Wow, Diverdavrecon... that was a negative post. Not that I disagree with your disappointment, because I was very disappointed when I first tried using the Mini-II. What I have done is learned how to work within its limited functions.
1) What I like about the camera is its durability and size. I can throw it in my small Zeagle Stiletto pocket and pull it out when I need it. I throw it in the pool when I'm teaching, and I let my DM take some pictures... when its play time in the pool, I let the students play with the camera and take pictures of each other. They love it.
2) Battery life... I frequently forget that I have batteries in the camera. I use the Engergizer Ultimate Lithiums, and they last a long time. I only remember my batteries dying once... Now... I don't use the Mini II like I use my DC1200. I'll shoot 200+ pictures in one dive with my DC1200. I use my Mini II as a simple point and shoot and maybe take 30 pictures per dive... but, I don't think I've replaced the batteries since I went to Cozumel Invasion... still the same batteries... No telling how many pictures I've taken with it.
3) Downloading the pictures... yup! You have to pull the SD card out. Not a big deal, because my laptop has a built in SD card reader, my printer can read just about any card, I have the SD card reader adapter in my iPad... So, I don't need the little USB adapter that came with my Mini II. But... the USB reader will come in handy for something someday.
4) Picture quality - It took a while to get used to the camera. The auto focus doesn't get it right all the time. I'm starting to get better, though. One thing that SeaLife Joe said above... Stay within the specs. Macro is 2-4'. I'm used to Macro being inches... so, that took a while to get used to. Most of my pictures now are in Macro mode. 2-4' is a long way underwater. The other thing I do to improve picture quality is to leave the camera in Land Mode. I do not like the red/purple tint to the pictures. I'd rather start off with blue and tweak it using Photoshop and Lightroom.
5) I do agree that SeaLife removed too many of the controls. It's all auto settings, and I don't like the underwater settings... so... it's simple... I only use Macro and Landscape in Land Mode... Period...
Overall, it's an inexpensive, easy to maintain, rugged little camera. It's not the greatest, but it's handy to have on a dive.
1) What I like about the camera is its durability and size. I can throw it in my small Zeagle Stiletto pocket and pull it out when I need it. I throw it in the pool when I'm teaching, and I let my DM take some pictures... when its play time in the pool, I let the students play with the camera and take pictures of each other. They love it.
2) Battery life... I frequently forget that I have batteries in the camera. I use the Engergizer Ultimate Lithiums, and they last a long time. I only remember my batteries dying once... Now... I don't use the Mini II like I use my DC1200. I'll shoot 200+ pictures in one dive with my DC1200. I use my Mini II as a simple point and shoot and maybe take 30 pictures per dive... but, I don't think I've replaced the batteries since I went to Cozumel Invasion... still the same batteries... No telling how many pictures I've taken with it.
3) Downloading the pictures... yup! You have to pull the SD card out. Not a big deal, because my laptop has a built in SD card reader, my printer can read just about any card, I have the SD card reader adapter in my iPad... So, I don't need the little USB adapter that came with my Mini II. But... the USB reader will come in handy for something someday.
4) Picture quality - It took a while to get used to the camera. The auto focus doesn't get it right all the time. I'm starting to get better, though. One thing that SeaLife Joe said above... Stay within the specs. Macro is 2-4'. I'm used to Macro being inches... so, that took a while to get used to. Most of my pictures now are in Macro mode. 2-4' is a long way underwater. The other thing I do to improve picture quality is to leave the camera in Land Mode. I do not like the red/purple tint to the pictures. I'd rather start off with blue and tweak it using Photoshop and Lightroom.
5) I do agree that SeaLife removed too many of the controls. It's all auto settings, and I don't like the underwater settings... so... it's simple... I only use Macro and Landscape in Land Mode... Period...
Overall, it's an inexpensive, easy to maintain, rugged little camera. It's not the greatest, but it's handy to have on a dive.