Tell me about Sealife cameras..

[BHB ScubaTroll]

Beautiful!!!!

Awe, shucks! I thank the subjects for being so cooperative!

 

[DiveDiva_Ashley]

You'd be much Much MUCH better getting a nikon, olympus, cannon, Fuji in a Ikelite housing. The Sealife route is not that much cheaper than a rig that will last you a long time, and also take great photos on the surface.

I have not found any other company that makes an underwater camera of comparable specs for the same cost as my Reefmaster. I was looking into a Nikon setup very recently and the camera alone was $500. The Ikelite housing for it was another $1200. I don't have that kind of money right now. I'm a starving college grad. )
Here's why I love my Reefmaster:
1) I live in Ohio and I'm primarily a quarry diver. I don't really take pictures there. The backscatter is so bad because of the silt that it's hardly worth it. Besides that, there are hardly any fish- just sunken toilets and cars to take pictures of. I bought a 3mp Sealife Reefmaster DC 300 in 2002 or 2003. For my purposes, it has been sufficient and didn't cost me an arm and a leg like the other brands would have. I do use it in the quarries occasionally to take dive club pics for our website but mostly use it on vacation. I paid something like $239 for the camera and housing. I was just starting college at the time, so I really couldn't even afford that, much less more.
2) The accessories (lenses, strobe, etc) are enterchangable with many other Sealife models. I recently purchases several accessories for my DC 300. I will use those on my next trip to Bonaire. My hope is that someday, I will be able to afford one of the higher model Sealife's and just be able to replace the camera and housing instead of the whole kit and kaboodle. I now have a macro lens set, wide angle lens, and digital strobe.
3) No, the pictures are not amazing, but for the price, it will do for a recreational diver who just wants to take pictures of some of their best memories underwater. You'll probably never be able to submit to a magazine, but again, for my purposes and on my budget, Sealife was the only real option.
4) It's point and shoot. No need messing with lots of numbers and f-stops and all that jazz. Just get it out, take a pic, and enjoy your dive.
I think that what's really best for anyone depends on what they want to use it for. If you're buying a camera to impress your friends and try to get pictures published, Sealife probably isn't for you. But if you're just a recreational diver and photographer- just wanting to preserve some of the memories you're making underwater and not break your piggy bank, Sealife is a good option for you. And like I said, it can grow with you if you want to purchase acessories in the future and then move them to other models.
Here's some pics taken with my DC 300 before I got the strobe:
<a href="Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket" target="_blank"><img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y1...rist the Abyss 1-12-06/AshScuba1-12-05109.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a><a href="Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket" target="_blank"><img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/anp05/Key Largo - Crocker Reef 2-17-06/IMAG0024_0001.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a><a href="Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket" target="_blank"><img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/anp05/Key Largo - Davis Reef 2-17-06/IMAG0065_0001.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a><a href="Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket" target="_blank"><img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/anp05/Mexican Cenotes/IMAG0206.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a><a href="Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket" target="_blank"><img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/anp05/Mexican Cenotes/IMAG0240.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

 

[irishreefer]

If you had the choice of a macro lens or an external strobe, which would you opt for? I have the DC 600 sea life camera. Tina

 

[friscuba]

I have not found any other company that makes an underwater camera of comparable specs for the same cost as my Reefmaster. I was looking into a Nikon setup very recently and the camera alone was $500. The Ikelite housing for it was another $1200. I don't have that kind of money right now. I'm a starving college grad. )
Here's why I love my Reefmaster:
1) I live in Ohio and I'm primarily a quarry diver. I don't really take pictures there. The backscatter is so bad because of the silt that it's hardly worth it. Besides that, there are hardly any fish- just sunken toilets and cars to take pictures of. I bought a 3mp Sealife Reefmaster DC 300 in 2002 or 2003. For my purposes, it has been sufficient and didn't cost me an arm and a leg like the other brands would have. I do use it in the quarries occasionally to take dive club pics for our website but mostly use it on vacation. I paid something like $239 for the camera and housing. I was just starting college at the time, so I really couldn't even afford that, much less more.
2) The accessories (lenses, strobe, etc) are enterchangable with many other Sealife models. I recently purchases several accessories for my DC 300. I will use those on my next trip to Bonaire. My hope is that someday, I will be able to afford one of the higher model Sealife's and just be able to replace the camera and housing instead of the whole kit and kaboodle. I now have a macro lens set, wide angle lens, and digital strobe.
3) No, the pictures are not amazing, but for the price, it will do for a recreational diver who just wants to take pictures of some of their best memories underwater. You'll probably never be able to submit to a magazine, but again, for my purposes and on my budget, Sealife was the only real option.
4) It's point and shoot. No need messing with lots of numbers and f-stops and all that jazz. Just get it out, take a pic, and enjoy your dive.
I think that what's really best for anyone depends on what they want to use it for. If you're buying a camera to impress your friends and try to get pictures published, Sealife probably isn't for you. But if you're just a recreational diver and photographer- just wanting to preserve some of the memories you're making underwater and not break your piggy bank, Sealife is a good option for you. And like I said, it can grow with you if you want to purchase acessories in the future and then move them to other models.
Here's some pics taken with my DC 300 before I got the strobe:
<a href="Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket" target="_blank"><img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y1...rist the Abyss 1-12-06/AshScuba1-12-05109.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a><a href="Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket" target="_blank"><img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/anp05/Key Largo - Crocker Reef 2-17-06/IMAG0024_0001.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a><a href="Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket" target="_blank"><img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/anp05/Key Largo - Davis Reef 2-17-06/IMAG0065_0001.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a><a href="Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket" target="_blank"><img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/anp05/Mexican Cenotes/IMAG0206.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a><a href="Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket" target="_blank"><img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/anp05/Mexican Cenotes/IMAG0240.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

Does Ikelite even make a housing for 1200 bucks that isn't for a DSLR? If not, you're comparing apples and oranges. Thus far most of the Sealife cameras have been point and shoots that can't compete in specs or abilities with similar Nikon, Oly, Canon, Sony, etc cameras of similar megapixels that when housed in one of the camera company produced housings would run similar price to the Sealife cams. I'm not sure how the latest model compares, but I can't picture them being able to keep up with the devolpments of the big companies who seem to improve their cameras 2-3 times a year.

Once you are invested in the Sealife system and have the accessories, it does make sense to upgrade when you can, while still being able to use the accessories, but someone starting from scratch would probably be ahead of the game going another route and with a little research they could find accessories that also can grow with the system.

 

[ghostrunner007]

I have a DC500 and I love it, I just came back from the Red Sea with about 3000 pics and the camera preformed awesome, no problems at all. I dove with a guy that has a DC600 and its so much better at getting the colors. Just check out some of the pics I have taken in my gallery.