Underwater Camera Decision

[agbff]

Alright,

Im gunna buy myself a waterproof camera as my last one took a livingstone swim and drowned. I am thinking its between the Olympus Stylus 1030 sw and the Pentax W60. What do you guys think? Also, any other recommendations?

andy

[SanJuanWorm]

w60

 

i have it. i love it.

[Jayhad]

Personally I would got with the Pentax, I am a Pentaxion myself and love thier cameras. IMHO they are unrivaled right now in image-stabilization, which is way more important then megapixels.

 

Plus the Olympus only uses XD card, rather then the more popular SD cards, which may be a concern if you are somewhere remote and need a replacement

[Bandi]

I am a Canon fan. However, if I were you I would go for the Pentax. They build superb cameras. As Jayhad said, IS is very important when you shoot in water (usually darker than air). Also, the greater range it has small aperture (like f2.8) the better your chance to take sharp photos of a moving object/animal.)

 

I had an Olympus, back at the beginning of digital photography... that was too slow to take photos even sometimes at daylight. However, it probably improved a lot since then.

 

Personally I would got with the Pentax, I am a Pentaxion myself and love thier cameras.

 

[SteveM]

Personally I would got with the Pentax, I am a Pentaxion myself and love thier cameras. IMHO they are unrivaled right now in image-stabilization, which is way more important then megapixels.

 

Plus the Olympus only uses XD card, rather then the more popular SD cards, which may be a concern if you are somewhere remote and need a replacement

 

I have the Olympus 850 SW; it came with an adapter, so you can use a micro-SD card.

[shredneck]

I have the olympus..........LOVE IT!

[agbff]

Im leaning towards the the Pentax as it also has a better a zoom. Shredneck that an epic photo... so who has a underwater shot from the Pentax?

[timjorourke]

I have the 1030 also and absolutely love it...my picture on the left came from it and I have many more great underwater shots that I have taken that I absolutely love...it has taken a beating in hot and cold weather from the tropics to the mountains and works fantastic.

[bigbowtrout]

I just bought the 1030 and I like it so far. Max has the other one and it has a cool burst mode but I like the 1030 for how tough it is.

 

[Bandi]

I just bought the 1030 and I like it so far. Max has the other one and it has a cool burst mode but I like the 1030 for how tough it is.

Great photo, Bigbowtrout! I am glad to hear that the Olympus is a robust one.

[Weedy1]

Pentax Optio W60 and Olympus Stylus 1030 SW Side-by-Side comparison:

 

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_po...sw&show=all

[jksnijders]

 

 

 

Pentax Optio W60 and Olympus Stylus 1030 SW Side-by-Side comparison:

 

 

That avatar is priceless... Sorry, didn't read the reviews, for those that have used them, do you just ballpark the subject in the frame and fire away? Was thinking about one also and wondering about that..

[timjorourke]

That avatar is priceless... Sorry, didn't read the reviews, for those that have used them, do you just ballpark the subject in the frame and fire away? Was thinking about one also and wondering about that..

 

As for me...yes I just ballpark the subject and fire away. I try to take several shots and hope they all turn out.

 

One thing i noticed that is pretty amazing is that when I stick my 1030 underwater in regular movie mode to shoot underwater movies the amount of surface sound that goes a foot under water is amazing (ie conversations). Makes you wonder how much those trout actually hear in a quiet pool.

[adams]

As for me...yes I just ballpark the subject and fire away. I try to take several shots and hope they all turn out.

 

One thing i noticed that is pretty amazing is that when I stick my 1030 underwater in regular movie mode to shoot underwater movies the amount of surface sound that goes a foot under water is amazing (ie conversations). Makes you wonder how much those trout actually hear in a quiet pool.

 

Aha! Never having seen an underwater camera, and not wanting to ask a stupid question, I was wondering how you guys were lining up those shots (without taking a deep breath of course). So it's a guesstimate!

[Harps]

These are all with Pentax (WR33, W10, and W30)> http://picasaweb.google.ca/pharps/Fish#

I'm all for Pentax... Excellent Macro, wide angle lense helps capture the shot with poor aiming conditions, perfect size, and great focusing.

 

 

Lining up the shot takes practice and you have to move in slowly so as not to panic the fish (a fish held upside down in the water with little pressure won't struggle). You can manually set the focus first on the pentax or just snap a pile of shots.

You can also get a picture of the fish while its resting... no hands, if you are a fish ninja... quiet gentle handling, no removal of the fish from the water and a slow release.

 

I think the best shots are unique angle, fish swimming away, head on, low from the side, etc.

 

[jksnijders]

 

Nice pics fellas.. And water is definitely an excellent propagator of sonic waves for sure. As well as pressure waves from simply stepping into, or in my case stumbling into, the stream to cross. If you can see even a small wave chances are pretty good a fish can feel it a good ways off...

[reevesr1]

I just bought the 1030 and I like it so far. Max has the other one and it has a cool burst mode but I like the 1030 for how tough it is.

BBT, Olympus has the burst mode too, at least mine does (725SW I think).

 

They are both great camera's. If I were buying again I would go to a true camera store that has both, take them both outside on a very sunny day, and see which one I can see the screen best on. Then I'd buy that one.

 

BTW, I have beaten the crap out of my Olympus.

 

Whatever, can't go wrong either way.

 

[maxwell]

do a search flyon there has bin this debate 3 or 4 times in teh apst year atleast. i love my pentax

[Brownstone]

Loved my Pentax w30, great pics.great rechargeable battery life..succumb to a very innocent drop that I honestly think it should have survived .. have dropped other cams harder,first camera I ever owned that never died of water damage. great camera, maybe I was just unlucky..the next one will be something different just because.

[Bandi]

Where do you (Calgarians) buy your camera?

Does anyone buy it from internet or prefer local shops (touch-and-feel)?

Have you ever got a camera for couple of days from a shop to try it out? What I am interested is whether it is getting a common practice to take your camera (for some money) to test it before buying it. Naturally, I see both pros and cons for the seller (and buyer).

 

Flyon, sorry for hijacking... hopefully, you will see some shops to buy or even which one let you take it for a spin.

[Hawgstoppah]

Aha! Never having seen an underwater camera, and not wanting to ask a stupid question, I was wondering how you guys were lining up those shots (without taking a deep breath of course). So it's a guesstimate!

 

hogwash! Your supposed to stick your head underwater and line it up. If we can pick the fish out of the water for a phot, we shouldn't be shy about going IN the water for one eh? LOL :)

[maxwell]

yea i jsut get in tehre too! thats how u get the best shots!

 

no dude its all jsut gustimating.. after a while u get a good feel were your lens is looking... i like teh speedburst function.. helps you take multiple pics and whatnot.. but its like anythign else.. u need too practice too get pics like these...

[Hawgstoppah]

rofl max. that first pics is the best one I've ever seen on FFC :)

 

and the second one is sick... dope... phat... whatever u kids call it

[lozzamozza]

For you Calgary folks the best photo shop around is the camera store... http://www.thecamerastore.com/

[hydropsyche]

Gang, here is an *excellent* site for side by side comparisions. It might not have the exact model you're interested in but you can chose models that are close enough.

 

Side by Side Camera comparisions