Kneeboard Surfing USA Community Forum

OK here is a topic.
I am looking (starting to think about) getting a waterproof camera. Notice Olympus M770SW showing up being used. Any suggestions comments. Surfing with a camera lineup tactics ect...

Hey craig,
I have an Olympus 700sw..works great. I think a 10 megapixel version is out now (mines 7mp). Only taken it out in small surf to shoot some shots of mates as I havent been able to track down a strap for decent size conditions. If anyone knows anywhere that sells good straps let me know

Cheers

w

weirdo wrote:Hey craig,
I have an Olympus 700sw..works great. I think a 10 megapixel version is out now (mines 7mp). Only taken it out in small surf to shoot some shots of mates as I havent been able to track down a strap for decent size conditions. If anyone knows anywhere that sells good straps let me know

Cheers

w

no need for a strap. tie the wrist strap that comes with it to your wetsuit zipper strap, tuck the cam under your chin, down the front of your suit, above your manboobs.

kaser_one wrote:

weirdo wrote:Hey craig,
I have an Olympus 700sw..works great. I think a 10 megapixel version is out now (mines 7mp). Only taken it out in small surf to shoot some shots of mates as I havent been able to track down a strap for decent size conditions. If anyone knows anywhere that sells good straps let me know

Cheers

w

no need for a strap. tie the wrist strap that comes with it to your wetsuit zipper strap, tuck the cam under your chin, down the front of your suit, above your manboobs.

Thats the kind of in the know I am looking for.

Thanks

Craig

If you're still interested in a strap, I gave my brother one of my dive light lanyards from scuba diving for his olympus and it's still going strong in the surf 2 years later.

Most scuba dive shops will sell these and they are very sturdy, obviously water proof / resistant and not all that costly.

Good luck with the journey ahead, I shoot underwater digital and it's great when you nail an image that can convey what we do to a non diver (or surfer)

Gumby,

The Olympus is inexpensive and will work for a lot of situations. That sequence of Barry that Kaser posted is awesome it really depends on what you want to do. If you go over and read his site, he answers a lot of the questions he gets about the camera.

Admittedly, I've never checked one out, but a few things you might want to think about...

1. what do you do with it when you're trunking it?

2. how tough is it? It's rated to 30 ft. That sounds like a lot, but how much water pressure is that? I don't know, but the Sony water-housings that Bob and I shoot with are built to handle 130 feet. I'm guessing that duck diving or (in my case) getting pitched on a big day might generate significant water pressure in excess of 30ft.

3. Are there any O-rings to maintain? If so, what's that like? Again, I don't know. Salt Water is extremely corrosive, and if you surf dredging hollow beach breaks like me, sand gets everywhere. I pull my O-ring and clean and grease it every other session. It only takes one grain in the wrong spot and water gets in.

4. Smutz and water spots on the lens. This is a biggie. I get weird stuff (surf wax and other unidentified substances) on the outside of my housing all the time. Who knows what it is, but I know I wouldn't want it directly on my lens element! Kaser did say that his lens gets cleared of water-spots by the cover when he powers-up the camera, but I imagine he still struggles at times with water spots. (we've managed to reduce the water spot problem by using dishsoap on the housing glass).

So again, it depends on what you want to do. I'm there to surf primarily. I wear my camera in the lineup 90% of the time (3 or 4 sessions a week) and it takes a serious beating. The Sony housings can handle the punishment. Bob Gove came up with a very simple (and brilliant) design using two custom fitted bungee straps that positions the camera out of the way for surfing and is easily accessed for photos. He's been using it for years. It's not as elegant as being able to tuck a tiny camera into your wetsuit, but you can't beat it for toughness and ease of use.

I've got the u720 (The first of the Olympus's) It's only waterproof to 1.5 m. So ibought the optional waterproff housing (good to about 30M). Obviosusly with the housing it's a bit too big to stuff in a wetsuit, but it can take a fair beating. If I'm just going out for a swim or a body surf I just tuck thecamera in my wetsuit, Havn't taken it out on a board with the housing though. PM me if you want details on the housing