julesturner
Registered
Jules Turner is a PADI Instructor and Guide in Dahab, Egypt, a BSAC Advanced Instructor and member of UESAC (Exeter University) and UBUC (Bristol University) Dive Clubs in England. For the last two years he has travelled in the Near East and in Asia and Australia.
My first reaction when I was asked to take a Bonica Snapper with me on my travels to Asia was to remind my friend Graham Tottle of my attitude and behaviour around technology.
I enjoy technology. My scuba gear allows me to spend long periods underwater and my cameras allow me to record some of the things I see there. The internet enables me to share these images with others on sites such as FaceBook and YouTube But I am not at all precious with my stuff. I do not keep lenses spotless. I do not meticulously remove, clean and re-grease seals and O rings every day or week.
I travel as a backpacker and my rucksack may be thrown on to the roof of a truck in Sandakan(Borneo), or off a boat at Ko Phiphji(Thailand). It may be soaked in monsoon rain or songkran water celebrations, or be buffeted by several hundred loose coconuts in a bus in from Danang(Vietnam) to Savanakhat(Laos).
Stuff I carry must be tough. It must be light weight to meet the limitations of travelling with budget airlines such as EasyJet and Air Asia. It must be versatile so that I need carry only one camera.
The weight and size of the Bonica Snapper allow the system to be simply packed into a rucksack. I found the best way to carry the camera was in its underwater case, with or without an optional towel wrapped around. This has stood up to eighteen months of backpacker travelling. The Snapper fits easily in a day sack so that I have taken it on mountain treks and used it in waterfall plunge pools at Erewan Falls(Thailand) and the Kong Lor cave systems in Laos.
When one of the casing clips did develop a crack. I was able to keep it going for several days with a cable clip. A new clip was dispatched and arrived within a few days.
So the camera has met the demands of hard backpacker travelling very well. What about its image recording capabilities?
The camera specifications can be viewed at Home | Bonica
Here are some of them:
1440 x 1080 H.264 Video @30fps
1280 x 720 H.264 Video @60fps
Personal Media Player & Recorder
Up to 8 Mega Pixel Digital Camera
.MOV Video Format
3x Optical Zoom w/ Auto Focus
2-inch Macro Zoom
Flash w/ Red Eye Reduction
Night Shot
LED Lights
HDTV Component Output
2.4" Swivel-Reversible LCD
Easy Charging via AC or USB
32GB SDHC Card Slot Expansion
The camera is small and light, fits in a pocket. It is simple to switch to record in lower resolutions, which can save on battery usage and memory usage. And of course, HD recordings (MOV) can be converted to lesser formats as they frequently are for use on YouTube, FaceBook and other mobile applications. It will switch between video still images (8 megapixels) at the press of a button. Still images can also be lifted from video clips.
The camera has optical zoom(x 3) with which Malaysian Butterflies could be captured on still and video. The macro(x 2) feature was perfectly adequate for still images of small fungi in Australia and for video of ants bringing down a spider at Angkor Wat. Various push button settings enabled me to capture images of temples, people and wildlife etc in a wide variety of light conditions. Storage is on the commonly used SD(up to 32 GB) card format.
It has a dual housing system. The flexible inner casing is rated to 3 metres and protects the camera while being used on an elephant ride, in a cave, while filming fresh water dolphins in Cambodia, or while enjoying the Songkran (water) festival in Ko Chang. For diving this inner case is fitted into an outer case of tough clear polycarbonate - rated to a depth of 55 metres and perfectly adequate for the deepest non-technical dives such as the bomber in Malta. If a problem does develop on a dive and water gets into the outer case then the inner casing would provide a second barrier and may protect the camera while on the way to the surface. As things stand, the outer case is so reliable that this has rarely been put to the test. The case is slightly buoyant so that if it does become detached from the diver, it will make its own way to the surface.
When fitted into the dual underwater casing the system is small and fits easily into a BCD pocket. This means I have my hands free during the dive and upon exiting and re-boarding a hard dive boat, rhib or inflatable, or negotiating the entry and exit of a shore dive.
