Opinions on SeaLife cameras?

[DawgDiver]

I'm looking at getting an underwater camera setup. I've been thinking about getting an UW housing for my Canon powershot A75, but recently I found a deal on a SeaLife DC500 package that includes an external strobe. I don't know much about sealife though... any opinions? decent camera or cheap junk?

 

[RichKirby]

I'm looking at getting an underwater camera setup. I've been thinking about getting an UW housing for my Canon powershot A75, but recently I found a deal on a SeaLife DC500 package that includes an external strobe. I don't know much about sealife though... any opinions? decent camera or cheap junk?

I like mine and think it is a good package. Do a search in this forum and you'll find several threads discussing the DC500.

 

[Bbarnes]

I have the dc500 elite set and love it. I am the type of photographer that likes to shoot on auto. I want to focus more on my diving skills and taking in the scenery than on selecting f stops and aperatures. If you want a good point and shoot, this is a great option, especially with the digital strobe. It does have manual white balance, if you would like that control. If you are a person that wants complete manual control, this is not the camera for you.
There were many people that had problems with this unit when it first hit the market. Luckily, a firmware update corrected them. There is even a higher mAh battery in the works for longer battery life.

 

[ScubaCatgirl]

I have the dc500 elite set and love it. I am the type of photographer that likes to shoot on auto. I want to focus more on my diving skills and taking in the scenery than on selecting f stops and aperatures. If you want a good point and shoot, this is a great option, especially with the digital strobe. It does have manual white balance, if you would like that control. If you are a person that wants complete manual control, this is not the camera for you.
There were many people that had problems with this unit when it first hit the market. Luckily, a firmware update corrected them. There is even a higher mAh battery in the works for longer battery life.

I totally agree w/Bbarnes as I too love this camera. It's a great point & shoot camera for us folks who want to enjoy the scenery & dive experience rather than setting the controls on every shot. Thnx for mentioning the higher mah battery being in the works, I had no idea, so I'll keep a look out. This will be a very nice addition to this camera

 

[micahjt]

It's a terrible camera. Sealife doesn't make anything worth paying for. Your better off housing your Canon or finding a nice point and shoot.

There is far better stuff out there for your $.......

 

[alcina]

OK, let's remain civil. For one it's only a camera. For two every one is entitled to an opinion.

That said, this is a common question and there are those that love them and those that hate them. And then there are those like me who really think that the SeaLife's, despite offering a strobe etc for a total sum of money less than anything else, aren't worth it in the end

Personally, from seeing so many cameras come through every week, I see much better results from something like the Canon A or S series, the Fujis and the Olympus offerings than with the SeaLifes. I have yet to see any SeaLife shots that make me go OOooo! I wish I had taken that. Plenty of nice shots, to be sure, but just none at that next level. YMMV

It all depends on what you want. Those who have them seem to love them and seem to be very happy with their choices. That speaks volumes to me. You can always start with that and move on if you feel you need to. Just because you buy something doesn't mean you are stuck with it forever - that's what ebay is for

I'd say look at the galleries, but they are still down. Have a search for Jamdiver who dives with a Canon A620 and no external strobe. Seems to me Ed_Dman shoots with a compact, too, though he may have an external strobe. But have a stroll through the photo board - if you are seeing shots you like from the compacts on your list, then that would be a good indication that you're getting what you need. Ask those who have the camera to show you their results. Seeing is believing.

Here are some recent links on this camera/set up FYI I hope it helps.

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=149752&highlight=sealife

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=150490&highlight=sealife

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=122474&highlight=sealife

A search here will find a ton more, but I think they become rather repetitive!

Happy shopping

 

[RichKirby]

OK, let's remain civil. For one it's only a camera. For two every one is entitled to an opinion.

That said, this is a common question and there are those that love them and those that hate them. And then there are those like me who really think that the SeaLife's, despite offering a strobe etc for a total sum of money less than anything else, aren't worth it in the end

Personally, from seeing so many cameras come through every week, I see much better results from something like the Canon A or S series, the Fujis and the Olympus offerings than with the SeaLifes. I have yet to see any SeaLife shots that make me go OOooo! I wish I had taken that. Plenty of nice shots, to be sure, but just none at that next level. YMMV

It all depends on what you want. Those who have them seem to love them and seem to be very happy with their choices. That speaks volumes to me. You can always start with that and move on if you feel you need to. Just because you buy something doesn't mean you are stuck with it forever - that's what ebay is for

I'd say look at the galleries, but they are still down. Have a search for Jamdiver who dives with a Canon A620 and no external strobe. Seems to me Ed_Dman shoots with a compact, too, though he may have an external strobe. But have a stroll through the photo board - if you are seeing shots you like from the compacts on your list, then that would be a good indication that you're getting what you need. Ask those who have the camera to show you their results. Seeing is believing.

Here are some recent links on this camera/set up FYI I hope it helps.

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=149752&highlight=sealife

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=150490&highlight=sealife

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=122474&highlight=sealife

A search here will find a ton more, but I think they become rather repetitive!

Happy shopping

...THAT would be a more constructive post. It even tends to imply the SeaLife is not the best camera out there for the money...

 

[camerasunderwater]

Varied opinions, not good for us in the UK waters it seems, but brill in the right water and conditions, I read a link regarding the DC500 working well in so called poor vis at 30 - 40 feet we are lucky (in devon) to get 15foot on a good day. Sea life are ok for this but great for more tropical waters. We would recommend sealife to beginners and thise who are wanting a camera to play with, the more serious out there would go for a better 'land' camera in a housing

 

[TN Traveler]

I have a DC500 and the digital strobe and have had very good luck with it. It is compact and light enough that when flying to dive locations I have no "weight" problems taking it and ALL my other dive gear.

On a recent trip, we dove with a diver with a very fancy camera kit (Nikon digital with twin strobes). But because of the camera and housing weight, he could not bring his gear and had to use rental gear. Well, he kept compaining about the gear quality and how it caused him problems missing shots.

At the end of the day, I admit, he got far better macro pictures than I did, but when it came to the fish, lobster and coral pictures, I got as many "oohs and aaahhhs" as he did from the other resort guests and divers (we ran a slide show on the computer every evening). And I had no gear problems to take away from my total diving experience.

There are always trade-offs. But for the money - I think my SeaLife DC500 camera is just fine.

 

[Bbarnes]

You mention in another threat that you have never shot with the dc500. From that thread you said "I did own the DC500 for about two days before I returned it. At the time there was sooo much bad publicity and apparent problems that I didn't even take it out of the box." I think that you should qualify that you have formed your opinion from what you have read etc., not from actual use of the unit. Just for additional info...the problems that many people encountered when the camera first came out (strobe firing, macro focusing) were corrected with the pie.5 firmware upgrade.