ReefMaster DC310

I purchased a ReefMaster DC310 ProSet in May '05. Unfortunately I paid close to $500 for it, I guess the price drop happened shortly thereafter...
It came with the 3.3mp digital camer, housing, external stobe, 3.0 lens and carrying case. I've purchased rechargable batteries and a flash diffuser.
I brought it to Cozumel in July and took hundreds of pictures.

I must admit I have had some problems getting the settings correct and I'm still not sure I'm doing the right things.

While in Cozumel I had the Exposure Program Mode set to Sea mode, not the Flash mode recommended for the external flash I have. Most of the photos I took came back with some of the colors (blues and greens) extremely saturated. (attached examlpe).

I talked with a SeaLife rep and she said that the colors become over saturated because of it being in Sea mode and that I should try it in Land mode underwater. I thought it was pretty strange that the rep was telling me to put my dive camera in Land mode for underwater use. Apparently the software tries to color correct in Sea mode. I was definetly starting to lose confidence in the camera that I bought at this point. I tried this and came back with the same results. My photos were saturated in green. I've seen the same thing in many other examples of photos posted here using this camera DC310. I'm not confident that it is going to get better.

I have yet to take pictures with the camera in the Flash mode per the instruction manual. So, I can't really say that I'm ready to give up on it yet but I'm getting close.

There are some flaws the camera has to start with which I didn't consider when purchasing.
* The biggest I think is the fixed focal length, with the exception of the macro lenses. The only good photos I've seen posted with this camera are done with the macro lens and distance wand.
* The battery life for the camera, even with good rechargables, I've found one set lasts just one dive. The camera battery usually runs out before my air does.
* On about 1/2 my dives in Cozumel with this camera I had problems with moisture. The camera housing lens would fog over. I did have moisture munchers in the camera housing. Just one muncher, I wouldn't think to put more in.

Any other helpful hints for this model of camera would be appreciated. I want to give it one more try before I sheepishly try and sell it....

micahjt, I also use the DC310 and I think it's good for the price. I use Energizer NiMH 2500mAh rechargeables, and they've always lasted at least two dives. Generally I charge them or switch to fresh ones between every dive though. Also, I've seen 2800mAh rechargeables, which should be even better.

When diving I use the Flash mode, but within the flash mode you can toggle between macro flash, far flash and normal flash using the bottom (LCD) button.

I would also recommend the 8x and 16x close-up set, and possibly a macro diffuser, though you can just partly cover the external flash with you hand to control the amount of exposure. Last, you might want to polish off your photos with photoshop or some other program - it can make a big difference.

Are all the photos in your gallery shot with the DC310?
If so, are you using the macro lenses in each shot?

I'm leary of investing yet another $100 for the macro set just to get some decent photos,
when another camera might be a better answer.

Have you ever seen any problems with color saturation?

Nice photos!

micahjt:

Are all the photos in your gallery shot with the DC310?
If so, are you using the macro lenses in each shot?

I'm leary of investing yet another $100 for the macro set just to get some decent photos,
when another camera might be a better answer.

Have you ever seen any problems with color saturation?

Nice photos!

Click to expand...

Probably all my photos were taken with 8x and 16x lenses. For bigger subjects I use 3x, but I'm not sure if I have any such shots up in my gallery. I also have the wide-angle lens, but I haven't made much use of it - I'm fairly new to the DC310 as well and all my photos are from last summer which is the first time I used it.

The problem with non-macro shots is that it's hard to find large subjects (other than people and scenery) such as turtles, mantas and sharks, and also there's more water between the lens and the subject, and unless the water is crystal clear, it makes it harder to get clear shots. But I'm still working on my non-macros, I'm sure the DC310 can take good ones as I gain more experience.

Sometime the colors come out great, if not then you can touch them up with photoshop or such. For me the most important thing is to get a sharp, well-composed pic with the right amount of exposure.