The standard battery will last for around 45 minutes of continuous usage. So is quite suitable for a recreational dive time. There is a higher spec battery that can last for a longer dive or for two dives. This is useful for dive centres as the camera can be hired out for a day without the customer needing to open the casing at all.
The controls are all push button. One at the side for on/off and the rest at the rear for zoom, macro, ISO settings and stuff. The LCD screen is at the side and for most diving conditions this screen was bright enough. When used for snorkelling at the Eel Garden or Islands in Dahab(Egypt) the detachable lens hood helped to cut down on glare.
I tend to use the HD format for all video stuff and then to convert it to a format suitable for FaceBook or YouTube. Occasionally something quite spectacular will occur and the HD format will come into its own. In Tioman in Malaysia I filmed about 30 minutes of cuttlefish coming to the shallows to mate
Tioman Island (Bonica) - YouTube.
In Ras Mohamed in Egypt there were large shoals of Trevalleys. At Sipadan the turtles kept getting in the way of the sharks (or was it the other way round). These were situations where it was worth taking extra care to hold the camera very steady so that the results could be viewed on the large flat screens of modern televisions.
The HD MOV format that is standard for the system was initially something of a problem as a lot of video editing software(such as Windows Movie Maker) could not recognise this format this is now changing as more software is upgrading to handle this format. Another associated difficulty was the need for sufficient RAM on the computer to be able to handle the large files.
There is a small delay when taking still pictures that can be a problem with fast moving subjects. In such circumstances it may be better to take a video clip and to pick the still images from it.
There are many other systems like the Sony HD and Sea Pro housing I use in Egypt, but that combination would take up the whole of my weight allowance when flying and would be very heavy to carry around with me. For its size, weight, price, robust performance and the quality of images it produces, the Bonica Snapper is a very good choice for travelling with.
There are a number of accessories that can enhance the performance of the snapper. Filters for blue and green water, wide angle lens. Bonica have recently brought out a new 1500 lumen video light which attaches to the video camera. The light uses rechargeable standard batteries and is very useful for still and video images. There were no diving opportunities on a recent visit to landlocked Laos, but the underwater video light illuminated the caves of Kong Lo in such a way that the local guides were seeing features they had previously not seen.
Shall I be taking the Bonica Snapper on my next trip to Phillipines and New Zealand? Yes.
My first reaction when I was asked to take a Bonica Snapper with me on my travels to Asia was to remind my friend Graham Tottle of my attitude and behaviour around technology.
I enjoy technology. My scuba gear allows me to spend long periods underwater and my cameras allow me to record some of the things I see there. The internet enables me to share these images with others on sites such as FaceBook and YouTube But I am not at all precious with my stuff. I do not keep lenses spotless. I do not meticulously remove, clean and re-grease seals and O rings every day or week.
I travel as a backpacker and my rucksack may be thrown on to the roof of a truck in Sandakan(Borneo), or off a boat at Ko Phiphji(Thailand). It may be soaked in monsoon rain or songkran water celebrations, or be buffeted by several hundred loose coconuts in a bus in from Danang(Vietnam) to Savanakhat(Laos).
Stuff I carry must be tough. It must be light weight to meet the limitations of travelling with budget airlines such as EasyJet and Air Asia. It must be versatile so that I need carry only one camera.
The weight and size of the Bonica Snapper allow the system to be simply packed into a rucksack. I found the best way to carry the camera was in its underwater case, with or without an optional towel wrapped around. This has stood up to eighteen months of backpacker travelling. The Snapper fits easily in a day sack so that I have taken it on mountain treks and used it in waterfall plunge pools at Erewan Falls(Thailand) and the Kong Lor cave systems in Laos.
When one of the casing clips did develop a crack. I was able to keep it going for several days with a cable clip. A new clip was dispatched and arrived within a few days.
So the camera has met the demands of hard backpacker travelling very well. What about its image recording capabilities?
