Snorkeling Cameras Guide
All Your Camera Options Explained
There are so many snorkeling cameras available that it can be a real chore to decide what to get.
The only way I could decide was to first decide what I wanted the camera to do.
I wanted pretty good pictures. I was not looking for award winning pictures, just colorful, sharp, snapshoot memories to share with you. I knew I wanted better colors then I have gotten with the inexpensive disposable snorkeling cameras. Also, I don't like the idea of snorkeling with a big bulky camera setup. So an SLR camera in a housing with an external flash was out. I wanted simple.
So I ended up with a Fujifilm digital point and shoot camera - the FinePixF40. I chose this camera for three reasons. First it was compact and fairly inexpensive ($195). Next Fuji uses a Super CCD in this camera. Basically that means that the digital film chip is bigger in this camera than other point and shoot cameras. The results of this bigger CCD chip is that the camera takes very clean (not grainy) pictures at higher ISO settings. And remember that I use a Magic Filter on this camera? Well, the filter reduces the amount of light that enters the lens. And the camera will automatically increase the ISO to make up for this lost light. So basically in low light conditions I get better pictures.
Lastly, I got this camera because I found a sale on the underwater case for it for only $79 at Amazon (a steal). The camera also offers an underwater setting, that can be useful if you are not using a Magic Filter. You can learn more about my decision process and the wonderful Magic Filter that I use on the previouse page in this
snorkeling cameras guide.
Hopefully seeing how I made my decision can help you. So, what do you want? What is most important to you? Picture quality? Cost? Size?
Here is a list of some things you may want to think about when sizing up different snorkeling cameras:
- Size of LCD Screen - make sure it is big and bright.
- ISO - how well does the camera perform in lower light at higher ISO?
- Flash - for the kind of photography I do I don't even use one. I just turn mine off. Do you even need it?
- Physical Size - remember you have to swim with this thing.
- Button Size - is it going to work in your big hams?
- Focal Distance - how close will it focus to an object? If you like taking pictures real close, check to see what type of macro feature the camera has.
- Lens Width - a wide angle lens is pretty handy underwater - what is the widest focal distance of the lens? Try for a minimum of 35-38mm (35mm format equivalent).
- Shutter lag - this problem is going away with newer cameras, but check out how long it takes for the camera to take the picture after you push the shutter. Some older cameras had a real lag that would cause problems with moving situations, like underwater.
- Accessories - do you want the ability to upgrade in the future? Would you like to have a 16mm fish eye lens to put on your camera? Do you want to have the ability to add a big flash? Check to see what accessories are available. Third part companies often make accessories for underwater cameras.
- Aperture - This has to do with how fast the lens is. A faster lens is better in darker situations.
It will probably help you to know what is available, and what the pros and cons are for the different categories of underwater cameras.
Here are the options available for snorkeling cameras as I see them. Click on each type to learn the benefits of each, and to see the products and price ranges available for each. The list goes from lowest quality pictures and cost, to better pictures and much higher costs:
After you get a camera make sure and give a review of it
here.
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