Oceanic Geo vs. Suunto D3

Hi demasoni,
I think one of my dive buddys has the Oceanic GEO, it defenitly looks like it. I have the D3 so i will try to compare them maybe next tuesday if he has time for training . So far he was very satisfied with it, but did not test it on deep dives i think.
Christophe

i checked the specs of the Oceanic Geo and, at first glance, i'm impressed! It would be the first REAL Scuba and Freediving Computer in-one-instrument with proper dive analysis for both modes. Yes, i know about Stinger or Mosquito but those seem to be designed by a scuba diver with a touch of curiousity for freediving but never got to or didnt have time to fully integrate into them a proper freediving mode.

Any reviews both from scuba and freedivers alike will be much appreciated!

Serge

Wasn't Eric Fattah's Liquivision X1 (maybe the F1?) the first freedive and scuba computer in one? Granted I can't afford one but I would really like to test one out.

i checked the specs of the Oceanic Geo and, at first glance, i'm impressed! It would be the first REAL Scuba and Freediving Computer in-one-instrument with proper dive analysis for both modes.

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Hi Serge,
don't forget the cressi EDY, it has all these features too. I recently had to decide wether to buy the EDY or the D3 for myself and eventually went for the D3, the only reason beeing the styling of the display, which I like more in the D3. Nevertheless, I think the EDY should be a very good instrument, and if I had to find a computer which can do scuba AND freediving, I would definitely take it into account.

Cheers,
Ivo

fogish said:

Wasn't Eric Fattah's Liquivision X1 (maybe the F1?) the first freedive and scuba computer in one? Granted I can't afford one but I would really like to test one out.

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You are refering to F1, the first real deal freediving computer - i am lucky to have one! But it does not have scuba diving specs, no algoritm but it can be used as secondary gauge... that's my problemos now as I scuba diving Vyper Suunto went to sleep and I have a top of the range freediving computer (which i use rarely) and no scuba diving computer, looks like i will trade or sell my F1 to get something that can be used for both.

Serge

Scorp said:

Hi Serge,
don't forget the cressi EDY, it has all these features too. I recently had to decide wether to buy the EDY or the D3 for myself and eventually went for the D3, the only reason beeing the styling of the display, which I like more in the D3. Nevertheless, I think the EDY should be a very good instrument, and if I had to find a computer which can do scuba AND freediving, I would definitely take it into account.

Cheers,
Ivo

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Thanks Ivo, i admit no knowing about EDY, it's a new addon to their line up of instruments and from what i read on its specs, it's a really nice piece of device. worth hearing from anybody in the freediving "guild" how it performs in freediving mode.

So now we have two new entries, Oceanic GEO and Cressi EDY! anybody, a review?

serge
Serge

Hey guys. I have an Oceanic Geo. Alas, I'm at work & cannot give any feedback right now. I will write again in the morning (tuesday).

DeepRN said:

Hey guys. I have an Oceanic Geo. Alas, I'm at work & cannot give any feedback right now. I will write again in the morning (tuesday).

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Hey Man,

was the last message just a teaser? bring it up, let the crowd know how's Mr. Geo doing down there

Thanks

serge

Alright, I'm back with some additional input:

First off let me say that the Oceanic Geo is also being sold as the Aeris Manta. It's the Manta that I've purchased; but they are the same computer.

We bought a couple Mantas/Geo's from DiveTank here on the west coast of Canada. Dennis at Divetank gave us a price of $359USD. They provide 5yr service/replacement and will ship batteries for free, when requested.

The computer looks/wears well. I wear it as my daily watch. The display is easy to read and uncluttered. There are many options available in this computer, but a little tinkering and I've come to the conclusion that the four buttons are used in a relatively easy predictable pattern for accessing modes/menus. Actually it's primarily three buttons used. The fourth being the backlight. Options from most watches are present as well (countdown timers, cronograph, alarm etc)

Some notes on it: 10m/30ft is the shallowest selection for the user-defined depth alarms in FREE mode. The wet-activation is nice, but only available for NORM/GUAGE modes, not FREE mode. In addition to alarming, the display will show a word describing the event that is happening (ie. SLOW when ascending too fast in NORM mode) The red LED light (see link to video at bottom) which flashes with any alarm is a nice attempt at making alarms more noticeable. However, like many other dive computers, the Geo's alarm could be louder. There have been a few times that I didn't notice the depth alarm sounding. The one-second sampling is nice. Once back on the surface, surface interval now counting, info from the dive just completed is reviewable with the press of one button. There is also an alarm in FREE mode which will alarm at a predetermined TIME interval, both surface and during a dive. Could be good for training. Automatic/manually adjusted elevations is nice. Although I've not needed to attempt it yet, the user-replaceable battery (available at most retailers and good for a couple years of normal usage) is a nice addition (see pic). The PC cable is needed to download info from dives made in FREE mode, for displaying/graphing. All settings on the computer can be adjusted via computer this way as well.

