Snorkeling Cameras, etc.

Snorkeling Spots

Snorkeler's CoveCommunity

Our Favorites

Snorkeling Info

Go Underwater

Stay Updated

Connect

Policies

[?] Subscribe To This Site

Snorkeling Cameras, etc.

by Susan
(Columbia, SC)

First question - Do you know when this new Olympus TG- 610 will be out? What do you think of it? Which ones do you think may be as good or better than? I'm getting camera nuts but I'm thinking of using my Christmas money 8) on yet another camera. My husband will like the other Stylus because we can avoid taking the waterproof casings with us for the land cameras. I don't know much about cameras that take 3D pictures. Oh, also wanted to ask about the magic filter. I do have one but I had trouble with pictures turning out too red. Am I thinking of the right thing and what am I doing wrong?

Also, I was reading in your book about taking lots of plastic bags and wanted to share this. You may already know but anyway...when we went to Alaska, one of the people going with us said she used tons of bags too, but she used them with her clothes. I always used the air bags to condense my clothes but she said she rolls all of her clothes individually, stuffs them in a bag, puts a rubber band around them then piles them in. It's amazing how much more room you have (I rolled up my heavy coat and it took half the room it would have taken) and it serves many purposes. First, your clothes don't wrinkle. If something spills in your suitcase they don't get messed up. (Used the good bags for the liquid stuff and dollar store bags for the rest) If you need to protect something (snorkel) you can stuff the bags with clothes around it. Then when you get where you are going you have plenty of bags for the purposes you mentioned. That comes in handy when you only want to take carry ons on the trip also. You can stuff everything in a backpack and big carry on and there you go. 8) BTW, taking the water for the cameras is a great idea.

We'll soon be on our way and I'm really getting excited. My new mini snorkel came Thursday and it fits great!! All I have to do is get my equipment ready...Oh, and I guess some clothes would be good too.

Comments for
Snorkeling Cameras, etc.

Average Rating

Click here to add your own comments

Jan 09, 2011
Rating

Olympus Waterproof Cameras & Magic Filters
by: Galen & Nicole

Susan, thanks for the tip on packing with bags for more space. That makes sense.

Now, as for the when the new Olympus TG-610 will be released, it is supposed to be sometime next month. It is hard to say if these new cameras will be good or not without testing or reading reviews. Right now I still think the best camera you can buy that is waterproof is the Canon D10.

As for the 3D picture thing, I would not bother with it. Unless the camera has two lenses that essentially takes two pictures at the same moment (these cameras are becoming available), then the only way to get a true 3D image is for you to manually take two pictures yourself with a little space between. And while you might be able to do that with some control on a tripod on land, there is no way to do it when snorkeling. All the 3D craze is mostly just a gimmick.

Now, I understand your problem with getting pictures that are too red with a magic filter. I had the same problem. The solution is to learn how to set a manual white balance on your camera, or to make the filter removable for very shallow and close shooting situations. It is too red when the subject is very close in shallow water. I write about this problem and how to set a white balance on this page. Scroll down the page until you see my sample of a picture that is too red.

OK. Have fun. And when you get back I would love to see a review of the new snorkel with the smaller mouth piece and what problem it solved for you.

Jan 09, 2011
Rating

An inexpensive underwater snorkeling camera
by: Gordon Kirkland

Before our first trip to Grand Cayman in 2008 I purchased two underwater cameras on eBay. They are 12 megapixel digital, run on 2 AAA batteries, and take great pictures. Better still they were less than $100.00 We have now taken over 5000 pictures with these cameras in Grand Cayman, St. Kitts, and St. Thomas. In two weeks we will be using them in Belize. The only down-side is that the viewing screen is a bit hard to see underwater because of reflection from the case, so it becomes point, shoot and hope for the best. Go to eBay and have a look at them. Here's a link to one seller: http://cgi.ebay.com/12MP-UnderWater-Digital-Camera-Video-Recorder-Free-2GB-/280610716295?pt=Digital_Cameras&hash=item4155b3ba87#ht_10123wt_1006

Jan 09, 2011
Rating

Interesting Inexpensive Option!
by: Galen & Nicole

That looks like a fun and inexpensive camera option. For anyone wondering what it is (after the eBay auction expires), it is an Optiz (previously SVP) Acqua-1231 Underwater Camera.

Someone is also offering it on Amazon.com.

Take note though. This is not actually a 12mp camera. That's a bit of misleading marketing. The camera has a 5mp sensor that achieves a 12mp resolution "through hardware interpolation". Not that 5mp is bad. A 5mp camera can actually perform better with a small sensor vs a 12mp camera with a small sensor. And this camera will probably deliver better images at 5mp than setting it to 12mp.

Jan 09, 2011
Rating

Questions and answers
by: Susan

I was looking at the camera you suggested and it does like something I'd like. I'm going to look at it so that I can see the button location. I have prescription inserts in my masks which are pretty good but I have messed up some shots because I'd think I was on a camera setting and was on video with the Cybershot. (Need to get another prescription mask but after other one was stolen, I opted for inserts) Does it have the underwater setting and is it easy to do white balance? I've got your article on setting it and David says start practicing with it but I guess I'm just lazy.

Also, with the snorkel. I love it and I can tell you one BIG reason. I have a very small mouth (not so according to friends) :) but the snorkel fits in my mouth without stretching or rubbing at all. I think it'll make a huge difference. Thanks for info about that and I'm making a list of places from my guide. I have really been bragging on it for good reason.

Jan 10, 2011
Rating

Interesting Inexpensive Option!
by: Gordon Kirkland

That's interesting. I hadn't noticed that the resolution was different than advertised. We have blown up some of our pictures to 16x20 and they are still fine. The other thought about this camera, is that if there is ever a malfunction in the underwater case it's less than $100 to deal with, not several hundred for my better camera that I use on land.

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How?
Simply click here to return to Snorkeling Cameras Q&A and Stories

Snorkeling Cameras, etc.

Comments for Snorkeling Cameras, etc.

Comments for
Snorkeling Cameras, etc.