underwater photos?

[Irrotational]

Going on holiday, and want to take some fun snaps of the kids, playing in the pool, and underwater.

Do the cheap disposable underwater cameras work? Do they need a flash to work in indoor swimming pools?

I have a dslr, but assume cases cost quite a bit, and ill look a bit of a tit?

Are there any other cheapish options?

Maybe a cheap waterproof digital, if such things exist?

Particularly interested in anything that PH'ers have actually used and got reasonable snaps.

Thanks for any help!

[Malx]

I've used the disposable ones in the past and the results were ok but you have limited shots plus you have to pay to get them developed. We recently went to the Caribbean and we took two underwater cameras with us. I bought a nice new Panasonic FT3 that broke on day 1 (I have since had a full refund) but my partner opted for the Kodak EasyShare C123. I think it cost less £50, it worked well for the money. Small and neat enough to be used as an everyday camera too.

I found it a bit tricky at first to use underwater as the screen is very dark however I just opted to point and shoot in the direction of the target. Take a bunch of photos and some will come out ok right?

Here are some of the shots we took, pretty much as they came out of the camera.

Object up close and lots of light



Turtle was quite far a way.


Taken while swimming.


She was going to sell the camera after the holiday but has decided to keep it. For the money, it was very good. It also felt very tough compared to the Panasonic that cost 5 times as much.

[Irrotational]

Thanks, looks promising! does it work indoors underwater do you know?

[Malx]

Irrotational said:

Thanks, looks promising! does it work indoors underwater do you know?

It does work indoors but I don't have any photos to hand. I'll grab the camera tomorrow and get some pics for you if I remember

[LongQ]

Irrotational said:

Thanks, looks promising! does it work indoors underwater do you know?

I would guess that largely depends on how much light there is indoors and under the water. It probably doesn't matter which camera you use if there is not much light.

[mattdaniels]

The deeper you go, the darker it gets so the more flash you need.

I was at the Great Barrier Reef in March, and hired a little Canon digital pointy clicky thing in a waterproof housing:




These shots are from 5m down, with the flash :

[clonmult]

Malx said:

I've used the disposable ones in the past and the results were ok but you have limited shots plus you have to pay to get them developed. We recently went to the Caribbean and we took two underwater cameras with us. I bought a nice new Panasonic FT3 that broke on day 1 (I have since had a full refund)

I never had any decent results from disposables.

For heading out to Orlando (water parks) a few years back I picked up the original FT1. Sounds like its still the best of the range, none of the subsequent models have improved image quality, and they don't sound anywhere near as solid.

I've had that little camera for well over 2 years, it performed perfectly on that holiday - never missed a beat. Good results under water, video recording quality was pretty good. Battery life, it easily got through a couple of days. Stuck it on a mini tripod for night shots of the fireworks at the magic kingdom.

[honest_delboy]

Just back from Mexico with pics from the disposable in my bag waiting to be developed. I hope they will be decent but i am prepared to be dissapointed. Pity as there were some quite unique shots in there.

Going further (40m) what do people recommend, the search function is broken currently.

[Mr Gear]

I have a Fuji Z33WP which is good for snorkeling and swimming pools etc.





You can find them VERY cheap on ebay and they are super-handy, with no case required to take them underwater.

They don't perform very well indoors or in low-light, but for an outdoor action-camera they are great.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Waterproof-Digital-Camer...

[jonno990]

I bought a panasonic DMC-FT10 last year(hateful little thing) for a trip to Sharm.

Surgeon fish.

Surgeon fish don't like flashlights.


Some idiot's lost their room key

Yes it was me, Thanks again passing Russian scuba bloke



I probably took about 500 underwater shots with very few 'keepers'. Most shots were not sharp at all. No way of increasing shutter speed, it's quite hard to hold a camera steady in the waves and fish aren't known for staying still.

I'm thinking of buying a s95/s100 with an underwater casing now and was reading up on it last night. I found an interesting link on flickr but cannot find it now Surprisingly it recommended not using a flash, as that would increase 'backsplatter'(small bubbles and debris highlighted by the flash)
e.g. here http://www.flickr.com/photos/93522295@N00/25119464...

I am also going to speak to a mate in work who is a very experienced diver and photographer, hopefully report back soon.

