Poll on do you use a camera. Also, if you could design a camera

[beasleym]

....for underwater use only, what would it be like?

Moved this here from the camera section to get feedback on on camera usage by fellow divers. Here this week in Hawaii I would say every 2 out of 3 divers have cameras. How many scuba divers are there? My experience shows that more than half have cameras. That's got to be a huge market. So what about the rest of you? Would like your feedback.

Secondly, I don't like the cameras I've had and would like to see something built just for us divers.

Years ago Nikon built the Nikonos. Great little camera that was built for the diver, but sadly is now way outdated. So where is the replacement? Are we left to fend for ourselves with 3rd party housings and cameras designed for air use and people on dry shore?

Diving here in Hawaii this week I find myself cursing the lack of technology solution for all us folks that use a camera. Technology has grown by leaps and bounds. But it hasn't been applied to underwater cameras.

To use an analogy: if the only boat you could get was in the form of a car or truck with a third party lash-up for a hull and propulsion - would that be an acceptable solution?

As it is, to many features and functions that are not used and only hinder you big time underwater, and not enough features to make photography easy underwater. Just think how easy point and shoot has become!

So here's my dream camera:
1) Completely sealed box with a jack for external power (keeps the camera dry and you can tune the power solution to your diving). This could be inductive, but that requires inverters in both the battery and camera.
2) 16 or 32gb of internal memory built in
3) Huge screen that automatically adjusts for light conditions
4) IR port to signal flash(es) for power and triggering as needed
5) Smart color correction algorithm - senses depth and lighting as well as scene to adjust the color, brightness, and contrast; optional focus light that mounts on or off camera
6) Lens port with IR signaling for settings in both directions (yes, lets have some dedicated lenses)
7) Touch screen controls (lets get rid of the damn buttons) plus the ability to write a short note for each picture - how many controls do you need plus wouldn't it be great to zoom and focus using something like the iPhone technology
8) High definition mode video
9) Wi-fi or bluetooth for transmitting pictures, setup, and performing diagnostics
10) Timestamping the time into the dive and depth (too bad gps won't work)
11) Software to work with captured info so we can make adjustments topside - perhaps this is just an add-in to photoshop
12) Nice battery powered variable focal length automatic aperture lens

That's what I'd like to see. Nothing far out - just designed for real world scuba diving without spending a lot of time making a poor solution work.

What's your thoughts? Maybe someone (hear that Nikon??) will listen and corner the market!

 

[Shaka Doug]

There are some decent Canon setups in WP housings that are simple, reliable and take quality photos that are readily available already. I've been pretty happy with my off the shelf system and it works for me. I guess it depends on how serious you are about your shots. Some of the scuba dedicated systems I've seen recently left a lot to be desired. Your Dream Camera sounds nice. What would you expect to pay for something like that? What would you do with the photos and videos? This could be for professional and personal use. It will come if you give it enough time. Submit this idea to a manufacturer and see what they say.

 

[vladimir]

There are some decent Canon setups in WP housings that are simple, reliable and take quality photos that are readily available already. I've been pretty happy with my off the shelf system and it works for me.

I agree. Some of the pictures I've seen posted here on Scubaboard by divers using simple point-and-shoots cameras are pretty impressive. Anybody who labored with film and a NikonosV for years, as I did, has to be a little bit jealous.

Your Dream Camera sounds nice. What would you expect to pay for something like that? What would you do with the photos and videos? This could be for professional and personal use. It will come if you give it enough time. Submit this idea to a manufacturer and see what they say.

Good questions. I think they'd say something like, "We can build that. They'll cost $7,000 apiece if we can sell 35,000 of them. They'll cost $1,200 apiece if we can sell 5 million of them." I'm sure I'm way off on those numbers, but the point remains that the economies of scale necessary to develop advanced underwater cameras at a reasonable price are probably not there.