Would this be a good first camera?

[dhampton82]

I have been wanting to get a UW camera for some time now. I'm not really into photography to much (at this time) and just want something to take a few pics to show family and friends and not spend to much money. Does anyone think this might be a good first camera to get? Or any other recommendations?


It is a Fuji F700 with Fuji housing and a 2gb card for $285 tops.

Thanks,
Dustin

 

[Tamas]

Sure, for that price and for all the parts.....go for it!

 

[dbh]

It would make a great starter camera (IMHO). It shoots manual mode and RAW, which are both important underwater. Not sure about this model, but Fuji's typically have short battery life (ie: one dive before changing batteries). This model appears to have a proprietary battery, so it may do better (the E900 uses 2 AA batteries).

HTH,
Dave

 

[meesier42]

I used to have a Fuji, similar to this one, I have a major issue finding a strobe that would work with it, to the point that I sold off the set, it was great in clear water down to about 15 feet, but from there on I couldn't get a decent photo out of it since I was unable to find a decent strobe to work with it.

After talking with Fuji directly with it, they responded that they don't "produce" the underwater housing therefore they don't support any problems with them, I then explained that my housing is in fact a FUJI model, and they were perplexed and said that it must a knockoff product.

 

[dbh]

I used to have a Fuji, similar to this one, I have a major issue finding a strobe that would work with it, to the point that I sold off the set, it was great in clear water down to about 15 feet, but from there on I couldn't get a decent photo out of it since I was unable to find a decent strobe to work with it.

After talking with Fuji directly with it, they responded that they don't "produce" the underwater housing therefore they don't support any problems with them, I then explained that my housing is in fact a FUJI model, and they were perplexed and said that it must a knockoff product.

What feature did it have that would not allow use of a fiber optic fired strobe that had the ability to ignore pre-flash? I know that the F810 & E900 were able to fire a strobe this way.

Dave

 

[meesier42]

I don't know, I tried a couple of different strobes and programmed them to ignor the preflash, only to find out that the camera had other things.
1) it did multiple preflashes, and it was not a consistent number
2) the timing between preflash and main flash was not consistent which gave me more headaches.
Now I will admit I was not using $$$ strobes, I tried 3 strobes, and I don't think any of them were the right equipment.

Anyway, I got tired of screwing with it with inconsistent results, so I sold it and upgraded to a Nikon D70s, with Ikelite everything, which has been treating me quite well, both above and below the water.

 

[under water]

I have been wanting to get a UW camera for some time now. I'm not really into photography to much (at this time) and just want something to take a few pics to show family and friends and not spend to much money. Does anyone think this might be a good first camera to get? Or any other recommendations?


It is a Fuji F700 with Fuji housing and a 2gb card for $285 tops.

Thanks,
Dustin

Hi,
I bought the same camera & housing from them with 1 GB card about a month ago but have not taken it underwater yet.
Some things to note.

• Takes good pictures on land so far.
• Easy to use.
• quick to start up and recycle if not using flash.
• way smaller than my other underwater setup .. (a good thing)
• It really is NOT 6 Mega-pixel, it is 3 with a set of smaller sensors that help with dynamic range.
• It has manual and RAW (both good for underwater)
• you will need extra batteries & a battery charger which are really cheap on ebay. I have found battery life to be quite short compared to my other cameras (canon).
• Takes decent movies

Bottom line.. I think it will work very well for you if you get extra batteries.
The battery is 710mAh whereas typical rechargable 2 AA batteries is 2*2500 mAh