The camera specifications can be viewed at Home | Bonica
Here are some of them:
1440 x 1080 H.264 Video @30fps
1280 x 720 H.264 Video @60fps
Personal Media Player & Recorder
Up to 8 Mega Pixel Digital Camera
.MOV Video Format
3x Optical Zoom w/ Auto Focus
2-inch Macro Zoom
Flash w/ Red Eye Reduction
Night Shot
LED Lights
HDTV Component Output
2.4" Swivel-Reversible LCD
Easy Charging via AC or USB
32GB SDHC Card Slot Expansion
The camera is small and light, fits in a pocket. It is simple to switch to record in lower resolutions, which can save on battery usage and memory usage. And of course, HD recordings (MOV) can be converted to lesser formats as they frequently are for use on YouTube, FaceBook and other mobile applications. It will switch between video still images (8 megapixels) at the press of a button. Still images can also be lifted from video clips.
The camera has optical zoom(x 3) with which Malaysian Butterflies could be captured on still and video. The macro(x 2) feature was perfectly adequate for still images of small fungi in Australia and for video of ants bringing down a spider at Angkor Wat. Various push button settings enabled me to capture images of temples, people and wildlife etc in a wide variety of light conditions. Storage is on the commonly used SD(up to 32 GB) card format.
It has a dual housing system. The flexible inner casing is rated to 3 metres and protects the camera while being used on an elephant ride, in a cave, while filming fresh water dolphins in Cambodia, or while enjoying the Songkran (water) festival in Ko Chang. For diving this inner case is fitted into an outer case of tough clear polycarbonate - rated to a depth of 55 metres and perfectly adequate for the deepest non-technical dives such as the bomber in Malta. If a problem does develop on a dive and water gets into the outer case then the inner casing would provide a second barrier and may protect the camera while on the way to the surface. As things stand, the outer case is so reliable that this has rarely been put to the test. The case is slightly buoyant so that if it does become detached from the diver, it will make its own way to the surface.
When fitted into the dual underwater casing the system is small and fits easily into a BCD pocket. This means I have my hands free during the dive and upon exiting and re-boarding a hard dive boat, rhib or inflatable, or negotiating the entry and exit of a shore dive.
The standard battery will last for around 45 minutes of continuous usage. So is quite suitable for a recreational dive time. There is a higher spec battery that can last for a longer dive or for two dives. This is useful for dive centres as the camera can be hired out for a day without the customer needing to open the casing at all.
The controls are all push button. One at the side for on/off and the rest at the rear for zoom, macro, ISO settings and stuff. The LCD screen is at the side and for most diving conditions this screen was bright enough. When used for snorkelling at the Eel Garden or Islands in Dahab(Egypt) the detachable lens hood helped to cut down on glare.
I tend to use the HD format for all video stuff and then to convert it to a format suitable for FaceBook or YouTube. Occasionally something quite spectacular will occur and the HD format will come into its own. In Tioman in Malaysia I filmed about 30 minutes of cuttlefish coming to the shallows to mate
Tioman Island (Bonica) - YouTube.
In Ras Mohamed in Egypt there were large shoals of Trevalleys. At Sipadan the turtles kept getting in the way of the sharks (or was it the other way round). These were situations where it was worth taking extra care to hold the camera very steady so that the results could be viewed on the large flat screens of modern televisions.
The HD MOV format that is standard for the system was initially something of a problem as a lot of video editing software(such as Windows Movie Maker) could not recognise this format this is now changing as more software is upgrading to handle this format. Another associated difficulty was the need for sufficient RAM on the computer to be able to handle the large files.
There is a small delay when taking still pictures that can be a problem with fast moving subjects. In such circumstances it may be better to take a video clip and to pick the still images from it.
There are many other systems like the Sony HD and Sea Pro housing I use in Egypt, but that combination would take up the whole of my weight allowance when flying and would be very heavy to carry around with me. For its size, weight, price, robust performance and the quality of images it produces, the Bonica Snapper is a very good choice for travelling with.
There are a number of accessories that can enhance the performance of the snapper. Filters for blue and green water, wide angle lens. Bonica have recently brought out a new 1500 lumen video light which attaches to the video camera. The light uses rechargeable standard batteries and is very useful for still and video images. There were no diving opportunities on a recent visit to landlocked Laos, but the underwater video light illuminated the caves of Kong Lo in such a way that the local guides were seeing features they had previously not seen.
Shall I be taking the Bonica Snapper on my next trip to Phillipines and New Zealand? Yes.
