Minolta 35mm old....

MysteryDiveBuddy · Sep 30, 2006

*slinks in reluctantly* I have an older Minolta 35mm "wet/dry". The evil bright yellow kind. I've had it for about ten years. I will go get the exact model if need be. Anyway in the instructions it says something about it only being good to 15'. While this isn't an issue because I usually only use it while snorkelling, I am curious:
a.) If I take it below 15' will it flood OR
b.) Will the pressure just prevent the mechanisms from operating and thus not take any photos?

I am asking because I do not intend to experiment and find out the hard way.

HowardE · Sep 30, 2006

It would most likely flood. The Minolta weathermatic camera was made to withstand sea spray and/or rain. Not intended for diving.

justleesa · Sep 30, 2006

moved to main forum

MysteryDiveBuddy · Sep 30, 2006

This one is meant to be underwater, not sure about "diving"
Next question:
I wonder how strict "15'" is?
There is a nice shallow dive I do that is about 15' along a jetty but there are a couple spots that it can be slightly more. My gauge is analog so it's hard to tell when I am exactly at 15' and I'd hate to take the camera along and bust it.

justleesa · Sep 30, 2006

If this compares at all - we have people dive with the one way cameras and when they dive a bit deeper than allowed they have trouble advancing the film and have had some crack....it's like the box of chocolates......

MysteryDiveBuddy · Sep 30, 2006

Thank you

I posit that this yellow monstrosity is intended for underwater use because:

a. the manual gives a speil about taking underwater photos
b. it has one of those obnoxious underwater viewfinder thingies for when you can't put your eye up because you are wearing a mask
c. it has a button that says "underwater flash"

I just want to take some fun snaps, nothing serious...

HowardE · Sep 30, 2006

MysteryDiveBuddy:
This one is meant to be underwater, not sure about "diving"
Next question:
I wonder how strict "15'" is?
There is a nice shallow dive I do that is about 15' along a jetty but there are a couple spots that it can be slightly more. My gauge is analog so it's hard to tell when I am exactly at 15' and I'd hate to take the camera along and bust it.

So it must not be the weathermatic. You could probably take it to 15-20 feet.

justleesa · Sep 30, 2006

there are ones good for surfing and such that the people buy by mistake and try too...doesn't work at greater depths....

calypsonick · Oct 2, 2006

If it is the same model that I have, it has a rubber cover over the shutter button. I tried taking it well below the 15' rating. The rubber gasket got sucked into the shutter button hole due to the pressure differential and it froze. It only started working again once I was back up to 6-7 meters depth. It did not leak and still works fine. I went shopping for another UW camera shortly thereafter.

Minolta 35mm old....

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MysteryDiveBuddy

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HowardE

Diver

justleesa

Neither here nor there

MysteryDiveBuddy

Contributor

justleesa

Neither here nor there

MysteryDiveBuddy

Contributor

HowardE

Diver

justleesa

Neither here nor there

calypsonick

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