.

 

[LI Diver]

ROFL - you might want to give people more than two hours

If you go into the Sticky (follow the Pink Link below) you might find some links to the Sealife cameras that might answer your questions while you wait. I can't remember all of the details, but I'm sure this isn't an isolated problem.

Thanks Alcina, But remember I'm from NY where a half hour is like a millenium!

 

[Mountain Dog]

I'm a little confused by your question. Are you talking about the time it takes the strobe to cycle, or the camera?

If you're talking the camera, there are a few things you might try. The cycling time is largely due to the time it takes to write the image to storage. This camera works fastest with a 1GB SD card. Yes, a 2GB card will work, but the write times are longer. Reducing image size and quality will also make it move faster.

If you're talking the strobe, the only thing you can do is keep it stocked with fresh batteries. Yes, it eats power. It's a large strobe. I also carry a second camera battery.

Yes, review can be turned off. On this camera it's called "preview". Slide the mode swith to "Photography" mode (the little camera icon). Press menu and use the up down arrows to negotiate to "preview". Press "set" to get in and use the up/down arrows to the desired setting. Press "set". Then press menu again to exit the menu.

There's no "shark" mode, but there is a "sport" mode that is designed for capturing fast motion. Perhaps this is what you're looking for.

One other oberservation. Don't take so many pictures. I would much rather complete a dive with one high quality image that I will be proud to show to other people, than 50 so-so snapshots that will only bore them to tears. Photography is what I do for a living, and I learned a long time ago that quality trumps quantity every time. If it's not a great shot, don't take it. If I'm spending time on a mediocre shot, odds are high that I'm missing a GREAT one just around the corner. Photography is actually a very slow endeavour. Try to take only a few pictures every NY millenium. Your picture quality will be much better.

Mountain Dog

 

[wjefferis]

Make sure you use the lithium rechargable battries for the strobe they will last forever. I have the upgraded battery and I can easily get 150 pictures on that one battery. To get the shark mode hit the ok button while in the underwater or ext flash mode. This will reduce the amount of time the camera has to auto focus.

 

[LI Diver]

I'm a little confused by your question. Are you talking about the time it takes the strobe to cycle, or the camera?

If you're talking the camera, there are a few things you might try. The cycling time is largely due to the time it takes to write the image to storage. This camera works fastest with a 1GB SD card. Yes, a 2GB card will work, but the write times are longer. Reducing image size and quality will also make it move faster.

If you're talking the strobe, the only thing you can do is keep it stocked with fresh batteries. Yes, it eats power. It's a large strobe. I also carry a second camera battery.

Yes, review can be turned off. On this camera it's called "preview". Slide the mode swith to "Photography" mode (the little camera icon). Press menu and use the up down arrows to negotiate to "preview". Press "set" to get in and use the up/down arrows to the desired setting. Press "set". Then press menu again to exit the menu.

There's no "shark" mode, but there is a "sport" mode that is designed for capturing fast motion. Perhaps this is what you're looking for.

One other oberservation. Don't take so many pictures. I would much rather complete a dive with one high quality image that I will be proud to show to other people, than 50 so-so snapshots that will only bore them to tears. Photography is what I do for a living, and I learned a long time ago that quality trumps quantity every time. If it's not a great shot, don't take it. If I'm spending time on a mediocre shot, odds are high that I'm missing a GREAT one just around the corner. Photography is actually a very slow endeavour. Try to take only a few pictures every NY millenium. Your picture quality will be much better.

Mountain Dog

iI have the 1 gig card in it,I have it set to the smallest image,preview off(which it still reviews just dosen't ask for delete)
How many times do we line up a fish in our sights and he turns his head at the last minute and we get fish butt!!!Then he turns around and swims head on right towards your camera which is busy doing god knows what! I counted 7 missisipi's waiting to take a sucessive image,is this normal???????????

 

[alcina]

Unfortunately, this is simply a bit of a slower camera and you will have to wait for it to do it's thing before taking another shot.

 

[garrett58]

i have the 500 for shark mode just press and hold the ok button for 10 seconds it will preset the auto focus to a set distance and will take fast pics but you have to keep in mind the preset distance