After diving a few times with it, I became concerned that the computer was not storing info from dives made in FREE mode! The service at DiveTank could be better. I had a difficult time getting any additional information on the computer through them regarding this concern. They did however, provide me with a toll-free number for Oceanic. Rick, at Oceanic, was kind enough to review the detailed email I had sent displaying pics of the watch, with descriptions, and replied very promptly. I learned that the Manta/Geo store information from dives made in FREE mode to 512kb of downloadable memory! I was happy to hear this. Rick was also kinda enough to ship me a (free) PC cable! <---- great service! All details from the most immediate 24 dives made in NORM/GUAGE modes are stored in the computers LOG, and transfer into the history (9999 dives).

Thoughts: A nice loud alarm is a good thing. I'd trust Eric when he says that some computers are better than others. This is about the only downside thus far for this computer. The red LED light is a nice effort at a secondary method of notification. As an all-in-one it will definately do the job, so final choices may come down to accessability to various products, final prices etc.

Lastly, this computer continues to track tissue loading/unloading even while in FREE mode, ***BUT, the manual DOES state that even though this function is occurring in both modes, it will not account for competitive freedive depths***

Here are a few pics, and one little video of the LED light.

hmm... i'm not sure why, but i cannot upload a pic of the watch in FREE mode.

just a quick note: the last pic is of the present day/time (in 24 hr clock) with the month/day on the bottom.


http://www.mediamax.com/deeprn/Hosted/manta alarm.wmv

Thanks a lot for the review!

One clarification about wet activation, it starts only when in scuba, gauge modes but not in freedive mode? what do you do when you start a freedive session? also what is the delay time (in freedive mode) when the data starts recording, when starting a dive? starts right away from surface or it has some 1-3 sec delays?

thanks a lot

serge

Demasoni: Yep, the three alarms are independently set. Once you set alarm one, alarm 2 must be setter deeper than 1 etc. The alarms is three short beeps (not adjustable), as opposed to what you saw in the video. They will all activate on a single dive. If you want fewer alarms, you turn off the prior 1 or 2 (for example, if you want only one depth alarm at 30m, you set alarm three for 30m and deactivate the previous two alarms.

Sergiu: To use FREE mode, you simply hold down the upper left button, and at two second intervals, the watch cycles through it's modes, NORM, GUAGE, FREE. Let go at FREE and you're there. The watch will stay in FREE SURF (surface) mode for something like 30 minutes, waiting for diving; at which point if no dives are being recorded, it will swith back to TIME. The watch begins to monitor/display your freedive (or any dive) once you reach 5 ft. So putsing around on the surface will only read as your surface interval.

Wanted to jump in one last time. I recieved the PC cable for the Manta today. The info from dives in FREE mode downloads beautifully to the PC. Each second of sampled info is viewable and each dive is graphed. Info from dives in all modes is similarly stored, downloaded, displayed etc. Add a little more info and you've got a nicely kept dive log. I'm very pleased overall.

sounds like a great buy! i will definitely look into it and try to be Suunto UNbiassed!

serge

a couple quick pics of some dive info from the manta, graphed:

Hi DeepRn,
I've just picked up a Manta and wanted to compare notes with you if you're willing... I've only had it in the water once and after uploading a days Freediving info, found that the first seconds of the dive seem to be a wash. On a 10 to 12m dive the first depth graphed/logged is around 6-7m. Was wondering if you were experiencing anything similar? Your first photo seems to show a nice gradual increase in depth; is that the norm for your units?

Thanks for your oringinal review and observations by the way. They helped in the decision to buy.

Sean

Sean,

You're absolutely right. I have to say that I never noticed it before (i supposed because of a nice smooth graph), but when I look at the sampled data, the first depth registered on each dive is somewhere around 30 ft. For my most recent day of diving, I was heading down fairly quickly, but I'd say it would take me about 8 seconds or so to reach depth. So there should be info from those first few seconds. Strange how everything from just shallower than depth is perfect. But it does look as if the watch is not recording for about the first five seconds or so. I will contact Rick, from Oceanic, and ask him this question to pose to the engineers of the watch. Feel free to do the same. His email addy is: rcockroft@oceanicusa.com The most recent scuba dive i did read very well. The first recorded depth is 9ft, but i have it set at a 15second sampling rate. Anyway, thanks for pointing that out. I'll write back with anything I hear from him.

I have now spoken with Rick from Oceanic. Alas, we'll have to wait for a while as he was literally on his way out the door to catch a plane north, for abalone diving (lucky buggar). He did suggest that maybe the wet activation was on and taking a few seconds to activate, then recording a second later. I responded by telling him that we're not using wet activation. I'm a little peeved that the graphing software simply fills in that initial second, making it appear that you've literally bombed down to 40 feet in one second. But overall, I'm not too concerned as I know the computer it will be recording no later than 5-6 seconds after submerging. And it's still reading/displaying my depth in those initial few seconds. Either way, he intends to dive the manta for this trip, and will get back to us on this one, and anything else he/we can come up with. He expresses his gratitude for the good questions/feedback on this new watch.

DeepRN said:

But overall, I'm not too concerned as I know the computer it will be recording no later than 5-6 seconds after submerging. And it's still reading/displaying my depth in those initial few seconds.

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DeepRn: I agree - as long as it's accurately tracking my depth I'm happy. Well pleased overall with it's performance. Looking forward to hearing from Oceanic nevertheless.

Anyone else have any similar experiences with different computers? How about the D3's personality quirks?

I'm glad to hear that the Geo finally offers an alternative to the D3 (which was and remains a poor product).