Opinions on Sea and Sea brand?

Doc Harry · Nov 21, 2005

Sorry, I did a forum search on "sea and sea" and "sea & sea" and "Sea and sea" by words and phrases and all I got was:

"Sorry - no matches. Please try some different terms"

even though I was staring at posts with "sea and sea" in the title. Must be a kink in the search software. I manually searched page after page in this forum and read many posts.

Anyway, I'm an experienced top-side photographer, venturing into the underwater realm for the first time. For a variety of reasons (that go beyond underwater photography) I'm interested in the specs of the Sea and Sea model DX-8000G - 0.6x wide-angle lens with the YS-25 auto strobe.

QUESTION: Given that Sea and Sea is not one of the traditional camera manufacturers (e.g., Nikon, Canon, Pentax, etc.), I'm wondering about their reputation. Worthwhile or no? Technical specs are quite good. Practically, how are Sea and Sea rigs?
.
.
.
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If you need more specific info to answer my question:

Specifically, I'm looking for a 7+ megapixel digital camera that I can use top-side in a compact point-and-shoot format with some manual controls that has a wide-angle zoom lens (28mm or better). I also need some weatherproofness or waterproofness. Finally, I want to be able to take this camera scuba diving, too. Doesn't have to be the "End All" scuba camera because I have plenty of uses for it top-side.

Most other point-and-shoots seem to have 35mm zooms which aren't wide enough for my uses top-side.

scubatoys · Nov 21, 2005

Hey Doc... Actually, Sea & Sea does not make the camera. The 8000G is actually a Ricoh camera and Sea & Sea just does the housing. Sea & Sea used to be a bit shaky in my opinion as far as their customer service, but now they are distributed by Tusa, and Tusa has excellent customer service.

Over all, we've had great success, and very few problems with that line of cameras... from the 3000, 3000G, 5000G and 8000G. They have proven to be very good and dependable units.

The wide angle lens works great... but I would kinda warn that your choice of the 25 strobe, may not cover the wide angle lens too good... Seems people have more success with the 90, or use the 25 along with another slave strobe to get wider coverage.

Doc Harry · Nov 21, 2005

Thank you sir for the advice.

Web Monkey · Nov 21, 2005

It's pretty good for the money, however if you already have a digital (or film) camera, you can buy an Ikelite housing (usually somewhere around $500) and use your existing camera.

Although I have no direct experience with leaks in the Sea & Sea, I like the Ikelite better because it has a larger internal volume, is much sturdier, and you can see everything in itmanipulate all the camera controls and know immediately if it's leaking..

Also, if it develops a leak, you can see it, and abort the dive. The larger internal volume leaves more room for water before it gets to the camera, and you could hopefully make it to the surface before the camera became damaged.

Terry

Doc Harry:
Sorry, I did a forum search on "sea and sea" and "sea & sea" and "Sea and sea" by words and phrases and all I got was:

"Sorry - no matches. Please try some different terms"

even though I was staring at posts with "sea and sea" in the title. Must be a kink in the search software. I manually searched page after page in this forum and read many posts.

Anyway, I'm an experienced top-side photographer, venturing into the underwater realm for the first time. For a variety of reasons (that go beyond underwater photography) I'm interested in the specs of the Sea and Sea model DX-8000G - 0.6x wide-angle lens with the YS-25 auto strobe.

QUESTION: Given that Sea and Sea is not one of the traditional camera manufacturers (e.g., Nikon, Canon, Pentax, etc.), I'm wondering about their reputation. Worthwhile or no? Technical specs are quite good. Practically, how are Sea and Sea rigs?
.
.
.
.

If you need more specific info to answer my question:

Specifically, I'm looking for a 7+ megapixel digital camera that I can use top-side in a compact point-and-shoot format with some manual controls that has a wide-angle zoom lens (28mm or better). I also need some weatherproofness or waterproofness. Finally, I want to be able to take this camera scuba diving, too. Doesn't have to be the "End All" scuba camera because I have plenty of uses for it top-side.

Most other point-and-shoots seem to have 35mm zooms which aren't wide enough for my uses top-side.

LavaSurfer · Nov 21, 2005

Web Monkey:
It's pretty good for the money, however if you already have a digital (or film) camera, you can buy an Ikelite housing (usually somewhere around $500) and use your existing camera.

Although I have no direct experience with leaks in the Sea & Sea, I like the Ikelite better because it has a larger internal volume, is much sturdier, and you can see everything in itmanipulate all the camera controls and know immediately if it's leaking..

Also, if it develops a leak, you can see it, and abort the dive. The larger internal volume leaves more room for water before it gets to the camera, and you could hopefully make it to the surface before the camera became damaged.

Terry

I have found that the Ikelite housings cost more than some of the kits available out there. I have an OLY e-300 I would love to take diving but the case costs more than the camera. I am currently looking at the DC-500.

http://www.scubatoys.com/store/detail.asp?product_id=DC500Digital

I also have an old Oly C-720 but the case costs 3 x more than the camera is worth on ebay.

Opinions on Sea and Sea brand?

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Doc Harry

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Doc Harry

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Web Monkey

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LavaSurfer

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