Waterproof Digital Camera

[PeteV]

Tiedyeflyguy mentioned that he bought a Waterproof Digital Camera Made by SONY. I know I can buy one on line ...but do you guys happen to know any shops in Boston, North of Boston or Southern NH that carry them. Thanks for your help.

The usual plces like Sears, & Best Buy don't seem to have them.

Thanks,
Pete

[SamRiley]

Did you try Ritz? I don't think that model is particularly popular so it may be a special order item wherever you buy it. Thought about buying one of those myself but the file size was too small for me.

Here is a link to the specs (http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start;sid=LH_6nC4dFRb6mhHA2i_wl2EMVaUPD5PgMCA=?Pro ductSKU=DSCU60KITIS&Dept=dcc&CategoryName=dcc_DIDigitalCameras_CybershotUDigita lCameras)

[mansfieldsign]

There's a Sony Outlet there. Might try it.

[Jacob K.]

might want to think about buying a regular digital cam and an underwater housing. expensive, but it is the only way to get high quaility.
check out:
http://www.ikelite.com/
jacob

[PeteV]

No I Didn't try Ritz...I'll give them a call. And thanks for the tip about the shop in Wrentham (I always get Wrentham & Wenham mixed up.. I can't remember which is by the Cape & which is by Hamilton). Regarding file size... I'm not sure what that means... but if your talking megapixels ..I was also thinking 2 megapixels may be a little thin but the camera looked like it was packaged in a way to take some abuse and If I got caught by a wave or just dropped it in the sand it would still be OK. I'll keep the 5 Mpixel one bundled up safely until I really need it. But the waterproof one I could have loaded & ready to go for a quick routine shop.... Not to mention Tiedieflyguy's pics looked pretty good.

Jacob, the housing for a small Sony DSC-S85 is $950 ...I'm sure its nice but thats a little steep for me...

[Jacob K.]

yeah, that is an expensive one. i have the coolpix 3100 and it is a great camera. the housing is $300. still expensive, but not $950...
http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/cp3100.html
j

[SamRiley]

Olympus has underwater housings for it's line too.

[artb]

:) I purchased the Canon S400, their small 4 meg camera, and their waterproofcase which is good for over 100 feet. I always keep it in the case when I am fishing. The case does make it a little bulky, but after dunking a Nikon, and a Kodak. I feel pretty safe, if I don't get sand in the seal.--124-3 Case was $175, and made for the camera.

[Tie-Dye-Fly-Guy]

sony or other will get into one handed waterproof, but sure market will develop very quickly. i too thought 2mp a lil lame for 240$ purchase. it is not sturdy or too many times drop proof onto hard surface. it is only waterproof to 5 feet.
I has no zoom other than digital tweaking.

but it is very easy to draw from jacket/pocket, with one hand it does the job and so designed to ergonomically. it does have short video option and few digital manipulations. it is waterproof, left in pocket proof two weeks at a time. the batteries last about a week of occasional shots or 100 or so quick shots. recharges in 4-6 hours and that can be improved upon by competitor battery chargers. i would buy better product if it could suit my needs as well. Use the wrist strap because it does not float. but so easy with my sony laptop as well with win xp pro and sony editor software built in.

overall i think by spring/summer 2004 there will be competitors in outdoor digital photography. new market, just pricey because of diving subspecialty and waterproof guarantee on already pricey purshase for a camera. good luck and tell me what you decided on ultimately.

I use an ewa-marine pvc bag for digital camcorder and it is a blast and cheap comparing to hardbodied immersion cases. look them up for digi cam options. the bag has a hard plastic lense to improve optics. reasonable option for 30 foot waterproofing of digital cams and other toys. you quickly get used to pushing buttons through the clear plastic bag

proof of a reasonable option. quick pic taken on the water with draw from pocket, pass to nice fisherman who assisted my capture of the moment with a point and click simplicity, return to my pocket in quick worry free ease. ready to do the same for anyone with an email address. waterproof convience that could possibly increase the percentage of fish released, as this one was gladly. i had proof of a lifetime steelie! Woo Hoo!

[PeteV]

If thats the Sony U60..thats still a pretty nice shot (even for 2 Mpixels). & I'd be happy with that...It may not be pro-quality...but I think that would still turn into a decent photo if I ran it through a photo printer to stick into a photo album.

after dropping a little Sony P-72 off the boat (I got it back ...but it no longer worked). I think I'd attach a small float to the wrist strap of the U60 so if it was dropped I could fish it back and still have a functioning unit.

