Sealife DC500

[desiredbard]

Sorry this took so long but I did not have the time to this earlier. The pictures of my second dive with the DSC are now up.
http://www.de-ridder.info/album/main.php?g2_itemId=3568
The album is organised latest picture first and the firts picture is IMG_0075. A crab taken wihout the external Flash

Now most of the shots are of an affectionate tompot blennie.... I nearly felt harrassed by it But colourwise it was a nice test for the camera. Picture IMG_0096 is also done in scubamode.

Now I failed 6 pictures due to the flash not firing....
Vis at the time of the dive was 1.5 - 2 meters maximum and dislocating the flashlead might have had something to do with that. I also failed 3 scubamode flashes due to myself switching flashsettings (I did not know they were there and started to experiment.... RTFM

Now after the 3 dives with my newly qualified wife last week I changed the moisture muncher...... It was blue...its still as blue as it was after 53 minutes at 19 meter.
(I did not take much pics then to having her taking up all my attention)

Now I'm not a pro photographer, and I am well pleased....
I'm more then open to tips and advise...
But on criticism without advice I'm change the famous bart simpson quote a little:
"Eat my Shorty"

 

[mlkco]

I have the 500 w/ external flash. The flash is not digital. and seems to over expose. It could be lack of skill also.
My battery lasts 2 dives and I bought a second battery which lasts seconds.
I don't think the battery issue has anything to do with the camera but the battery manufacturer. I've only used it on one Bonare trip so the jury is out on the camera as a whole. I will be selling my flash on ebay and buying a digital one.

 

[TheRedHead]

I find sometimes the flash not firing because the flash sync clips slips. I tape mine down with electrical tape.

 

[Bbarnes]

They are now recommending pushing the sync cord all the way through so that the end of the fiber optic part it pointing IN TOWARDS THE CAMERA instead of pointing UP. I have also heard that there is another firmware upgrade available soon. As far as the bad battery, I would contact Sealife's customer service. I would bet that they have some sort of warranty that would cover it.

 

[Bbarnes]

You can find the firmware upgrades at www.sealife-cameras.com

 

[vansmack9]

Does anyone who owns this camera know a trick on not having the file numers starting from 0001 each time the all the pics on the memory card are deleted? I've owned 6 other digital cameras, and they have all kept a running total of pics taken. Reason is each time I try to transfer pics taken to my computer I keep getting a duplocate file warning and have to re-name all the files individually before putting them in the desired folder on my computer. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[CheddarChick]

I wondered that also. I just save them to a sub-folder by date. Then as I toss the bad ones, I name them. I have tons of bass1, bluegill2, gotta get a better system, LOL

 

[Cecil]

CC I create a new directory every two months and leave the original filenames alone. The edited pictures get descriptive names. So if you look in My Pictures you'll see a camera directory, then \SeptOct2006\, then original files and then sub-directories by size eg. \Small (640x480 pixels) or Slides (1024x768 pixels). Use any system that works for you, but you don't want to dump them all in one directory. I started out giving descriptive names to everything but it got way to tedious. YMMV.

 

[*Floater*]

I have the 500 w/ external flash. The flash is not digital. and seems to over expose. It could be lack of skill also.

I had the same problem with my DC310 on close-ups, but I was able to correct it by partially covering the flash. I cover it loosely with my fingers spread open. If the pic is too dark then I cover it a little less (for example, cover it with two fingers instead of three) and take another shot. After a while you'll develop a feel for how much to cover. I also bought the Sealife flash diffuser, but so I sold it because it turned out that I prefered to just use my hand (more control).

 

[CheddarChick]

I wondered about covering the strobe. If I ever get underwater again, (Wisconsin....50* today, rainy I so hate this.