Sea & Sea DX3100

[torrey]

I've been wanting an underwater digital camera for some time, and was drifting through ebay when I came across a Sea & Sea DX3100. The auction had an hour left to go, so I did some quick research and quickly came up with a rough outline of my income tax refund and decided to put in the minimum bid (nobody else had bid on it). I got the camera for $450 and it looks like it's retailing everywhere for about $620. For details on the auction, click --> here.

I called the dive shop up and had it all paid for withing 30 minutes of auction end, and Kevin said he'd have it out on UPS today. Now...I know it's a little late, but does anybody else have any opinions about this camera? Things to be careful of, watch out for, etc.? I'm pretty much a beginner in the world of underwater photography (a couple of Cozumel dives and a few lake dives with a SeaLife Reefmaster), so if anybody has any tips specific to this camera, please indulge. Thanks.

Torrey

 

[MosheDyan]

Hello torrey...

"Now...I know it's a little late, but does anybody else have any opinions about this camera?"

I was not going to say anything but I am a little punchy tonight...you may have wanted to ask this question before making your purchase. You may want to do some research next time. Anyway...you probably have an OK learning camera but in the long run you may not be overly thrilled with the camera. Try doing a search on DX3100 on this board and you will see quite a few previous commentaries.

 

[torrey]

Actually, the first thing I did when I saw the camera was a search here for dx3100 and only came up with 1 thread that didn't really have any specific information in it. Am I not searching the right words? Apparently the search feature has a 4 character minimum word length, so "sea and sea" was out.

I decided not to post a thread for opinions before-hand because the auction only had an hour left and I didn't figure I'd get any reponses mid-day on a Monday about a camera that hasn't been out long.

If all else fails, I should be able to still recoup most, if not all of my cost should I decide to sell, considering it's still retailing for $615 everywhere else. It's got to beat the ol' reefmaster anyway...and one of the problems I would run into with housings was forgetting to turn the camera on before getting into the water.

 

[jmusky49]

Reading your last line I had to laugh, I have done the same thing a few times with my old Reefmaster.

I can not answer your question with experience, but what I found out in my research before going with the OLY 5050 was that the camera inside the sea and sea housing was not any better than a Wal-Mart Vivitar. Hopefully that helps your decision a little.

 

[ShoalDiverSA]

Ah! the DX3100, a.k.a. Aquapix. A search on the term "Aquapix" will prove much more fruitful.

To save you the trouble, here is the latest (and most detailed) thread on this camera:

Aquapix Thread

There is a previous thread on it here:

Previous Thread

I have an image taken with this camera on my Grove Street album. But you can read all about it in the thread above.

Methinks you will be auctioning it off shortly (depending on what you hope to achieve, of course).

Cheers,

Andrew

 

[torrey]

I see what you mean...if only I had searched Aquapix instead. The quality does look pretty grainy for a 3.1 mp camera. I appreciate the feedback.