Samsung Digimax V3/V4 vs Sony DSC P-9/10

[ShoalDiverSA]

Sorry for taking so long to reply, I was on annual leave in the Cape Province .

I use the camera on Prog mode. I am hoping to progress to A/S/M once I have mastered my u/w skills while taking photos! I have fiddled a bit, but seem to get underexposed photos all the time on the manual modes. I think I will need to add a strobe to the dive box before I will get satisfactory results - but that is a looong way off.

I have taken quite a few clips. The longest was 3 minutes long. They are mostly of my daughter, Morgan. I took two dive videos which I was quite pleased with. They capture the moment very nicely. You get the grand scope of the Produce wreck with all the fish flowing around it. I have not developed my stills skills to the degree necessary to achieve this summary in one picture!

Although the resolution of the video is quite low (288x208), it does not detract at all from its usefulness. In fact, we just reviewed the holiday photos and clips and really enjoyed my daughter's antics. Great memories.

Good luck with your purchase, let us see your shots once you are up and running.

By the way, do not skimp on the batteries for the camera. It only takes two batteries and if they are not top quality you will be swapping batteries regularly. I made a rash decision with my battery purchase and I am now saving up for decent batteries. The Samsung rechargeable Li-Ion may be the best option or a set of 2100+mAh NiMh's might do the trick. I am looking into the rechargable version of the CR-V3 battery. It looks promising - there is a thread on this. Basically, the camera makes the decision on whether the battery is running low based on voltage. Two NiMh's give you around 2.4V versus 4V(?) for the CR-V3. I don't think I have run my batteries empty yet, but I have had false alarms where the camera has signalled Low Battery. This is because the voltage is too low, not because the battery is depleted, so battery capacity is not really the issue. I wish I had the moolah to buy a couple of battery types and run some tests. Anyone done this yet?

Apologies for the verbose reply!

Cheers,

Andrew

 

[nitr0x]

G'day All,

I recently took my V4 in a SPH-V3/V4 housing down to 45m and the unit refused to turn on...

Too much pressure I guess. I dunno. So much for being rated to 70m...

At least it didn't leak!

 

[firedogut]

here is what I use
http://www.rayovac.com/15minutes/info.html

i bought it at sams club
http://www.samsclub.com/eclub/main_...23542:-23589:-24282:730047&coe=0&BV_SessionID

they are great...come with a car adapter. It says 15min but it really only around 6-8 min. the batteries are 2000mAh. I've gotton a lot of use out of them.

ok here are a few sites you should look at.
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/rayovac_ic3.html

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/rcrv3.html

http://www.batteryx.com/product/Document/012-PV001/012-PV001.asp?ProductID=1069

 

[firedogut]

for those looking at buying the camera here are some links
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/shoptronics/sadiv3v4dica.html
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/samsung/digimax_v4-review/index.shtml
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/digimax_v4.html

I paid 199.99 for the V3 (onecall.com) but it looks like they are out.

 

[ShoalDiverSA]

G'day All,

I recently took my V4 in a SPH-V3/V4 housing down to 45m and the unit refused to turn on...

Too much pressure I guess. I dunno. So much for being rated to 70m...

At least it didn't leak!

The On/Off switch is a slide switch (I know you know this!) and can be finicky with the housings actuator. I test that this is working on the surface before the dive. Make sure that the housing actuator can slide full stroke, as it can be lodged half way across the switch. If so, remove the camera, slide the actuator to the home position and reinstall the camera.

If you did all of this, and it still refuses to switch on, there is hope!

Press (and hold) the picture review button (the small arrow next to the LCD screen - bottom right corner) until the camera enters the review mode. Once the last image is displayed, press the button again. The camera will switch to "on" mode! Every now and again, I use this method to switch the camera on underwater just because the slide switch can be a pain.

By the way, I found that the rubber boot on the shutter release button was too short and I had to exert quite a bit of force to get the camera to take a shot. I made a longer one out of a piece of (thick) o-ring material to get the actuator tip closer to the shutter release button - it works like a charm.

I am very glad to hear that it did not leak at 45m. Extra peace of mind...

Cheers,

Andrew

 

[nitr0x]

A non-diver (how embarrassing... :dork: derr!) has suggested to me that I switch the camera on before descending on the anchor rope.

However, in the settings you have to make sure to toggle the power off function to "off" otherwise the unit will automatically power down.

They also suggested I stick a small piece of double sided tape on the rotating function switch because I had problems with that too.

Thanks for the tips Andrew

 

[ShoalDiverSA]

No problem.

I am surprised that you are having problems with the rotating switch. It needs to be pressed down onto the mode selector switch and then turned. I have found that by about 20m, the water pressure does this already and you will only need to turn it. Is there a piece of translucent rubber on your rotating switch?

Do you not have problems with switching the camera on before the dive in terms of battery life? I would be hesitant to do this with my current battery life issues. Mind you, if there is a lot happening on the reef, I do not switch the camera off - I only switch off the display between shots. I am glad that you have found a solution that works for you.

Cheers,

Andrew

 

[doronhall]

Well,

I grew up in Joburg, so there was no diving for me. Judging by your photos, I missed a lot!!!!
Now I am in Israel, so I have the red sea close by at least.
I have just purchased the Sony P10 in Japan with housing for $500.
I have yet to take it underwater, but when Spring arrives (matter of weeks) I will post results.
Above water it is outstanding, and 640 x 480 unlimited movie mode is WOW!!!!

 

[MaxBottomtime]

The On/Off switch is a slide switch (I know you know this!) and can be finicky with the housings actuator. I test that this is working on the surface before the dive. Make sure that the housing actuator can slide full stroke, as it can be lodged half way across the switch. If so, remove the camera, slide the actuator to the home position and reinstall the camera.

If you did all of this, and it still refuses to switch on, there is hope!

Press (and hold) the picture review button (the small arrow next to the LCD screen - bottom right corner) until the camera enters the review mode. Once the last image is displayed, press the button again. The camera will switch to "on" mode! Every now and again, I use this method to switch the camera on underwater just because the slide switch can be a pain.

By the way, I found that the rubber boot on the shutter release button was too short and I had to exert quite a bit of force to get the camera to take a shot. I made a longer one out of a piece of (thick) o-ring material to get the actuator tip closer to the shutter release button - it works like a charm.

I am very glad to hear that it did not leak at 45m. Extra peace of mind...

Cheers,

Andrew

Also, if you don't have any images stored in memory yet, the camera will shut down when you push the image viewer button again. To get the camera to turn on, push the shutter instead of the image viewer again.