[havoc]

I've used a £20 Dicapac rubber case for our Powershot A560 compact, with mixed results:-
- It's still waterproof, even after 5 years, compact and light to take on hols, and easy to set-up
- The plastic lens-cover doesn't seem to affect image quality unduly
- I've taken some good shots.

But:-
- You need to have it 'lined up' when you switch-on, otherwise the lens can't extend.
- You can get asymmetric vignetting from the lens-hood-thingy
- It can be difficult to adjust the settings once underwater - even the rotary dial is difficult to operate, whilst the screen is often v. hard to see. So depending on how I've got it set-up I've either had a good batch or a wasted set (blur, over-exposure, under-exposure).


Doing things again I'd probably get a dedicated waterproof compact camera (they seem a lot better now) if I was a casual underwater 'tog, or a proper hardcore case if I had money, space and time (i.e. was doing a diving holiday like FP does).

[Du1point8]

I have a go pro Hero 2 which is nice however it needs to have a couple of upgrades to make it worth while.

Blur fix lens upgrade to readjust for the dome covering over the lens.
2 lens filters, one for green water and one for blue.
Floating device (handle or floaty) or a wrist strap so you can't lose it.

However I didn't get they upgrades in time for my trip to Marsa Shagra, so underwater shots are a little blurred and same with the video, but there is some usable footage.

above the water:



once I sort out the underwater footage I will post some.

I did contemplate getting the casing shown above (by another poster) for the OHs G11, as its only £165 and I probably will get that one soon so she can have some fun taking pictures, but delivery meant it wouldn't arrive in time.

Biggest issue I had other than a dust storm on the second day which meant tons of sediment for the remaining dives, was the fact you NEED a flash once you get below a certain depth as there is not enough light unless you have a coloured lens.

[chopper602]

Last week I bought this (Pentax WG-II) :



for our summer holiday to Florida, rugged, waterproof to 10m and this one has GPS facility.

Slo-mo videos, full HD video even underwater. I've used it a couple of times so far (along side my DSLR) and it looks pretty good so far.

There is a WG-I available which is last years model, which is a bit cheaper than this one

[Du1point8]

pgh said:

Du1Point8 - Really interested in seeing underwater video and stills from the GoPro

you got a PM

[Irrotational]

Hi, me too please as I can always use the go pro for other reasons so will be handy for me...

Thanks to all for the example photos and details, I have a good few options to consider now!

Appreciate it :thumbs up:

[NDA]

Irrotational said:

Going on holiday, and want to take some fun snaps of the kids, playing in the pool, and underwater.

Do the cheap disposable underwater cameras work? Do they need a flash to work in indoor swimming pools?

I have a dslr, but assume cases cost quite a bit, and ill look a bit of a tit?

Are there any other cheapish options?

Maybe a cheap waterproof digital, if such things exist?

Particularly interested in anything that PH'ers have actually used and got reasonable snaps.

Thanks for any help!

Do you have an iPhone?

If its kids in the pool and underwater.... I bought a waterproof case for my iPhone and it works brilliantly. Have taken shots and video underwater.

[Du1point8]

Irrotational said:

Hi, me too please as I can always use the go pro for other reasons so will be handy for me...

Thanks to all for the example photos and details, I have a good few options to consider now!

Appreciate it :thumbs up:

email hamsters won't work at all... catch me on this one:

[e-mail]

[Irrotational]

NDA said:

Do you have an iPhone?

If its kids in the pool and underwater.... I bought a waterproof case for my iPhone and it works brilliantly. Have taken shots and video underwater.

That sounds interesting as well - how on earth do you operate the touch screen through the waterproof case!?

I have a similar android based phone, so may be able to find a generic example similar to yours...

I often wonder if actually one of the biggest advantages of the iPhone is the sheer plethora of accessories made for it...

[anonymous-user]

clonmult said:

I never had any decent results from disposables.

A girl I work with has recently got various diving certificates and went on a diving holiday to Egypt which she loved and should have got some amazing pics, but she used a couple of disposables and honestly, the pictures were awful!

I'm off to Florida for a drive around the state in summer and I think I'm definitely going to get a Pentax Optio WG-1, seems like a good option.

[markmullen]

I had a Panasonic FT1, it lasted 4 days before refusing to power up again.