[PeterG]

...........but do you guys happen to know any shops in Boston, North of Boston or Southern NH that carry them.....-

Try Hunt's in Melrose 781-662-8822


Pete:D

[gf2020]

Circuit City has the Sony DSC-U60 for $225:

http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?oid=77313&WT.mc_n=6&c=1&b=g&WT.mc_t=U

[ruge13]

Not sure how waterproof you want it but Like Sam said the Olympus line is decent. I have a new Olympus 300. Has the basic video features and takes decent pictures. I have blown up the hi res photos to 8"10 by CVS (Kodak) and have them still nice and clear.
Anyway, I use it out of my kayak so it gets wet. It is "weather sealed" so it is supposd to take rain, but not a dunking. I keep it in a mesh pocket on the front of my life vest because it has a 3 year warrenty. Has taken lots of spray and rain and still works like brand new. Might be worth a look. Also takes cold weather rather well. I had it out this year on a few freezing mornings with ice on my kayak and didn't slow down like most digital's.

[Mattb]

I really don't know anything about underwater digitals, but you might want to check out Underwater photo-tech (http://www.uwphoto.com/) in Derry NH. It's just a couple of minutes off of 93, about 40 miles north of boston.

[flyfreak]

Hey, where were you in that pic of you holding that huge steelie ?
That fish is amazing !!
Please post details of the hookup, fight, and any other details !
Thanks.
-ff

[Bill Frank]

Forget the digital - get the canon 35 mm point and shoot underwater camera. You can throw it in the water! Completely waterproof, can take underwater pics. Small, great photos, and about $150.

[Wes]

These were interesting to me.

http://www.shopping.com/xPF-SeaLife_Reefmaster_DC300

[ruge13]

Wes, I have one similar to that, I have an AQUASHOT, forget who makes it, I got it a while ago. Mine takes, I shold say took, disposables int he housing. I used to use it diving, worket great for about 1 year. Then camera companies changed the size and shape of all disposables. So now none of them fit in the housing and its worthless. They do nto make the size that fits anymore.

I have also used the disposable underwater camera's that retail fro about $14 or so. They take decent pictures out of water. I took them under to get some pics of lobster and bass. They were not as good, with no flash, but are waterproof and decent out of water. No zoom like a digital though. This is a scanned version of one of the pics fromt he underwater camera at low resolution and a bad pic with the sun angle.

(this one was over the 5" carapace length, went back)

[bluewatr]

Shaun...

Awesome pic!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm impressed!!!!!!!!!! Now that takes some balls!!!!!!!!!

[Jacob K.]

shaun
do you scuba or snorkle for lobbies?
i am interested in getting a permit and trying it out. i am pretty decent at snorkeling, but cant dive (due to asthma issues). i have seen lobsters while snorkleing it is hard to catch them? do you just grab and hope they dont grab you?
jacob

[ruge13]

Jacob, check your PM

[Wes]

Nice bait there Shaun. ;)
Link I posted should be a 3.3 mp digital camera for divers, not a disposable housing. Hope not for $300, still nothing very special except waterproof

[smallboat4]

Shaun, I actually have the same questions as Jakob about catching lobsters while snorkeling. Can you shed a little light on this for me? Thanks

[RLD944]

Wes,

The SeaLife sounds nice but am I reading the spec right? It only has 8 MB of memory? At 3 megapixels that's ... uh... 2 pictures...

[Wes]

RLD,
I haven't looked into it myself yet but it takes SD cards as do many DC. I understand a 256 card should hold 100 pics at full resolution, or something close to that. I have no idea of the cost. I'm not especially impressed with the camera (2x digirtal zoom for example) but it's waterproof out of the box.

[Wes]

This one is waterproof to JIS 7 standard, think that's 30 minutes at 1 m depth, which has been plenty good enough for my VHF without any protection in the kayak

pentax optio 33wr (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=getItemDetail&Q=&sku=299957&is=REG&si=feat#goto_itemInfo)

[artb]

:( I have 2 digital cameras, 1 kodak 210 with zoom, and the Canon S400 with the waterproof case. What I find with the digitals is that in the sun you can't see the LCD monitor . It is not bright enough to see the image. Underwater you can't use the view finder.

[Too Fly]

I picked up an Olympus S400 and PT-016 Underwater Housing. The camera is great, haven't had the chance to use the housing yet.

The camera is "weather proof," which more or less means don't submerge it or leave it in the pouring rain. It's also a good idea to wipe it down after exposure to salt.

Paul

[Al D'Addario]

Hi Pete,
Hope you had a great season!
Check the following link.:

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/product.asp?base_no=68927

Sorry for the long link. Happy Holidays!

Al

[PeteV]

Greetings Al !!!

I hope you had a great Year! I still think you have the best Job in the World (especially during the summer).
This year's been tough for me ... Things like promotions & new projects seem to eat up the free time. Not to mention I've been learning how to use my boat (learning how to handle it and the little details about the engine & keeping it running). Hopefully next year we can meet in Ipswich and fish some of those bars we worked in the past.. the boat is small enough so we can beach it and get out and wade ... it sure cuts out a lot of walking ...not to mention you can change gears easy and fish places like Halibut & Andrews point with ease.

I ended up picking up the little Sony DSC-U60 from the Wrentham Sony Outlet store for $180.
I just wanted something I could easily stuff into a pocket & if I dropped it in the water or sand I didn't have to worry. The SOny is very limited in its features but it is very convenient and waterproof.