$170 US 2 megapixel digital underwater camera

[Pezman]

I found that the case for the "Suprema Super Sport 35mm Underwater Camera", a $70 underwater 35mm camera, can be used to house Cintar DC3515, a $100, 2-megapixel camera that you can get from Office Max.

The fit is not quite perfect, but it works. By sheer coincidence, the button that actuates the Suprema camera lines up with the switch on the digital camera -- not perfectly, but well enough to actuate the camera. The camera lens is also off-center with respect to the window on the front of the case, but this doesn't seem to detract from the image quality. The case is rated to 100 feet, but I have seen higher ratings for the it (up to 160 feet -- but don't sue me it it croaks at, say, 150')

Since the digital takes the place of the 35mm point & shoot that was originally in the case, you now have an extra point & shoot camera (e.g. to give to the kids or something).

At any rate, this isn't a a pro setup, but it's not bad for the price. I can post images of the camera (including details of the less-than-perfect fit) if there is interest.

mike

p.s. To make the deal even sweeter, Office Max occasionally gives $20 rebates when you spend over $100, so buy a stick of gum or something when you buy the camera and you knock the price down to $80.

 

[amevsim]

cheap digital

Dear Pezman,
I'll be very glad if you post the images of the camera and the housing,and where did you buy both of these?

 

[Pezman]

OK, Here's a little PowerPoint

I made a small power-point show that gives some details. I apologize for the lousy quality of the photos of the back of the camera, but I had to use my daughter's "Digital Blue" camera for those shots.

If anyone has mode questions, just post ...

http://www.seas.upenn.edu/~hoganm/CheapUnderwaterDigiCam.htm

 

[fuzz]

Looks very interesting. Do you pad the spaces to stabilize it?

Do you have any sample underwater pics? I'd like to see the quality and whether or not the offset affects the shot any.

Thanks for the heads up! Looks like a great deal & I won't have to crap my pants trying to protect it.

 

[Pezman]

I'll post some shots soon

The spaces between the camera and the internal pads do not seem to be a problem -- the case squeezes the camera in there pretty tightly, so it does not flop around at all. In fact, one modification that I made was to remove the pads at the bottom of the case. This really improves the position of the lens with respect to the window on the front of the case. When I did this, I had to put a little shim between the case's trigger and the camera's switch since lowering the camera increased the distance between them a bit.

As far as picture quality, I have only used it in the pool so far and this hasn't really given me much to go by. The problem with the less expensive digitals is that they have less light-gathering capability than upscale cameras and image quality suffers a bit in low-light conditions. The pictures that I took in the pool were fine when the subject was close and the flash could illuminate it. They were a little dark when the subject was distant. Since they were for a science project that my daughter is doing I'm afraid that they would not be very interesting to freedivers.

I'll post some pix as soon as I get the camera wet in an outdoor, daylight situation, and I'll be sure to include some flash pictures too (e.g. at 25-30 meters in the quarry that we dive, where there ain't a whole lotta light).

BTW, here's a review of the camera that I used for the housing:

http://products.consumerguide.com/cp/family/review/index.cfm/id/21654

And here is an on-line shop (not the cheapest) that has a nice detailed description of the housing:

http://www.bestunderwatercamera.com/inc/pdetail?v=1&pid=35

Here is the manual for the 3510 digital camera (more or less identical to the 3515), for anyone who wants specs etc.

http://www.arguscamera.com/Manuals/DC3510.pdf

P.s. The case looks to be crap-proof, so do what ya gotta do

 

[Pezman]

Got it wet

Works pretty well. Here's a sample:

 

[Dan]

video

Dose anyone from longblades use underwater video at the outting at DutchSprings.
Dan.

 

[Pezman]

Trace had a friend of his named Lori do some filming. It is mostly Trace and Jim Glynn on the tape. The quality is surprisingly good. I'm sure that you'll get a chance to see the tape sometime.

I imagine that there will be some filming in the near future too.