New Underwater Camera

[Weedy1]

Here’s an interesting camera I saw in Outdoor Photographer magazine today.

$279.00 estimated street price according to the mag. It can be set up to take continuous photos at a set time interval until the card is full.

 

 

From: http://www.sealife-cameras.com/cameras/ecoshot.html

 

SeaLife ECOshot Digital Camera

 

The world's first truly waterproof and shockproof digital sports camera. Compact and action-ready. Depth tested waterproof to 75 feet, rubber armored for a sure grip and shockproof tested up to 6ft/2m.

Let your creativity shine with the new SPY mode. SPY mode lets the camera do all the work - It takes continuous pictures at set time intervals. Capture those impossible pictures when you can't get close to the subject. The ECOshot also includes the popular Land & Sea modes for bright, colorful images on land or underwater.

The ECOshot is designed for the active outdoor and watersports enthusiast, from Boating, fishing, kayaking, surfing and snorkeling

http://www.sealife-cameras.com/cameras/ecoshot.html

[ladystrange]

interesting. i will have to keep my eyes open for it. too bad it is only a 6mp though. i would have hoped for at least 8 considering a lot of the cameras are over 10 now.

[Guest bigbadbrent]

6mp is what you get for 300...

[HenHackle]

6mp is what you get for 300...

And, to be fair, it's usually enough. The problem I think with the little digitals now is that few of them provide good quality photos above 200 ISO. I'm in the market now and would like something small, waterproof, shockproof, and with 28 mm lens. Under 400 dollars would be nice, too! Maybe that little package is a few years down the road...

[ladystrange]

And, to be fair, it's usually enough. The problem I think with the little digitals now is that few of them provide good quality photos above 200 ISO. I'm in the market now and would like something small, waterproof, shockproof, and with 28 mm lens. Under 400 dollars would be nice, too! Maybe that little package is a few years down the road...

 

 

problem first is, under 7.5 mp, you don't have the printing quality of a 35mm film camera. so if you get a great picture the only thing it will be good for is on your computer or a 5x7.

 

2nd, unless you are in dark conditions (like picutres of stars) you shouldnt be using an iso greater than 200 because of the noise. which you will get on any film or digital camera anyway.

 

sure it would be nice to have a waterproof camera under 400 but it isnt worth anything to me if the only thing i can do with the pictures is look at it on my computer.

[sirocco]

6MP isn't the problem with this camera. I'd be more concerned with the fact that it is a relatively unknown and untested brand. It only supports memory up to 1GB, which is ridiculous, the fixed focal length limits it's flexibility, and the macro capabilities (i.e. close-ups) are pretty bad compared to other cameras. It's also doubtful that the optical quality of the lens will match that of the more major camera manufacturers.

 

Ladystrange makes a good point about noise problems on point and shoot digital cameras, but I wouldn't shy away from them based on image size output. The limitation in the size of a print that you can make is largely based on the size of the sensor (the bigger the sensor the bigger the print you can make). Since most digi cams are small, the sensors are also small (much smaller than 35mm film and digital slr sensors) and therefore can't produce the quality that these cameras are capable of. That being said, a 6MP digital point and shoot can definitely print a solid 8x10 photo provided you buy a camera from a maker who is known for their sensor technology and processing algorithms (canon, nikon, pentax, fuji are all good bets).

 

I seem to be rambling. My point is, avoid this camera, but don't avoid good cameras because of the price tag.

[Weedy1]

Marketing is what is leading us to believe that the more mp’s the better the quality. This is not entirely true.

A point and shoot camera even at 12-15mp will not even come close to having the picture quality of a 35mm camera. It really comes down to the size and type of the sensors in the camera, not just mp. A full frame sensor is about the same size as 35mm film. Most consumer slr’s use a sensor that is 25 -100% of a full frame sensor. Point and shoot cameras use very small sensors compared to a full frame digital slr; usually about 3-7% the size. This means that the pixel size of a point and shoot camera is actually quite a bit smaller than a full frame digital slr even though their mp rating is equivalent. This is why a point and shoot will have substantially lower print quality compared to a slr with a larger sensor. Next is the quality of the pixel value but that’s an entirely new subject.

 

Digital cameras also have to convert from the analog world into digital. This process varies greatly in cameras and in turn produces differing results.

 

All of this, plus much more, equates to the quality of picture. You would be surprised how many 6mp slr pictures there are in print today.

[Weedy1]

I see you beat me to it Sirocco.