waterproof camera

jovi
August 2008
howzit. Im looking to buy a water proof cam but i donno which one to get. there`s a olmupys 3m and a 10m deep one. which one is better was going to get the 3m one but wasn`t to sure if that will be deep enough.please help

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10 Replies

lyle
August 2008
well, are you gonna dive deeper than 3m??? cause then it womt be deep enough. dude, personally, its all good asking here on this forum but if you serious about getting into photography go to a photography shop and tell em what you wanna shoot etc and listen to what they say. if you unsure ask questions!! we have two quality photography shops in EL. i ask and listen and they yet to get it wrong

good luck
AdrianTregoning
August 2008
I'd go for the 10m one, like this:

http://www.jump.co.za/product/olympus-stylus-770sw-7-1mp-digital-camera-with-3x-optical-6859023.htm

You probably aren't going to go deeper than 10m but a big wave can exert a lot of pressure on your equipment. Best to be sure... I thinking about getting one for myself. I usually take photos with a Nikon D80 but I cannot afford another R16 000 for the waterproof housing... So I reckon on sunny days I can get some cool shots on the surf, and the rivers. Check out this gallery:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=44143&l=3e090&id=666040483

Then look at the photos that are more square shaped in perspective, they also say 'photo courtesy Tuomas Vaarala'. Those are all taken with the model before the one in the link that I posted. Note that with poor light (and poor skill), the quality is not that good. The lens just doesn't let enough light in. But otherwise, the camera is pretty decent. Maybe my mate has a shaky hand too, who knows? We also used his camera when it was raining, naturally.

The other photos that say 'photo by....' are all with a Nikon D80. The difference is obvious, but so is the price...

I hope this helps a little.

Cheers,
Adrian
9chaste
August 2008
Does Dat olympus cam hav a way of attachin 2 yr arm when u are out or does it just hav a little wrist strap like all normal cam's
koslovski001
August 2008
Does anybody know where I can get the Olympus Stylus 770SW 7.1MP Digital Camera... I am going Madagascar on the 18th and would love to be able to take under water an in water shots
AdrianTregoning
August 2008
I reckon a lot of photographic shops will sell it. I walked past one today in Tygervalley and there was one in the window...

The camera has a thing to attach a wrist strap, I'm not sure if it comes with one. I would guess that it does.
9chaste
August 2008
whic camera would you chose the GoPro hero digital 3 or the Olympus.
iJonty
August 2008
Go for the Olympus- Great camera.I have one and it's the bomb.Haven't tried it in the surf yet but will soon.
9chaste
August 2008
how do you hold the olympus when you in da water does it hav a simmilar method like the GoPro
August 2008
Hey Jovi,

Answer yourself what are you aiming to use it for?

Random shots here and there? Trying to do some water bodyboarding shots etc?

If you looking for water clearly i would imagine you want to try take some snaps with your friends in the water? If ask a few people who have used the point and shoot and see how they found it, honestly for shooting water with your friends i dont think you are going to get the greatest shots around but just a few randoms for yourself and friends...

Have you done much photography before? if you starting out something like this will be fine just to get a feel for it and whether or not you want to persue it....main things to look for will be megapixels, higher the number the better, but also check out to see if the lens tells you what aperture it is. If you not to sure ask the guy in the shop, the lower the f number the better Dont be fooled by super duper crazy high ISO's like 1600 or above even upto 3200!! This sounds amazing but it will give you some of the worst grainiest pics you have ever had....

just some tips and hope it helps!! 3m or 10m is both great and 3m should be plenty good enough if you want to paddle around with your friends in the impact zone!! good luck and let us know how it goes and what you got!!

mark
AdrianTregoning
September 2008
I did eventually get one of those little cameras. Picked it up yesterday and headed off to Sandy Bay to see how it worked right away. Only in the water, of course! (and there was no one there anyway, thank goodness)

I got the Olympus 790SW, which has actually been discontinued. It is only resistant to 3m but I wasn’t prepared to fork out almost double the amount for the 10m version. There are two models which have come in now. The 3m one is about R4300, and the 10m version is about R5300. But if you hurry and go to Makro in Milnerton, you can get the 790SW for only R2500. They have 3 left now. The newer models only seem to boast higher ISO settings, which means &*%@ to me. The photos only get ultra grainy, as was already stated in the post above mine.

The battery only came partially charged, as the manual stated and my mate took a lot of the photos but here are some. Not too bad, given the cost:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=155374&l=f61e6&id=666040483

For sure it’s not as good my SLR but at least I can get some more unusual shots without having to rob a bank to fund the housing for it. The only annoying thing was that I had to buy an XD card for the camera and I have loads of SD cards for some other cameras… Otherwise it seems pretty cool. I’m sure I’m going to have a lot of fun with it. (Sorry about the watermark, but I’ve had 3 different websites already steal some of my paddling photos – and they were all dealt with at least. Although it could be cropped off and a smaller version used, it still helps, even if only a little.)

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