Please recommend an underwater film P&S

[Noll]

Hi all, I'll be going on vacation in Hawaii in just under a month, and it occurred to me that underwater film P&S cameras are practically free these days. so I may as well get one ..or two.

No scuba here, just snorkeling - maybe to 15 ft/ 5 m or so.

So far top of my list is the Canon WP-1. Sounds like it has a great 6 element lens and big VF. Rumors seem to abound that it is not truly waterproof, but this seems like marketing covering their rear as earlier/ nearly identical models are designated to 15 ft.

I am open to other models, however the Nikonos do not interest me. If you had any experience good or bad with a waterproof P&S, I'd like to hear it! Thanks

 

[Timmyjoe]

I've got one of the Panasonic Lumix TS underwater cameras and it's "okay" but the image quality is not very good, especially pics taken out of the water. It's cool that it takes pics underwater, but they're not very sharp.

If I was doing it over again I would look at the Nikon 1 AW1 line. It's more expensive, but if the picture quality is anything like the rest of the Nikon 1 line, it would be head and shoulders above the basic underwater point & shoots.

Best,
-Tim

 

[valdas]

Nikon L35AW, the only one i have ever used, cannot say anything bad about it. Well, manual says it should be used up to 3m, so 5 could be too deep...

 

[B-9]

I second Valdas, I use the Nikon for canoeing, considering you can get one for 5$-free, you can't go wrong. I broke mine last summer, while pulling a canoe up a rock face it slipoed out of the canoe and fell 100ft into a watery grave (considering I watched it blow into pieces before spreading over the river)

Would also love to hear what others could reccomend!
Sub-10$ would be a great requirement.

 

[Noll]

I've got one of the Panasonic Lumix TS underwater cameras and it's "okay" but the image quality is not very good, especially pics taken out of the water. It's cool that it takes pics underwater, but they're not very sharp.

If I was doing it over again I would look at the Nikon 1 AW1 line. It's more expensive, but if the picture quality is anything like the rest of the Nikon 1 line, it would be head and shoulders above the basic underwater point & shoots.

Best,
-Tim

Thanks for the suggestions, that Nikon looks awesome but new digital is way out of my price range. Considering I won't use it underwater more than once every couple years, I'd rather just spring for some quality film and processing - hence the cheaper film option.

 

[Noll]

I second Valdas, I use the Nikon for canoeing, considering you can get one for 5$-free, you can't go wrong. I broke mine last summer, while pulling a canoe up a rock face it slipoed out of the canoe and fell 100ft into a watery grave (considering I watched it blow into pieces before spreading over the river)

Would also love to hear what others could reccomend!
Sub-10$ would be a great requirement.

Sounds like a heck of a portage! Will definitely take a close look at the Nikon thank you both.

 

[sevo]

Don't pay too much - some sellers list them for ridiculous buy-it-now prices, but they don't sell for anywhere as much, as they aren't really fit for their original purpose any more.

"Need it every few years" and waterproof don't go that well together. Except for the Nikonos, most waterproof cameras don't live long enough for that. Waterproof cameras need a lot of service to remain waterproof, including a fresh seal kit at least every two or three years (all makers required a annual change). Factory support for all waterproof film P&S ended long enough ago that you can't even trust unused NOS seal kits any more. So you are stuck with the few makes for which someone makes (or recently made) third-party seal kits, or cameras that make do with standard size round O-rings (which excludes P&S due to their door patterns, as far as I can make out), plus the more recent digital waterproof P&S.

As far as my search last year went, it pretty much seemed to be a choice between Nikonos, a few of the more popular Sea&Sea cameras and heavy duty deep-diving cases, if you want more than splash-proof in a film camera - anything else which I researched had a unobtainable injection moulded main seal. Even older digital waterproof compacts from the mid 2000's usually are already beyond their service life.

 

[Noll]

Sevo - Your advice makes a lot of sense - Thank you. Gasket age and integrity is something I hadn't considered.

I suppose the best I'll be able to do is to test it ahead of time and if it leaks no big loss.

The lakes are just freezing over here so perhaps I'll have to tie a line to the camera, drill a hole in the ice, and sink it for a few minutes find out!

