Sealife DC1400 vs. Canon S110??

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khsjsilver

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Location
Princeton, NJ
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200 - 499
I have been diving for a number of years with the Canon S80. Last week, I got a leak in the Canon case and the camera died.

I have to admit, I am purely a point & shoot guy. I set the camera on underwater mode and click away. I have never gotten into changing the settings or adding strobes. I like to take pictures and I like the low profile of a small camera setup. I have always gone with a camera that has a lot of flexibility to change settings, etc., but I never seem to do it.

Should I go for Sealife DC1400 or the Canon S110? When using the Canon loyalty program to replace the S80 with the S110, both the Sealife and the Canon set ups will be around the same amount of money.

Your thoughts and opinions are welcome!!

Ken
 
I started with a SeaLife then went to the Canon S100. The Canon is better. Sharper, better for macro. More importantly, ability to shoot RAW and easy to shoot in manual.

If you want to take better pics, more important than which camera will be to get an external strobe (or 2) and shoot manual. If you want to see what the S100 can do, check out my smugmug link below (all pics were shot in full manual, with external strobes, RAW with white balance done in post).
 
The current S series camera is the S120. Cameras are like computers in that there is no point in buying an older version.
 
The current S series camera is the S120. Cameras are like computers in that there is no point in buying an older version.

I would not necessarily agree with that. If you are starting from scratch and budget not tight, for sure go for the new model. But if budget is limited, for sure you can get better pics with a S100 shooting RAW with external strobes, than a new point & shoot of any brand in automatic mode and/or without strobes. The camera body is the cheapest part. For people on a tight budget, a lot of money can be saved by getting a good deal on a housing for a model that is a few years old.
 
The current S series camera is the S120. Cameras are like computers in that there is no point in buying an older version.

The S120 is not part of the Canon Loyalty program yet, only the S110. If I went for the S120 I would have to pay full retail, when I would get a huge discount on the S110.
 
I'm not familiar with the loyalty program, but I don't see a much discount for the housing. Bluewater sells the Recsea housing for $850, about the same as the coming S120 housing. Normally the S110 will save about $100 over the 120, and when you consider the cost of the housing, strobe, arms, focus light, the discount for the old camera is small, and soon the 110 will be like the 100 is today, an old forgotten model. If a few years the S120 will be forgotten as well but you'll be a couple of years ahead of the game. IMO.
 
I'm not familiar with the loyalty program, but I don't see a much discount for the housing. Bluewater sells the Recsea housing for $850, about the same as the coming S120 housing. Normally the S110 will save about $100 over the 120, and when you consider the cost of the housing, strobe, arms, focus light, the discount for the old camera is small, and soon the 110 will be like the 100 is today, an old forgotten model. If a few years the S120 will be forgotten as well but you'll be a couple of years ahead of the game. IMO.

I really just trying to figure what is the best point and shoot camera without all the add ons.

Being realistic, I'm not going down the road right now of adding the strobe, arms, focus light, etc. Having the ability to add the additional pieces is nice, but I've been diving with a S80 with just the Canon housing for a bunch of years. Still not ready or willing to dive with a big camera rig.
 
canon over sealife for sure, as for which camera, if you want to stay in the S series s95-120 are all good builds. compared to s80
 
I love my Canon S95 but if you're not interested in using the full capabilities of the 'S-series' (not a criticism btw), then I'd go for the Sealife if the price is right.

SeaLife DC1400 review of the underwater camera & housing|Underwater Photography Guide

It looks to me to be a simple but good quality underwater camera. It does have limitations but nothing that I see that would ruin a fun dive.
 
I had the DC1400 and was not super impressed with it. Yes, it was very simple to use and yes, i did get some decent pictures and movies out of it. I also loved the piano buttons. Unfortunately, there were also some problems... The main issues for me were the slow focusing speed and relatively poor low light performance. I was also not very happy with the auto mode of the strobe operation and started using manual more often than not. The auto strobe mode would most often lead to excessive brightness.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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