can anyone chime in about the sea life 3.3 i am new to diving but wanna be able to capture the beautiful reefs in belize on my honeymoon have purchased this camera anything i may need to add to take good pictures and any advice for my new found fun
Sea life 3.3 mp
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hsnowden
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I've been using the Sealife DC310 with strobe fur a year or so now. It's been a great camera. I’ve got near 20 dives with it.
Things from my experience:
Buy a 2 gig SD card and fire away. I average 150 shots per dive.
Buy the Wide angle adapter. You can get them on EBay for around $90.
Get you some 2700 micro amp rechargeable batteries with an international charger. I like the one Energizer makes.
If you have a strobe, get a flash link cable and tape it in place over the strobe sensor.
Make sure you have the camera mode on flash, not land or sea when using a strobe. This has got me a few times.
When taking a shot, use the LCD screen and not the view finder. If you got the 2700 ma batteries, the camera we last through the dive.
Pull out, clean and inspect the main o-ring every time you before you dive. A grain of sand has cause leaks for me in the past. Once out of the water, place it the camera fresh water bin.
Buy some moister munchers. There are some people who don’t both using them, but I’ve found going from hot humid topical air, to the cool depth of the ocean cause enough fog to ruin my shots.
Reply if you have anyother questions. Have fun in Belize. And as a diver married to a non diver.... don't spend more time in the water than with your new wife on your honeymoon. Save that for the next 20 years.
Things from my experience:
Buy a 2 gig SD card and fire away. I average 150 shots per dive.
Buy the Wide angle adapter. You can get them on EBay for around $90.
Get you some 2700 micro amp rechargeable batteries with an international charger. I like the one Energizer makes.
If you have a strobe, get a flash link cable and tape it in place over the strobe sensor.
Make sure you have the camera mode on flash, not land or sea when using a strobe. This has got me a few times.
When taking a shot, use the LCD screen and not the view finder. If you got the 2700 ma batteries, the camera we last through the dive.
Pull out, clean and inspect the main o-ring every time you before you dive. A grain of sand has cause leaks for me in the past. Once out of the water, place it the camera fresh water bin.
Buy some moister munchers. There are some people who don’t both using them, but I’ve found going from hot humid topical air, to the cool depth of the ocean cause enough fog to ruin my shots.
Reply if you have anyother questions. Have fun in Belize. And as a diver married to a non diver.... don't spend more time in the water than with your new wife on your honeymoon. Save that for the next 20 years.
DiveDiva_Ashley
Contributor
I have had the Sealife Reefmaster 3.3 mp camera for a couple of years now. I've used it not only on tropical vacations, but also in my local quarries in Ohio. I, like you, bought it for a vacation and didn't get much experience with it until after I returned.
My advice is this:
If you have the chance to take it down now before your trip, do so. Take pictures of whatever you can even if it's just in a pool or quarry to get a feel of how it shoots and what sort of pictures you'll be able to get and which ones will be fuzzy. Most of my shots from that first trip are very fuzzy and generally cruddy... but I did get a few good ones. You will find that this camera will limit you quite a bit with clarity (not that that fact has been enough to get me to replace it yet, but just a fyi to know). You will not get good up-close shots, and your lighting with the internal flash won't be great either. The one thing that is great about this camera though is it's ability to upgrade. You can buy the special lenses to take micro and macro shots if that is what you desire. You can buy strobes to fix lighting problems. I personally have not upgraded yet due to financial constraints- I want a drysuit before I want upgrades for the camera. But know that the possibility is there to upgrade in the future if you want to. In the mean time though, you can get some decent shots- just be aware of your camera's limitations and work with the camera, not against it.
I also recommend moisture munchers. It will not save you from a flood, but it does help cut down on the fogging that tropical air inevitably causes.
After your trip (or before if you have the time), I also recommend an Underwater Photography specialty class. In addition to providing picture-taking tips and general information about your camera, a good instructor can tailor this class to your individual camera and help you to get the most out of your camera. I took this specialty through SSI and really learned alot from my instructor that really showed in the pictures I took after that point. I'm still not shooting for dive mags or anything, but I am able to work with my cameras limitations to take the best pictures possible with it. ;o)
Make sure you really watch that o-ring too. You can order replacement O-rings from a Sealife authorized dealer and I'd recommend having one around just in case. A bad o-ring would really ruin your day if you were on a special trip and couldn't take your camera down because of it or flooded it because of it. They are around $8. You should be inspecting the o-ring before every single dive, and never open the housing while you're on a dive boat unless it is absolutely 100% necessary. Even a drop of water will cause you more problems than you could ever imagine. I also keep a bottle of silicone grease around. The camera's instructions will tell you not to grease it, but with no Sealife dealers around to service it and grease it for me, I had to improvise. As long as you really, really check your seals and do it right, greasing can only help you as it will help to prevent cracks and ensure a tight seal. If you have a dealer though, it's probably best to go through them and do what the instructions say though for liability reasons. I believe it comes with a one year very limited warranty.
If you have any questions, drop me a line via pm. I have this exact model and have for a couple of years.
Congrats on your marriage, and enjoy your new camera!
My advice is this:
If you have the chance to take it down now before your trip, do so. Take pictures of whatever you can even if it's just in a pool or quarry to get a feel of how it shoots and what sort of pictures you'll be able to get and which ones will be fuzzy. Most of my shots from that first trip are very fuzzy and generally cruddy... but I did get a few good ones. You will find that this camera will limit you quite a bit with clarity (not that that fact has been enough to get me to replace it yet, but just a fyi to know). You will not get good up-close shots, and your lighting with the internal flash won't be great either. The one thing that is great about this camera though is it's ability to upgrade. You can buy the special lenses to take micro and macro shots if that is what you desire. You can buy strobes to fix lighting problems. I personally have not upgraded yet due to financial constraints- I want a drysuit before I want upgrades for the camera. But know that the possibility is there to upgrade in the future if you want to. In the mean time though, you can get some decent shots- just be aware of your camera's limitations and work with the camera, not against it.
I also recommend moisture munchers. It will not save you from a flood, but it does help cut down on the fogging that tropical air inevitably causes.
After your trip (or before if you have the time), I also recommend an Underwater Photography specialty class. In addition to providing picture-taking tips and general information about your camera, a good instructor can tailor this class to your individual camera and help you to get the most out of your camera. I took this specialty through SSI and really learned alot from my instructor that really showed in the pictures I took after that point. I'm still not shooting for dive mags or anything, but I am able to work with my cameras limitations to take the best pictures possible with it. ;o)
Make sure you really watch that o-ring too. You can order replacement O-rings from a Sealife authorized dealer and I'd recommend having one around just in case. A bad o-ring would really ruin your day if you were on a special trip and couldn't take your camera down because of it or flooded it because of it. They are around $8. You should be inspecting the o-ring before every single dive, and never open the housing while you're on a dive boat unless it is absolutely 100% necessary. Even a drop of water will cause you more problems than you could ever imagine. I also keep a bottle of silicone grease around. The camera's instructions will tell you not to grease it, but with no Sealife dealers around to service it and grease it for me, I had to improvise. As long as you really, really check your seals and do it right, greasing can only help you as it will help to prevent cracks and ensure a tight seal. If you have a dealer though, it's probably best to go through them and do what the instructions say though for liability reasons. I believe it comes with a one year very limited warranty.
If you have any questions, drop me a line via pm. I have this exact model and have for a couple of years.
Congrats on your marriage, and enjoy your new camera!
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