cameras, movie or still. or underwater? mostly for surf.

feralmick · Post by **feralmick** » Thu Oct 30, 2008 1:44 pm

New to cameras but starting to get the bug.
Had a Vivitar 6mp underwater camera which leaked and broke. No zoom but got some good shots in the water-movie and stills.
Debating whether to get it fixed, get another waterproof camera, buy a dvd camcorder or good still camera with zoom.
Only want to spend a few hundred + or_ a couple of hundred.
Some 8mp with 4x zoom available for just over $100 aus.
Reasonable looking dvd cams going for $400 - $800, some waterproof camcorders going cheap too.
Only for personal use and to share pics with friends but obviously would like the best quality possible on a budget.
2nd hand another possible option.
Would appreciate any advice, opinions.

dua anjing · Post by **dua anjing** » Thu Oct 30, 2008 5:39 pm

I've got an Olympus u720. I bought it when they first came out (about 2 years ago maybe longer) It's only rated to 1.5 m so I also bought the waterproof housing. I quite often tuck the camera (without housing) under the neck of my wettie, never had any real problems with it, takes good pics only 7MP i think, the only real concern I have is that I need a better place to keep it than tucked into my neck, maybe something like a neoprene shoulder band, or something like an iPod case that I can attach to wettie. Anyway back to pic quality, it's ok I just need to improve MY composition but all in all good cheap and waterproof.

And then Yesterday when I got back home I found out that I had a few droplets of water in the battery compartment , took out battery & mem. card , rinsed and dried battery & card and left camera open to dry out. At this stage all seems OK (it's working again) hopefully no Salt water got as far as electronics and it wa sonly the card that got wet, Might pay to keep an eye on the water proof seals if you have similar camera

feralmick · Post by **feralmick** » Thu Oct 30, 2008 11:03 pm

had a look in a few shops today, starting to look at slightly more expensive stuff eg high def DVD with hard drive.
All comes down to finances.

Did see a Fuji j15 splash pack with its own underwater housing.
8mp 3x optical zoom $199. cheaper on net.
Should be down at Phillip Island in 2 weeks, so i might be able to talk to camera owners in person.

gumby · Post by **gumby** » Fri Oct 31, 2008 1:28 pm

Been using Olympus 1030SW for 4months. Works great! I put a lanyard on it and just tuck into neck of wet suit.

Mike Fernandez · Post by **Mike Fernandez** » Fri Oct 31, 2008 7:01 pm

Love to help you Mick, but I don't know stuff in that price bracket.

curlykneelo · Post by **curlykneelo** » Fri Oct 31, 2008 9:29 pm

My daughter brought an Olympus u725 on ebay and never had any problems with it . We took it to Bali and we now have a photo of every fish off Kuta .

curlykneelo · Post by **curlykneelo** » Fri Oct 31, 2008 9:31 pm

Forgot to mention , the u725 also shoots videos.

RMcKnee · Post by **RMcKnee** » Sat Nov 01, 2008 12:56 am

curlykneelo wrote:My daughter brought an Olympus u725 on ebay and never had any problems with it . We took it to Bali and we now have a photo of every fish off Kuta .

Ahhh ... school photos.

womble · Post by **womble** » Sat Nov 01, 2008 2:31 am

Or as my old school mate Colon Oscopy would say "Ahh stool photos"

After he finished university Dr Oscopy enjoyed looking up old friends.
Sorry nothing to do with cameras.
I must be getting photographers disease; developing indecent exposure.
Oops sorry.
Hey Rm, I think I'm farting in public again.

feralmick · Post by **feralmick** » Sat Nov 01, 2008 4:33 am

had a look at reviews for Olympus u725. They all said it was a good camera but suffered from slow shutter speed-a problem with my Vivitar.
Had a small lash out today and bought a Fuji Splash pack, camera and separate u`water housing.
Taken some sample pictures and movies tonight, all on the Auto setting.
Very impressed but can`t wait for daylight to do more testing.
Would still like to buy dvdcam or older camcorder and maybe even another still camera for use on land.

Just got to work out where to get the money.

kneelingBROTHA · Post by **kneelingBROTHA** » Sat Nov 01, 2008 7:31 pm

I guess I'm a few days too late to guide a purchase, but here's what I got today with my Olympus 850 SW:

If any kneeboarders in the South Bay want to join in on the beachbreak shooting fun, let me know! I love shooting all types of surfing, and shoot from the water frequently when I have functioning equipment (as in, right now)!

feralmick · Post by **feralmick** » Sat Nov 01, 2008 11:45 pm

Not too late to guide a purchase-who knows what the future will bring.
My camera is the same capacity as the Olympus but not the same quality.
Happy so far, though no water shots yet and havn`t tried different settings.
Here`s a pic i took last night on Auto under fluorescent light.
[img][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v478/ ... resize.jpg[/img][/img]

wolruss · Post by **wolruss** » Sun Nov 02, 2008 2:44 pm

Like the scarf your wearing, Mick, but you really out to have a shave before you get down to the island - see you there, buddy.

Cheers Wolruss

wanderer · Post by **wanderer** » Sun Nov 02, 2008 2:58 pm

well done mick
it looks like the sunshine coast kneeboarders have a
new stunt underwater cameraman
the only problem is we will need to lift our game
to be worthy of the equipment
calling fresh blood to the sunshine coast /windansea board riders club
comp sunday the 9th nov
sunny coast queensland
water temp 22deg
no wetsuit

Kev · Post by **Kev** » Sun Nov 02, 2008 10:03 pm

wanderer wrote:... new stunt underwater cameraman ...

STUNT Mick

with stunt dog

lookout

good luck to the SCKC for this sunday
I'll see Mick at PI in two weeks and we can talk video cameras