I am at my wits end with sealife products

[DevonDiver]

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There's no need for insults and rudeness - please cut it out. All are free to communicate their opinions, provided they do it in accordance with the Scubaboard Terms of Service - keep it friendly and respectful.

[Dom Perignon]

I only have great things to say about Sealife and their customer support.

Never had a flood and I am very careful (clean & inspect O-ring and surfaces, close housing carefully, then test in water bucket before EVERY dive).

I had two batteries crap out and Sealife sent me new ones back both times.

My DC1200 had a sticky button issue at depth and they replaced the case and the camera with brand new ones.

[ivakdiver]

I agree, Dom, service is excellent and, when cared for properly, can be trouble free.

[didi440]

I am weighing in late on this thread. I have been MIA for a bit -- real life is a beast sometimes. (We lost both of my husband's parents during the first 3 months of this year and then my sister in law in May). I have a DC 600 and a DC1000. Both have well over 50 dives each with the 1000 approaching 200. I have flooded on DC1000 -- I still don't know why. SeaLife replaced the camera for me for a grand total of $50.00. I think this was 3 years ago. I have had issues with one strobe that has been sent back twice. The third time, they sent me a new strobe at their cost. Neither SeaLife nor I can figure out why the strobe wouldn't fire. And no -- it didn't flood. I have had excellent experience with SeaLife and their customer service. They have replaced batteries, given me tons of support and all with a smile.

The only complaint that I have is that I wish the cameras would shoot in RAW. However, as an entry level point and shoot camera for someone just starting in U/W photography or just want to take photos to document their dives. However, some of the pictures I see from some of the folks diving SeaLife gear are giving other companies a run for their money.

[slackercruster]

OP...I had 3 sea life dig cams. All flooded within 2 to 6 uses.

I tried Ikelite housings for a little Nikon dig PS cam. Used it 4 or 5 times and it flooded.

Only thing I ever had great luck with were the old Nikonos fim cams. Used 3 of them for years and never flooded once.

Thousands of $$ wasted with digital UW cams. I'm about ready to say fudge it with UW photos.

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SL has an outstanding record of customer service. Flooded cameras are always a risk, which we try to manage well - and insure if you'd like. State Farm's PAPolicy is great, but after a few claims - no one is going to continue coverage.

Once the trip is ruined from a flooded cam who wants to exchange it for another crapper that will ruin the next trip? I just trashed my SL cams. Didn't want any more of them after I tried 3 SL cams and all flooded within very short useage.

I'm, an old time tog as well. I know my gear. Google slackercruster on tumblr. I've owned tons of cams from minox to 4 x 5. Only Nikonos were complaint free for me. (Had the III, IV and V) But I gave up film and got rid of them long ago.

[ScubaSteve]

Are you claiming that the manufacturers are responsible for your 4+ floods? If I had your record I would have to give up on UW photography as well.....scuba is expensive enough without having to buy a new camera for every dive.

OP...I had 3 sea life dig cams. All flooded within 2 to 6 uses.

I tried Ikelite housings for a little Nikon dig PS cam. Used it 4 or 5 times and it flooded.

Only thing I ever had great luck with were the old Nikonos fim cams. Used 3 of them for years and never flooded once.

Thousands of $$ wasted with digital UW cams. I'm about ready to say fudge it with UW photos.

---------- Post Merged at 02:02 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 01:55 AM ----------



Once the trip is ruined from a flooded cam who wants to exchange it for another crapper that will ruin the next trip? I just trashed my SL cams. Didn't want any more of them after I tried 3 SL cams and all flooded within very short useage.

I'm, an old time tog as well. I know my gear. Google slackercruster on tumblr. I've owned tons of cams from minox to 4 x 5. Only Nikonos were complaint free for me. (Had the III, IV and V) But I gave up film and got rid of them long ago.

[FlyinV]

I have taken my old DC800 on about 200 dives, never do any extra cleaning of the o-ring (but I only open and close the case at home in a clean area)
Actually I ignore the camera case so much I sometimes feel guilty and think I should be obsessing on the o-ring like other divers do.

I have only had 1 problem in all these dives and that was due to operator error and sealife fixed me for $50

Just upgraded to the DC1400 and looking forward to it.

YMMV --- Just my experience so far.

[DandyDon]

My buddy & I have screwed up a few times - always our own fault, but Sealife was super nice to us. Sometimes it is a real product problem and they are nice about that too.

Random chance can hit anyone repeatedly I know, but after a few hits - you suspect a trend. Some people just don't need to be carrying cameras.

[ivakdiver]

One thing that I have found with the SeaLife cameras is that you have to be extra careful with the dry o ring. They seem to attract debris. But, with careful attention to them, I have had no leak problem.

[viking diver]

From a technical point of view on o-rings. I work in an industry where we have to have ultra high vacuum down into the 10-9 range (the moon is 6x10-8 for reference) dust can cause a huge leak, we don't grease our orings it is just a dust/hair/dirt magnet! It is standard maintenance to only wipe them down with a good grade of Iso alcohol and make sure you don't pinch them when closing the cover, also clean the o-ring grove with a sponge type cue-tip, the cotton type will leave behind strands of fiber that can cause a leak. Remember you have pressure of the dive working to get into your camera housing and since there isn't an equalization of pressures between the camera housing the outside sea well the camera interior is now at a lower pressure than the sea and is working hard to keep the outside pressure from getting in... hence a flooded camera if the sea succeeds. I have the DC1200 with over 50 dives and have never had a leak issue yet with any of the housings for camera, flash and vidio. I have changed the oring once on the camera after I noticed the oring wouldn't reform back to round (now I keep the oring in a zip lock bag until it is needed so that the oring will not stay compressed and loose its effectiveness), and then I took the housing on a "tune-up" dive to make sure there wasn't anything wrong with the seal. Just a thought for those who have had issues in the past with leaks.