In need of a Snorkeling camera Suggestions please!

[danvolker]

here's some pics i took with the Pentax Optio WG-1 while snorkeling


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You need to get a lot closer to the fish, or to coral....like 1 to 2 feet max. With a wide angle lens, it still lets in lots of background. When you White Balance in Ligtroom or other editing program, you can get back pretty much all of the colors the shots don't show.... And video is way easier to do well, than stills--whether scuba or snorkeling....but even here, you need to be ridiculously close.

So the snorkeler really needs to get some of the freediving tricks...easy stuff....Like using a weight belt so you are either dead neutral or maybe a half pound negative--when you want to dive down 6 feet, you should be able to effortlessly drop down without work. Freedive fins are an enormous advantage, because you are so much more efficient than with junky snorkelling fins, that you can use half or less of your oxygen up--not feel the need to breath, for much longer when you drop down to 6 feet deep, or even 15 feet deep, to shoot a fish or turtle, or whatever.

Not trying to be a pain to you--I see you like this, and I am just trying to help.

 

[Chocula]

I noticed that Nikon has released the AW110 which is a minor update to the AW100. Sensor and lens specs are the same, but it increases the depth rating to 18 meters and a couple of other features such as Wi-Fi. Current prices are $350 which is above your target, but this has driven the AW100 down a bit.

I am content with the AW100 that we have, and the picture quality does not disappoint for what it is. It is primarily my wife's walk around point and shoot, and I take it kayaking from time to time. I am not opposed to taking it with on our shallow beach dives, but so far it has not seen more than a few feet of water. If the AW100 floods, I will probably replace it with an AW110, mostly for the depth rating, but the Wi-Fi would allow getting the pictures without having to break its seal.

-Chocula

 

[Arubandi07]

@ Dan: Took these, snorkdiving with the old Reefmaster Mini, WAL, no external flash. P&S, and when you clip it on your belt, you hardly notice it's there ...





Just sayin' ....

 

[Testudo]

If you have not already taken a look at the Snorkeling Photos thread, you may want to take a peak. You can see some actual images taken when snorkeling and find out what equipment was used.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/snorkeling-freediving/302671-snorkeling-photos-15.html

 

[danvolker]

@ Dan: Took these, snorkdiving with the old Reefmaster Mini, WAL, no external flash. P&S, and when you clip it on your belt, you hardly notice it's there ...

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Just sayin' ....

There is no denying these are good photos!

 

[Arubandi07]

If you have not already taken a look at the Snorkeling Photos thread, you may want to take a peak. You can see some actual images taken when snorkeling and find out what equipment was used.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/snorkeling-freediving/302671-snorkeling-photos-15.html

In there all the time, one of my favorite threads. Just never posted anything, but I do enjoy checking out other folk's 'stuff' when I'm not wasting time, hanging out in the Pub ...

Thanks for the link, I had missed those. Really nice ...

 

[t4e]

You need to get a lot closer to the fish, or to coral....like 1 to 2 feet max. With a wide angle lens, it still lets in lots of background. When you White Balance in Ligtroom or other editing program, you can get back pretty much all of the colors the shots don't show.... And video is way easier to do well, than stills--whether scuba or snorkeling....but even here, you need to be ridiculously close.

So the snorkeler really needs to get some of the freediving tricks...easy stuff....Like using a weight belt so you are either dead neutral or maybe a half pound negative--when you want to dive down 6 feet, you should be able to effortlessly drop down without work. Freedive fins are an enormous advantage, because you are so much more efficient than with junky snorkelling fins, that you can use half or less of your oxygen up--not feel the need to breath, for much longer when you drop down to 6 feet deep, or even 15 feet deep, to shoot a fish or turtle, or whatever.

Not trying to be a pain to you--I see you like this, and I am just trying to help.

we have the diving camera, that is just my waterproof/shockproof camera that i play around with when we swim around, they're not meant to be perfect
when diving is a different story

but thanks for the advice, it is useful

 

[Arubandi07]

...So the snorkeler really needs to get some of the freediving tricks...easy stuff....Like using a weight belt so you are either dead neutral or maybe a half pound negative--when you want to dive down 6 feet, you should be able to effortlessly drop down without work.....

As an alternative to 'over-weighting'(tough, when surfacing from 20ft+ dives), I actually weight myself light(6 lbs avg)and adjust my buoyancy on shallow dives by going down on a reduced volume-breath, after moderately hyperventilating during breath-up. A lot of stuff in the 5-10ft range(the Banded Shrimp pic posted earlier was taken at about 5-6ft depth) I shoot diving on a nearly complete exhale, in order to take same-level shots. No struggle to stabilize for the pic, and in terms of bottom time, about a minute to play with. Works great for me ...

In case anyone feels like giving this a try, two important things: solid breath-up/extended surface recovery, and definitely do this 'snorkel/out', since you won't have air to clear when surfacing.

 

[Harmonyhallresorts]

I have lots of pictures from my Canon d-10 at Welcome to Harmony Hall Resorts, St. Vincent | Your Caribbean Dream Vacation made affordable. I had a lens error message and sent it back to Canon and they replaced it no questions asked. It's a great camera and I would recommend it to anyone. I would also tell you to look into stepping into a GoPro, everyone I've talked too loves it. A dive group I talk too all the time also recommends the new waterproof cases available for your iphone. I've seen some pretty good pictures from that as well. Come visit us in St.Vincent and you'll find thriving reefs in shallow calm, clear bays and those factors alone will make you a better photographer.

 

[Roatan]

FWIW, I got the Nikon AW100 about a year ago and used it snorkeling in Cozumel last May (good photos - murky water) and scuba diving last month in Roatan (excellent photos). The AW100 is rated to 30 feet but I took it to 43 feet with no problems - then or since. After a small touch up in Picasa 3, my photos look like National Geographic stuff. I'll be interested in the AW110 once the price comes down.