Oly 350 questions - split from Sealife DC500 thread

[ronski101]

I have the following questions for the SP350 Olympus folks:
1. What is the focal length?
2. Is there a shutter lag and how long?
3. How long does the battery last?
4. Who makes a housing and what does it cost?
5. If it is no longer available what replaced it?

I think the DC500 has been relaced with a similar camera that fits in the same sealife housing and has some other user upgrades like 6.0 vs 5.0 mp, etc.

 

[Fabulous]

I have the following questions for the SP350 Olympus folks:
1. What is the focal length?
2. Is there a shutter lag and how long?
3. How long does the battery last?
4. Who makes a housing and what does it cost?
5. If it is no longer available what replaced it?

I think the DC500 has been relaced with a similar camera that fits in the same sealife housing and has some other user upgrades like 6.0 vs 5.0 mp, etc.

If I read you right, the replacement for the DC500, the DC600 has a different housing as the controls and screen size are different.

 

[MtnTamr]

I just got my OLY SP-350 last week. I don't have all the answers, but...
If you press the button halfway down and let it focus, It is almost instantaneous. If you just press the button, it takes a second +/-.
The housing for it made by Olympus is the PT-030. There is a bunch of them from different vendors on Amazon.com. I havent had it underwater yet. I'm still using the factory battery (which is replacable with 2 "AA"'s) And I'd have to check the manual for the focal length.
Good Luck.

 

[Larry C]

I have the following questions for the SP350 Olympus folks:
1. What is the focal length?
2. Is there a shutter lag and how long?
3. How long does the battery last?
4. Who makes a housing and what does it cost?
5. If it is no longer available what replaced it?

I think the DC500 has been relaced with a similar camera that fits in the same sealife housing and has some other user upgrades like 6.0 vs 5.0 mp, etc.

The focal length on most of my macros shows as 8mm.
The shutter lag is entirely dependent on available light, focus mode, flash mode and setting. You can shoot really fast in manual focus, in the sport preset or in UW Wide 2, which presets the focus at 15 feet. In dark water with auto focus and preflash, it can take 2-3 seconds. Just long enough to get a beautiful shot of a Harbor Seal's tail as it shoots toward the surface, or the butt end of a fast moving fish.
A rechargeable CRV-3 will last for two 45-60 minute dives, constantly on, plus time to preview and download the pictures.
You can get the PT-030 Oly housing, under $200 typically if available, or the Ikelite housing for about $450.
There are still some out there in Cybershopping land, but hurry. There is no similar replacement. The SP-510 is bigger, more expensive and geared toward topside, with an 18X zoom lens. It also doesn't have any hotshoe for a hardwired strobe. The stylus models are geared for automatic shooting and lack the manual controls and RAW capture of the SP.
Alternatives might be the Canon A640 or the Fuji E-900.