 

[GaryLH]

Minolta weathermatic dual. I have had both the 35 and APS version.. U should be able to get the 35mm version for under 75. I got mine 48 about 3 years ago. U can also get a nikonos iv w/ 35. I have seen them under 200 if u don't mind bargain grade.

http://120studio.com/weathermatic.htm

Gary

 

[B-9]

The sea and sea cameras are very nice! Not to bad in price either at around 80-125$ for a kit with flash and maybe a few auxiliary lenses.

I also use a Ikelite camera housing, but its huge! And awkward at best, let alone add a flash to it

The little p&S's are great for what they are, cheap, and moderately disposable.
I had been lucky with mine but, for canoeing, the camera usually just gets spray/splash with the occasional quick dip before being fished out. I totally agree with sevo, ide treat them as water resistant at best, especially if scored from a thrift shop.

 

[B-9]

Sevo - Your advice makes a lot of sense - Thank you. Gasket age and integrity is something I hadn't considered.

I suppose the best I'll be able to do is to test it ahead of time and if it leaks no big loss.

The lakes are just freezing over here so perhaps I'll have to tie a line to the camera, drill a hole in the ice, and sink it for a few minutes find out!

A freezy dip might not be the best way to test the seals, being rubber and all.
The oil in/on the rubber will freeze, and the rings themselves will get stiff, all bad when trying to keep ice cold water out.

Ide never submerge my Ikelite in a Michigan winter, I wouldn't expect a point and shoot to survive, not to mention draining your battery 😛

 

[Noll]

Heh yeah, the thought of seals contracting and stiffening up did cross my mind after I wrote that... Perhaps I'll stick to the bathtub to start.

 

[FredtheLlama]

Ah, what a coincidence!

I brought a Nikon L35AW a few weeks ago after reading great reviews online, and today I picked up the first roll from the lab.

It's a brilliant camera to use. Very simple, and built with a reassuring weight to it. What surprised me immediately was just how quiet the auto advance is. I was second guessing myself if I had actually loaded it correctly! This was after using a Ricoh FF-70 mind you, which advances like a viking thunder storm.

http://lomographydude.tumblr.com

Click the link above for my tumblr page, where the last 5 or 6 pictures are from the Nikon, loaded with XP2. Remember these are just scans straight from a high street lab.

I'll post a few more up over the next few hours too.

 

[BlackXList]

I have a Canon Sureshot a1 which is exactly the same camera as the WP1.

I can't actually comment on what it's like underwater yet, but out in the air it's a great little shooter, I've used it for a bunch of street stuff and despite it being light coloured with a big red ring round the lens, people seem to ignore it.

Or maybe they think I look a bit simple, that's always a possibility

 

[thegman]

I took a Sea & Sea MX-10 to Hawaii, worked fine, cost about 10 pounds.

I'd say the lens quality is only so-so, particularly out of the water, but then, it probably had sunscreen all over it, water etc.

Hard to beat for a tenner.

 

[RichyD]

I had a Canon Sureshot A1 some years ago and in fact saw one advertised today which I am going after. Good results and waterproof to 5m.

 

[Jodoro]

The Konica Mermaid is an underwater big mini that usually sells for less than the big mini's do because of the awesome color scheme, they just don't sell too often.

 

[KenR]

What about used Nikonos?

 

[f16sunshine]

Grab a Nikonos if you wish to use it for more than one planned outing.
Also, I used to buy Fuji Box cameras to sell to kayakers when I was chartering ecotours in the San Juan islands.
You would be surprised how much good you can squeeze out of them.

Cheers!

 

[JChrome]

I understand you want to shoot film... And I love film and shoot only* film these days. BUT! I would shoot digital underwater!

To give you an example, my brother in law is a professional photographer and photography professor. We went scuba diving in the early 2000s and he rented a Nikonos V along with a strobe. After about 5 dives and 5 rolls everything he shot came out much worse than he expected - focus was off, too much back scatter, poor positioning etc. Nothing worked and left him with such a distaste he didn't pursue it further.

I got my hands on an Olympus point and shoot for a Scuba trip in Honduras. I got instant feedback with what I was doing wrong so I could play with my settings more and correct my mistakes. I eventually got some images I really liked but I couldn't have without the digital camera and autofocus.

Trust me, getting good images underwater is tough. Go digital, go automatic exposure and auto focus. After you can get good images that way, then think about manual modes and maybe film.