Reefmaster DC200 digital camera

[JimmyA24]

I am a new diver and I would like to purchase a camera. It doesn't have to be digital but the DC200 caught my eye. The only negative thing about is the 1.3MP. Does anybody here have some pics that was taken with this camera?? Can you please post them? Any tips on getting started are appreciated. Thanks

Jimmy

 

[double125's]

I looked at that camera but could not get any responses on it. the only info I could find was their web site and one review. Here is the link to the review I read on it.
http://www.divernet.com/equipment/1102divertests.htm#sealife

hope this helps a little

 

[Cecil]

Not a very impressive camera, 1.3 megapixel, no zoom and no macro (without an expensive external lens). For just a little more you can get a Sony, Olympus or Cannon and UW case and you'll have a 4 megapixel camera, 3X zoom and built-in macro.

 

[Scubamedicjoe]

well I can comment on this one, I don't like there digital camera it don't take good quality pictures. I have there film camera and got better pictures out of it then the digital camera they have.
matter of fact look in the aqaura trader I have complete out fit for sale with everything , because I have moved up to the high dollar stuff like the oly 5050 .

 

[docmartin]

if you go digital, by all means stay away from something that has only 1.3MP. they are only repackaging an obsolete product in an underwater housing to make some money. hardly anyone even still offers 1.3MP digital cameras. go with cecil's advice if you want a good low cost package. those are great cameras in and out of the water and their manufacturer's housings are cheap at less than $200 over the internet. personally i use a canon powershot s40 with the canon underwater housing and i am very happy. the drawback with the canon housing is that it goes only to 100ft. the sony housing will go to 130ft.

 

[JimmyA24]

I am glad I asked. I looked at the Oly C50 and C750 and probably will go that route. Will I have to also buy the strobe lights for them or just use the camera flash? Which strobe light should i get for it? Thanks

Jimmy

 

[MikeS]

The number of pixels have very little to do with the quality of the pictures. Good quality pictures require good optics. If you want sharp, clear pictures, pay more attention to the cameras optics than the number of pixels. Many of the multi-megapixel cameras out there have poor optics so what you get is a high-resolution fuzzy picture. If you’re going to look at the pictures on a PC keep in mind what resolution you’ll use. For example if your monitor is set to 1024 x 768, only 786,432, less than a megapixal, will fit on the screen at once. The maximum number of pixels plays a bigger role when printing large pictures on high-resolution printers, but even then optics play a greater role.

I have a DC200 that I got just to take “snapshots” with. I would compare the quality of the pictures with one of the disposable film cameras. If I had it to do over, I would have waited until I could afford a few more dollars and bought a better camera. One thing that is annoying is the fact that you cannot adjust any of the settings (i.e. flash on/off) once the camera is in the housing.

If you want to take some point and shoot snapshots the DC200 is alright, anything more than that you’ll want a camera with better optics.

Mike

 

[docmartin]

i do not agree with the statement that the number of pixels has very little to do with the quality of the pictures. of course, you can have an 11MP camera and the pictures will look awful if your optics suck. however, great optics with low resolution will not get you far either. you obviously need both. furthermore, Mike's post seems to suggest the DC200 has great optics. i doubt very much that the DC200's optics outperform the 3-5 MP cameras from Canon, OLY, Sony that were mentioned as alternatives in this thread.
of course, when debating resolution you also have to take into a account what you are looking to do with your pictures. a 1.3MP camera is more than adequate for web posting, and viewing on TV or computer screens. it also makes for decent 6x4 prints. in print, anything beyond that size quickly becomes problematic. also, you have very little wiggle room. let's say you shoot some nudibranch but did not get quite as close as you would have liked. you can obviously zoom in, crop and effectively enlarge the relevant part of the photo in an editing program. however, an enlargement of your nudibranch even if it is only printed on a 6x4 will look pixelated because you just do not have enough to work with with a picture file from a 1.3MP camera.
Bottom line is the DC200 is way overpriced for what it offers and you won't be disappointed by the optics of the olys you are considering.