Question regarding Camera

pjones · Nov 15, 2009

I have an Olympus Stylus Tough 8000 underwater camera and was told when I bought it that although it is listed for 10M of depth (33 feet) divers have taken them much further and had no problems. He was suggesting at the time that they were taking them down to 100 feet.... (I don't believe that but...) I needed an underwater camera at the time for a vacation I was going on and 33 feet was enough for what I was using it for at the time (SNUBA) but now that I am SCUBA certified I would like to use this camera at deeper depth but am obviously sceptical of taking the word of the sales man. Has anyone pushed the limits of this camera before? maybe dropped down another 10 or 20 feet beyond its rated depth?

Thanks

Jax · Nov 15, 2009

I wouldn't trust it.

Takenumbrage · Nov 15, 2009

I wouldn't either. I know a guy that took one to ~45-50 and it did ok, at least that dive.

You might get away with taking it to 100, but doubt that you'd be able to do that more than a few times. Seems like that's begging for a flood.

Garrobo · Nov 16, 2009

Same with watches. I blew a hundred on a famous st/steel 60 metre watch, took it to 125 feet and it blew. I have a couple Walmart plastic ten dollar watches whick I've had for around three years, one on my wrist and the other one wrapped around an air hose which are still functioning with the original batteries. They've both got over 100 dives on them "and keep on ticking". Cheap is always better.

Aquabear · Nov 16, 2009

Don't take a chance going deeper than it says. Had an Olympus 1030 - mine went faithfully to 30' freediving until it got torpedoed in St Thomas with the 33'! last week got a new one from the warranty now the 8000 and bought Ikelite casing for it. Going scuba in Puerto rico this week and would not trust 8000 beyond the 33'. As earlier post before I went thru lots of watches the "claimed" to go deep but never did about 5 in 2 years all under warranty. Now I have an actual dive watch with screw down crown and thats a dive animal willing to go where it says it'll go!

If you do go and I say dont at least as I know the camera has no depth gauge so if it does go and its still under warranty you can bring it in BUT I'm not condoning this kind of behavior but lets be honest I sure as hell aint the first to do it!

Also, I'm bringing my laptop to dload the pics after the day is over. I lost lots of pics the week in St Thomas not having my laptop when my camera went to the gods on Mount Olympus :rofl3:

Good luck.

Tigerman · Nov 16, 2009

Well, what I would do is pretty straight forward..
Dive it as if it was rated for 100ft and if it cant handle it, its time to upgrade anyways

I would of course empty the pictures as often as possible though.

sharkbaitDAN · Nov 16, 2009

I have seen people with it in the 40-50 foot range. No floods, but the screen starts to bow inwards below 35 feet. There was also a problem with the camera going into an error mode and needing to be turned off and on between every shot. My guess is the pressure on the battery or card or circuit board behind the screen was to blame. Problem disappeared as the camera cam up above 35 feet. I had a diver this week with an Olympus housing for the the 8000 and he was down to at least 100 feet.

lord.harshil · Nov 16, 2009

The tough 8000 is a pricey camera.

Get a housing, take it down, if it floods at 30m, clip it off to a SMB and shoot it up. Despite the flood, it wont spoil since the camera itself is waterproof.

This was one of the main reasons why I wanted it.

And yet, i went with a different camera for its pic quality.

pjones · Nov 16, 2009

Tigerman:
Well, what I would do is pretty straight forward..
Dive it as if it was rated for 100ft and if it cant handle it, its time to upgrade anyways

That was My exact delema. I have been quite impressed with the image quality of the camera though; better than any other point and shoot I've had before so I'de be a little sad to see it go. I figured if enough people have pushed it to 40 or 50 feet than I would give it a try and just replace it with a camera that has a deeper rating if or when it went...

lord.harshil:
The tough 8000 is a pricey camera.

Get a housing, take it down, if it floods at 30m, clip it off to a SMB and shoot it up. Despite the flood, it wont spoil since the camera itself is waterproof.

This was one of the main reasons why I wanted it.

And yet, i went with a different camera for its pic quality.

I like this Idea allot. I thought that a housing was going to cost the same or more than the camera but its more affordable than I thought... Olympus makes a housing specifically for the camera it looks like. Has anyone handled this housing before and know how it compares to the Ikelite equivalent? I know that Ikelite is talked highly about on this forum so i'm guessing its not a bad make. Let me see if I can find a link for the two...

Olympus:
STYLUS TOUGH-8000 Accessories

Ikelite:
Underwater Housing for Olympus Digital Cameras

YAY I found them! I'm excited to hear some opinions on the two. I've never used a housing before, Does it make a difference if its black or clear?

Thanks for the opinions so far guys this is great :cheers:

JackConnick · Nov 17, 2009

I have an article on my blog on the PT-045 housing. I think the main difference between the two brands is that the PT-045 is a 130' lighter weight housing. That said, it is very well-designed, probably the best OEM housing out on the market. The Ike is rated to 200' has probably better controls.
If you want a PT-045 you'd better order one NOW, they are discontinued and I have just a few left.

Jack

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