reefmaster cameras?

[socaldiver]

I don't have the Reefmaster digital caera, but I have ad the 35 mm for about 4 years now and am very satisfied with the pics I have gotten.

I recently got a Canon Powershot s50 and hope to "learn" the tricks with the new camera and hopefully get some pretty good pics.

 

[alcina]

Just looked at your gallery...I like the first one of the big coral - you got some nice colours and textures!

great to hear you are happy with your rig...at the end of the day YOU are the one using it and it's nice to hear you think it is a good fit

 

[Chris Bangs]

I worked for one of the original reefmaster dealers. The reefmaster is a basically a mass market type product designed to allow the retailer to make a reasonable retail profit. Over all, underwater camera systems are not good profit makers. Regarding Sealife, they do a good job merchandising it and the company was quite good about dealing with returns.

Anyway, As stated previously in this thread, you will get much more for for money by buying the camera separately and then get a housing from another company that makes housings for that camera.

One note, before you buy a camera with the intention of taking underwater, do your homework on available housings first. Sony, Olympus,and Nikon are the most common brands that underwater housings are available for, But housings are not available for ALL models. Ikelite may be able to make a custom housing for other makes, but such a housing may be more costly.

 

[maggs_the]

ok, i just uploaded a handfull, please keep in mind they are not perfect, mostely cuz im still getting used to judging distance underwater but given my experience level i am very happy with these pics

i also have a reefmaster DC300 (wish i'd got the 310) and was able to take some decent photos in the Keys but not as clear or colorful as yours cause i didnt think i would need the flash (yes, novice UW photographer here). but, lesson learned. another lesson learned is that it's not "obvious" how to take UW photos so i'm taking a class from my local dive shop. i'm going to Hawaii in Nov and want to bring back some good photos for my dad.
but i wanted to thank you for posting. i'd done a search in scuba board for info on reef master after i bought mine and all i found were posts about what a crappy camera it was. because i dont have water available to me often, i've not had many opportunities to use my camera so the time available to return it has long passed. i was getting nervous about my investment. i really appreciate seeing your first attempts and how well they turned out. i'm excited again to take my photo class and head off to Hawaii.

 

[synthetic]

I did OK with my Reefmaster Digital. This is with the first-generation 1-megapixel version, the newer ones are probably even better. The marco lens kit and external strobe are must-haves, they make much sharper pictures than the camera by itself. It's nice being able to switch to a macro lens during a dive, then go back to wide-angle.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures I got with this camera.

Two-Spot Octopus:

Giant Kelpfish:

Horn Shark:

Blackside Hawkfish:

Many more here: http://gallery.thelaitys.com/underwater

 

[synthetic]

Why do my subjects always seem to face right? I guess I usually turn right at the start of a dive and I catch the fish that don't see me coming. I think that's an American thing: Americans go to the right when they enter a supermarket, etc. OK, digression over.

 

[Cecil]

Synthetic, those are very impressive, but does not change my opinion. Still a cheap, substandard camera at a prosumer price range. Your pictures just show that's it's not the equipment but the photographer, you would kick butt with a good camera.

Non of this is meant to detract from anyone that has a Reefmaster or buys one. Your choice.

 

[synthetic]

I just upgraded to a Canon Digital Rebel in an Aquatica housing. I posted a few of those shots on this board. It's a nicer rig, but it had better be for 6x the price.

I've noticed some of the problems I've seen on this camera -- JPEG compression on the outside border of the photo, purple fringing distortion, soft focus on the outside of the image, etc. -- on many Olympus shots I've seen. I've gotten to where I can tell Oly shots before I even look at someone's signature. Compare the weird focus in the bottom right corner of my Horn Shark photo to the bottom right corner of Gilligan's latest Surgeonfish he just posted:

http://kayakdiver.com/forum/slideshow/092204/01.htm

The image quality is crisper on his photo, due to a higher megapixel rating, but the lens quality seems to be about the same. (I think Gilligan is one of the best photographers on this board, I'm using that image as an example of Oly lenses.) Now compare that to the soft depth of field I get with the Digital Rebel:

I'm not trying to start a Oly flame war, but I think that Reefmaster are a comparable quality camera for the money. I think the new 3mp version is a great buy.

(Oh no, I've angered the Oly fans. I'm finished on this board...)

 

[Chris Bangs]

someone may know of a site that has compaired the image/optical quality of the various consumer digi cams.

In my humble opion, the sealife is a inexpensive camera and great for folks wanting some snap shots, but the last one I saw tended to be very limited in housing controls.

enjoy your SLR!

 

[synthetic]

I've noticed some of the problems I've seen on this camera

This camera = Reefmaster