Underwater Cameras

[oldboot]

the mrs recently baught one of the olympus tuff cameras....up the range a bit....and the pictures out of it are great.....the only beefs are.....you have to use the genuine olympus SD card to use some of the funky functions like panorama and the zoom is a but small.

its all over my richo digital like a rash.

cant say the noise was a problem..... pictures looked pretty clean to me.....the auto exposure can bee fooled at times... but thats auto cameras.....all of these cameras have limitations and there are no miricles.......if you grew up with manual film cameras these things will perform well for you.

her cousin bruce has had several different olyimpus models over the years (not short of cash)....he braught some great pictures back from the pacific islands fishing and diving.

cheers

[Kero]

We’re still looking for a Underwater camera too, like the sound of this one
Olympus MJU 6000 12mp 3.6x zoom as I’ve heard its tougher than other cheaper models.
When we went to getprice we found some

Getprice - http://www.getprice.com.au/Olympus-M...tal-Camera.htm

http://www.citiwideonline.com/au/ Olympus MJU 6000 $245, these do come from Hong Kong, but have full warranty, there are customer reviews on shopping au site.
Movie mode- Recording format AVI Motion JPEG
Also Olympus MJU 6010 at $300
OR
Fujifilm Z33 underwater camera - 10mp 3x zoom at bigW its $298, online $153
OR
Canon PowerShot D10 , $340 online,
Some cameras don’t give details for movies the canon is 640x480 mov. I think.

for a cheapee there's one a Aldi - Traveler UW 8, 8mp 3x zoom $199, not much details about it thou. wouldnt say it can go 10m if others can't!!!

That's a very good price for the Cannon D10. It's cheaper than what I can buy them for from one of our wholesalers. It looks to be a great camera with some good specs:
Canon PowerShot 12.1 Megapixel Waterproof Digital Camera
12.1 Megapixel, 3x Optical Zoom, Widescreen, Waterproof to 10m, Cold Resistant from -10 - 40°C and Shockproof up to 1.2m, Optical Image Stabilizer, DIGIC 4 Image Processor, Face-Detection Self-Timer, Blink Detection, Intelligent Contrast Correction, 2.5" PureColor LCD, Print/Share Button

[PADDLES]

don't get too overwhelmed by the choices horse. like goldfinch has said, if you want an underwater camera for diving/snorkelling/surfing etc, then a decent camera with a housing will be best. we wanted a camera that could be chucked in our pocket and used for basic snapshots so went with a basic compact digital, albeit an expensive one. there's really only three choices in the waterproof compact market and they're all listed in this thread, there's pro's and cons for all of them.

[Steve B]

just thought I would bump this great thread. In the market myself, interested in all the good info..got some study to do now!! cheers Steve

[TheRealAndy]

When I said the photos are crap from the olympus, that because I use a Canon DSLR camera. for the best part. However I have an old sony 3MP camera here that must be pushing 10 years old and it still takes better photo's than the olympus. All take better photos than the old $50 35mm or instamatic film cameras though.

[Steve B]

G'day

Horse, I'm doing the same research. I currently have a olympus 1030 and it's been good, however not sensational.

I'm looking at the panasonic FT1 atm, has greater mp and better zoom than the olympus, intelligent auto AND the big winner for me is the movie mode is in true HD.

Cheapest i've seen so fr is $440 at videopro.

Dave

Dave

If you want to take the 'risk' I found a mob on E Bay that comes in at around $380 with a 8gb card, case and a few other bits and pieces....delivered in that price. I have bought from them before, all good then. They have 1 yr warranty (thru the site) how good will that be?????....anyones guess!!

So far I am leaning towards this camera, for the exact reasons you reckon too....2nd is the cannon D10....but its zoom/movie and size put me off....where as the 3m of the panasonic is a bit shallow incase I want to do some diving!!!....dilemas dilemas!!!!

Thanks for all the feedback fellas....its been much apreciated!!

cheers Steve

[Blackened]

G'day

I've also been watching the e bay. Some good deals there. I'm happy to pay an extra $40 ( what my cheapest price @ jb hi fi is now), $423 for the warranty/service fact alone.

Harvey Norman during their last camera sale about a month ago had the FT1 for $383. The mond boggles!

I'm waiting for the next big sale at harvey's to see what they can do as in reality I don't need this 'till my trip come new years

Dave

[Horse]

Yea, I'm in no hurry so might wait for the sales to see whats on offer

[TheRealAndy]

I buy all my camera gear from cameras direct on the gold coast. I cant find a cheaper AU distributer. You have to purchase on the internet, but you can pick up from the gold coast.

The next cheapest option is to buy from Hong Kong, but when you add shipping into the equation is usually not a huge amount cheaper.

[Blackened]

I buy all my camera gear from cameras direct on the gold coast. I cant find a cheaper AU distributer. You have to purchase on the internet, but you can pick up from the gold coast.

The next cheapest option is to buy from Hong Kong, but when you add shipping into the equation is usually not a huge amount cheaper.

G'day

How did you find their service? Warranty?

Dave

[oldboot]

when the Mrs shopped for her olympus she found that photo continental was hard to beat and they had what she wanted in stock.

cheers

[Steve B]

G'day

I've also been watching the e bay. Some good deals there. I'm happy to pay an extra $40 ( what my cheapest price @ jb hi fi is now), $423 for the warranty/service fact alone.

Harvey Norman during their last camera sale about a month ago had the FT1 for $383. The mond boggles!

I'm waiting for the next big sale at harvey's to see what they can do as in reality I don't need this 'till my trip come new years

Dave

Dave,

Thats pretty good prices hey....I went to Harvey norman in Bundy today, $490.00

they seem to have sales every other week...might hold off too. The JB price seem pretty sweet too...at least its local for warranty...well worth the extra.

Cheers Steve

[Blackened]

G'day

ALWAYS ask JB for their best price for cash on the spot.... they'll pull the little PDA out and have a look.....

Dave

[Horse]

This is a really useful site
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q209waterproofgroup/

It gives all the pros and cons. I think the Cannon might just edge out the Panasonic for my needs

[oldboot]

When I said the photos are crap from the olympus, that because I use a Canon DSLR camera. for the best part. However I have an old sony 3MP camera here that must be pushing 10 years old and it still takes better photo's than the olympus. All take better photos than the old $50 35mm or instamatic film cameras though.

comparing a DSLR......to a compact realy isn't at all fair.

also which olympus......if you want the performance, options and ruggedness you do have to move up the range from the base model.

the mrs has the 8000

The Mrs has done a couple of trips with the olimpus now and even taken a decent fall (head first into a rocky creek ) with it arround her kneck.

For a stuff in the console, waterproof tough camera......the olimpus 8000 realy takes some beating..........believe me I heard nothing but for over a month while she was shopping

the reason the zoom is a bit small is that the lens mech is completly contained within the camera......it does not protrude at any time.

cheers