SeaLife Mini II

[NJDiverMark]

I have not been by your office. I bought it from the scuba connection in hillsborough, nj. I have the first camera from the first shipment. I believe dandy don has all the pic info in a pos above. But I will send you an email. Whas your email address?

 

[deeper thoughts]

Hello Mark,

First the key thing with the Mini II is to be minful of the distance you are away from your subject and what setting you have the lens set at. Witht he focus lever set to Landscape, the camera will be in focus from 4ft to infinity. With it set to close-up, it will focus between 2-4ft.

As for the color on the shots it would be best if you could send me some pics so I can dig into the data on the image to check tthe settings.

I think you have been by our offices before, am I right? If so, we can set a time for you to come in and I can run you thriough the camera if you'd like.

As for all the comments about a light/strobe, most definitely this would help as it woudl help the camera by allowing a higher shutter speed to stop any motion blur as well as bringing in more color to our lovely Jersey water!

Cheers,
Joe

We also own this camera. The LCD is very weak even after we adjusted it to bright.

 

[NJDiverMark]

Wow what a waste of $250. This camera takes nothing but blurry pics. I used it on a dive today. I tried literally every single setting, angle, everything this cam can do and nothing . I was in 2ft of water which was crystal clear and blur. To top it all off the button fell off the cam. Im returning this asap!

 

[DandyDon]

Sealife's customer service is the best. Can you go by their office and let Joe or Karl help you in person?

 

[NJDiverMark]

Yes. Most definetly. something has to be done because this camra won't focus at all. Not to mention it fell apart on the second use. Where is their office?

 

[DandyDon]

Well, $250 is not much for a camera, I paid more for every one of mine each upgrade - DC100, Dc310, DC500, and now DC1200, but I understand that you want one that works like it should. Since Joe invited you to come by, call him to make sure he will be available...
SeaLife Cameras - Underwater Cameras and Accessories
Pioneer Research
97 Foster Road, Suite 5
Moorestown, NJ 08057
(p) 856-866-9191

 

[NJDiverMark]

Of all the pictures i took today only 2 or 3 came out. 2 of them were above water and maybe one of the starfish. i didnt use the flash because the one or two times i did it got washed out due to all the sediment. i used my princeton tec led shockwave for a light source.

these pics were shot in literally 2 ft of crystal clear water.

 

[NJDiverMark]

also these shots were shot in snorkel and macro mode literally 3ft away from the subject and its blurry. the land shots were on land mode and landscape mode.

 

[Scuba.com]

Mark, I was going to chime in with my 2 cents worth here, as I've seen some truely fantastic images taken with the Mini 2 since it's come out, but Sealife Joe is the expert. Take any advice he's offering and like Dandy Don says, their customer service is almost unmatched in Scuba.

 

[STJ]

I recently bought the SeaLife Mini II and for the price, have gotten good results. My first pics were this past weekend in the U.S. Vigin Islands - see attached. Focus is good. For sure, it will be different when I dive off Long Island/NY/NJ later this year but the camera does focus. My thoughts on your blurry shots: 1) not holding camera still, 2) it's very difficult to take focused photos snorkeling, almost impossible to hold still - much easier if diving properly weighted, 3) inadequate light - although the specs state that the lowest underwater shutter speed is 1/60, so it should be underexposed rather than blurry, 4) you appear to be shooting "down" - most better uw photogs avoid that and shoot horizontal or angled up (study pro shots), and 5) an external flash or light would help. I did not use a flash or external light but the tropic water was clear and it was sunny. Depth was 25' - 50'. I'll probably get an external light for Long Island diving.