Leisurepro and scubatoys (after the 10% scubaboard discount) both have the close-up kit for $80, but you might be able to find a used kit on ebay for less. Since the close-up lenses are apparently not compatible with DC500, I would expect some of them to show up on ebay from people who have upgraded to DC500 from DC300/310. For me the close-up kit has been worth every penny and more, but then again I've been pretty happy with the camera altogether and haven't had any fogging problems or such.

What about the Exposure, White Balance and ISO settings? Do you leave those on auto?

Any suggestions for these settings?

Would the digital zoom be of any use for underwater shots?

micahjt:

What about the Exposure, White Balance and ISO settings? Do you leave those on auto?

Any suggestions for these settings?

Would the digital zoom be of any use for underwater shots?

Click to expand...

I set ISO to 100 (I read that's best), digital zoom to OFF (don't ever use it - it's just marketing BS that they put in the camera because it costs them nothing), I max picture size and quality, and for now I've set exposure to Auto and white balance to 0, but as I gain experience I may start to fine tune the last two, especially the last one. This is just what I do.

Just got back from Curacao and used my DC310 for the first time. Was very happy with the results. Posted some photos. New to the forum so don't know if you will be able to view what I posted.

Used the single strobe. Always had the camera in the land/sea mode usually with far flash except when I changed it by hitting the LCD button.

I'd keep trying a bit.

I bought the DC310 at the start of August. I have used it on at least four dives with the same set of lithium batteries and it is still going strong (including the external flash). No water intrusion either.

I don't have the experience to provide any feedback on color saturation though (I have been in need of adding a SIMD reader to my linux box so that I can download pictures since I no longer run Windows and there are no Linux drivers for the DC310 (but there are for card readers, and I like that solution better anyhow)).

I paid $500 with the external flash at the LDS (closeout).

One suggestion I would make is to get closer. I'm not familiar with your rig but effective light from even powerful strobes doesn't travel more than 3-4 ft. I also notice in the seahorse photo that even though it's blue, the sand looks blown out. There's no detail anywhere. And with the shadow underneath the seahorse it looks like your strobe was pointing straight down over it. What's confusing me is if the strobe was close enough to blow out the sand, why is it still so blue? Again, I'm not familiar with the WB settings on that camera. If you can't set the WB manually, I'd leave it on daylight. ISO 100. Exposure depends on what choices you have, I'd avoid auto if at all possible.

You say it has a fixed focus? That's reason enough right there to upgrade to camera that doesn't! You're totally limited to that exact distance for focusing. And as you know, things in the water look closer than they are so it's very hard to judge exact distances U/W. My original camera, S&S MX-10 had a fixed focus and I actually use to take a string marked at 34" to measure it before I finally learned where that sweet spot was. As you can imagine, fish resisted this procedure!

Seriously, my best advice would be to upgrade to a better pro-sumer camera. I love the Oly's but all the decent one's have been discontinued. Canon's A-series are very good as is Fuji's 810. I'll help you spend your money!

Mica,
We shoot with the ReefMaster DC300 (same camera – similar housing, less buttons), a Reefmaster ext strobe (no diffuser) and wide angle, 8x, and 16 x macros. We ALWAYS set the camera to “flash” mode. We use Nexcell 2100 and 2300 maH rechargeable batteries and get 50 pics per charge and 75 flashes per charge (FWIW – we have not had good luck with reefmaster batteries). We use the moisture muncher capsules that snap into the housing, one on the side and one on the top. It helps for the fogging but they don’t last that long.

Do try flash mode before giving up on this rig. Also know this – underwater photography is challenging. Take it from us – we’ve taken hundreds of “less than satisfying” pictures, just trying to get the hang of underwater photography.

Try working with still life subjects (nudibranchs, coral formations, stationary fish) and take a few pictures, moving the flash each time. And do try to get close. The reefmaster strobe (SL960) is not particularly powerful. They make a better flash (SL960D) but I would practice with what you have before throwing more money at the problem.

Hope this helps.

All attached pics were shot with above rig, resized and “lossy” saved to fit file size requirements, very little, if any post-processing.

Cheers