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Just a note:

I bought the P5000 on E-Bay for 280.00 from a korean source, but buyer be ware, there is no US warranty on a japanese camera sold on EBAY (I checked the serial number and even tried to add it to my NIKON product list online but it wouldnt accept the serial number). CNMI where I live exists just outside US Customs so there would likely be no warranty anyway on a US product this new, it is one of the reasons DELL and HP wont ship new products here directly! because their domestic products cant be warranted outside US Customs. it would be worth the extra money if you lived in the US to get the warrantable model, and pay the 2 or 3 year warranty. it has to do with my non US Street address capacity in this island, we only have PO Boxes, and Saipan 96950 MP isnt listed in warranty claims for domestic products. It isnt a problem if you are travelling but list a recognized US residence of ownership.

I bought the FP5000 housing through an on island distributor for cheaper than it should have cost me, around 290.00-300.00 is what you can expect, but I am telling you now, after using it only twice, that it is a good compact housing with minor flaws that can be overcome. Fantasea has a nice warranty on the camera replacement if the housing ever floods (I bet you have to sell alot of housings to make this marketing scheme profitable, or they have housing production flood insurance that covers the costs). They dont warrant a replacement of the housing, or other items not associated with your camera, but at least you get another camera if it floods. My old Nikon housing didnt offer that kind of security or guarantee, hell it didnt even have a pressure tested sticker! But the Fanta sea housing DID, just like the Sea&Sea products. I guess you pay a little more for guaranteed products. The underwater wide lens is really nice, screws right into the housings port threads without an adapter, it even had crisp focus out to the edges of the frame on average distances of 10-15ft. In case you are wondering, the red filter for Ambient light images and video is worth 50.00 bucks if you appreciate near life color rendition prior to digital manipulation from 0-20ft, after that and things get blue again. I figure if I can accomplish 80% of the image I am trying for at capture, I will only have to do 20% post processing, which in the long run saves time for me to keep shooting.

I also have tried mounting the Tray and Arm on the back of my bluewater speargun to catch video but the drag is a drag! no kidding, it felt like a parachute pushing the gun, and the camera through the water! It is easier to just spearfish, or just film and shoot stills than do both, and I have huge admiration for those that do exactly that, it isnt easy at all. I mounted the strobe arm to the bottom of the butt with a large stainless screw, and turned the tray reverse so that it sits above the trigger mechanism above the bolt, giving a great view of the tip and the intended target, while allowing the spearo to see between the camera and the gun with 3-4 inches of room. if you are fishing shallow bluewater this could be a sweet setup. I get annoyed fishing deep dropoffs with it though due to the drag, and the decreased dive times I have because of it. I use this set up strictly for Video, because stills are impractical while you are shooting. In case you are wondering, the camera, by way of the arm, bends out of the way for loading the spear, and then bends back in place simply enough. perhaps the same could be done with disposable cameras, but video is where it is at behind a gun!!!

I do notice that the non flash shots using Auto are fairly rapid compared to my old 5600, and I was able to click off three shots of coral, a landscape of the coral and the surface, and a view of the boat and freediver from below, and still shoot a fourth shot of my watch at 55 feet before 35 seconds had elapsed! I know it is not deep, I go deeper, but this was a second day out with the camera and I was going nuts on the resolution and the color rendition from the red lens!