Sea and Sea DX3100

[alcina]

Dunno if this will help you Wild...

here is a pink anemonefish taken with my trusty Canon A20, 2 MP camera. He needs to be cropped a bit, but you get the idea.

 

[Wildcard]

Looks beter than the disposable Ive been using. One or two decent pics a roll. Thanks!

 

[getwet2]

I think everyone is being to nice. That camera is a POS, overpriced, substandard and barely takes better pictures than a disposable. It had no macro capability, a fixed lens and no zoom, and is only 3 megapixels. On top of everything else the camera cost over $600, you could get a killer 5 megapixel, 3x zoom, macro to 1" camera. uw case and some memory for that price.

Non of this is meant as a insult to anyone that has brought this camera. Shoot I brought a Reefmaster early on, myself. It is really meant to inform new divers that there are much better options for the same or less money.

So, could you tell us what you really think of it. LOL

 

[jagfish]

Wildcard
Why not run a search for previous threads on this camera, there are a few I have read...

JAG

 

[erikharwell]

cecil, could you please tell me where to get everything you listed in your post for less than 600.

 

[jagfish]

Was thinking the same thing...

 

[Cecil]

A lot of this hostility comes from my Reefmaster experience and the lousy pictures it took. So many great opportunities lost to a POS camera.

One other thing did occur to me. Any newbies that are put off by all of the complex features of a better camera, DON'T BE. They are still designed as point and shoot cameras and if you never touch any of the advanced features, you will still get great pictures.

 

[friscuba]

Not Cecil, but I was thinking the same thing as him.

Brand new, fully warranteed Oly 5050s are running about $400 bucks from reliable outlets online these days, the 5060 is available for maybe 40-60 bucks more. You should be able to find the housing for the 5050 in the 140-160 range. $40-$60 will get you a decent amount of memory for a 5mp camera these days.

That's a fully functional housed 5mp camera with super macro, which has a fantastic track record, for for the $600 as opposed to a limited function 3mp camera. If you want to save $ and don't need 5 mps, you can walk into any Costco and pick up an Oly 4000 for $249 and find a housing online for another $150, add a little memory and you'll have a camera which is capable of shooting circles around the 3100 for under $450.

I generally say "support your local dive retailer" and make a purchase locally, but in this case the retailer has FAR inferior equipment available to him compared to what's available online through the camera houses. There are great deals out there and if you do a search on this site there are tons of recommended outlets for purchasing them.

later

Steve

cecil, could you please tell me where to get everything you listed in your post for less than 600.

 

[alcina]

cecil, could you please tell me where to get everything you listed in your post for less than 600.

Do some web surfing and you will find options on everything from Olympus (I bought my 5050 from buydig.com) to Canon A series to the Sonys etc...you should easily be able to stay right around that $600 mark with a 4 or 5 MP camera. I think the NEW Oly 5050 at buydig.com was reported at $409 the other day.

When I was looking around, I was finding that the oly and canon housings were all around $140 - $180 ish.

Found Canon A70s for about $220ish (I bought a second one plus housing). Only 3.2 MP, but fab little cameras - check out some of lukeRob's recent stuff if you have any doubts. I wouldn't think the A80's would be more than $400 either. I think the Oly Stylus range falls around there too...

You won't get a strobe for that price, but the internal flash on the Oly 5050 and the Canon A70 (the only two I have personally tried) is excellent. I did try Lisa's Oly Stylus something, but I didn't find the strobe as useful...could have been me...I am pretty sure she got some great shots with it!

 

[ShoalDiverSA]

Wildcard,

Check out the following threads:
http://www.scubaboard.com/t51521.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/t44816.html

More sub-links in each thread.

My dad likes his. A good summary given earlier in this thread is it's a "snapshot" camera. If you are in a position to get the Oly option friscuba has outlined, it is a much better bet.

Cheers,

Andrew