SeaLife Reefmaster DC800 8.0mp Underwater Digital Camera, 4x Optical Zoom, 5x Digital Zoom, 2.7" LCD, Operational to 200'

2009-01-20T19:00:00

Just starting to use this camera, so far only on land and in a pool. So far, I love it. It's easy to use, easy to handle, and i can work the buttons with my diving gloves. Great photos underwater in a swimming pool, now I'm just waiting for better visibility to get out in the ocean.

Swim B.

2008-12-29T19:00:00

I have a Canon 40D and I wanted to get an underwater housing for it. The price of the housing was as much as the camera itself!!! When I considered the total cost of the housing and a flash to go with it, as well as the size and weight of the proposed setup, I said forget it. I'm not filming a documentary for National Geographic, I just want some decent pictures while SCUBA diving within recreational limits. While I can get better pictures with my Canon 40D SLR, it's not worth the effort or risk to schlep it around on a dive boat. The pictures from the DC800 are really very good. The SeaLife DC800 is an 8 MP (not a 6.1 MP as noted above) digital camera that can be used above water like a regular camera. Its strength lies in its underwater housing. You slip the camera and a desiccant capsule (moisture muncher) into the armored watertight housing while you're in an A/C'ed area and keep it in there until you get back to a cool dry A/C'ed area. You can operate almost every control even with gloves on, via over-sized buttons on the case. It is supplied with a waterproof White Balance (WB) card for exact work but there are 3 setting that will give you a close approximation of correct colors for shallow ocean, deeper ocean and in rivers and lakes. The companion digital strobe(s) makes things even easier for photos within 1-8 feet. I bought a SeaLife travel charger so as to have a extra charged battery ready for use after the dive and a Sealife NiMH charger with 4 NiMH AA so as to have power for the external flash for each dive. Sealife supples a small international 220v/110v power converter with the camera and the Sealife NiMH charger so you can save your hi-wattage converter for hairdryers and the like.

SCOTT M.

2008-12-28T19:00:00

The time lag between pressing the shutter and the actual photo was longer than I expected. The photos were not as sharp as I expected. Even above ground the photos were not as sharp as my Canon G5 which I was hoping to replace for diving.

MARTIN P.