Sealife DC 500 Pro Elite

[jpdunc]

Ok, I have net surfed a lot and can't find much in the way of user reviews for this Sealife product. It's the DC500 5 mp camera with housing and their SL960D digital flash. It has a 3X optical and a 4X digital zoom. The package with case and a wide angle lens sells for about $900.

Does anyone have any experience with it either good or bad?

I'm also looking at the Canon A620 and the Canon WP DC90 housing which appear to be available for under $400, but I'm not sure how to attach a strobe/flash unit, which one, and the cost for that.

To date, my underwater photography has all been video so I am an absolute newbie/rookie with regard to still shots and video from a "still" type camera.

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[Darnold9999]

I have this camera and am quite happy with it. Some have reported problems with the strobe firing, never had that problem. The only complaint is that you only get about 50 shots on a single battery. Focusing macro and in low light is also tricky. The menue system is not intuitive, but once you figure it out it works.

All in all I would say good camera for the price. have about 40 dives on it - no leaks. I have replaced mine with a DSLR and will likely keep it as a backup small camera. The DSLR and housing is alot bigger.

 

[alcina]

Canon all the way. The strobe is easy to attach when you decide to purchase one. I personally like the Inon products for strobes, but there are several options available for a range of costs and I am sure others will chime in here

 

[Bbarnes]

I have the Dc500 Elite set and love it. I had some some of the problems with the strobe firing intermittently when I first purchased it but after I made the suggested PIE.5 firmware upgrade, I have had no problems. You can look at some shots that I have taken with it in my gallery. I will be adding more in the next day or two that I took on our trip to Saba and Statia last week. The small size and 5 megapixels make this a nice choice. The customer service that I have received at Sealife has been incredible. There have also been several writeups about it on www.epinions.com that you might check out. By the way, be sure to get the digital strobe instead of the regular yellow one. Having the extra control of the strobe output is wonderful for correctly lighting your pictures. My battery will last me 2 full dives (1 hr each). Be sure to completely charge and completely drain your battery the first time that you use it. That helps maximize how well it will charge. The one that comes with the set is 650mAh but I hear that they are coming out with one that is 820 mAh soon.
As far as the 'extras' go, I would suggest getting the ballast weight to make the camera neutral, and an extra battery and travel charger. If you get the digital strobe, I would NOT suggest the diffuser. Since you can dial down the strobe intensity you don't need it. If you get the regular, yellow, not digital version, I would definitely buy the diffuser to use with closer or reflective subjects.