firmware upgrade and button half press

[rab1412000]

hi everyone

i bought an intova ic800 with intova iss2000 strobe.
i love the camera setup and my friends are all astounded by the pictures i take when they find out i coughed up a little more than 300 dollars only as compared to their thousand dollar setups.
the only issues i have with the camera are the following:
1. firmware - the camera has a slow recycle time and no manual shutter speed setting. not really a deal breaker but the lag between taking photos can be annoying. the manual shutter speed setting would give me more versatility. camera manufacturers upgrade their firmware once in a while and i hope intova does this for the cameras too.

2. half press - the underwater casing can make the half press difficult at times. is there a certain kind of lubricant or procedure i could do to make it easier/more responsive?

thanks in advance

 

[IntovaJoe]

Thanks for the comments regarding picture quality and value. Intova is a value brand and we strive to keep our products the most affordable on the market. As you probably know, digital cameras change regularly and we are continually upgrading our selection. Unfortunately, it is more difficult to upgrade our firmware than it is to upgrade model selection. The solution we are working on is faster processors and shutter speeds in new models. It is hard to rewrite frimware to add manual control of shutter speed. The best way to accomodate this is by mode setting. Also, resolution setting can dramatically change processing speed. What mode and re****ion are you shooting in now?

In regards to prefocus button, the depth capacity of the housing requires stiff springs behind all buttons or water pressure will depress buttons. We recognize this issue and frankly do not have a fix yet. It takes some practice to get used to.

Regards,

Joe

hi everyone

i bought an intova ic800 with intova iss2000 strobe.
i love the camera setup and my friends are all astounded by the pictures i take when they find out i coughed up a little more than 300 dollars only as compared to their thousand dollar setups.
the only issues i have with the camera are the following:
1. firmware - the camera has a slow recycle time and no manual shutter speed setting. not really a deal breaker but the lag between taking photos can be annoying. the manual shutter speed setting would give me more versatility. camera manufacturers upgrade their firmware once in a while and i hope intova does this for the cameras too.

2. half press - the underwater casing can make the half press difficult at times. is there a certain kind of lubricant or procedure i could do to make it easier/more responsive?

thanks in advance

 

[rab1412000]

hi joe

i am using the anti-shake mode and 8 megapix resolution. for some reason the sports mode which the manual suggests wont allow me to use the flash. can you confirm if this is indeed a feature of the sports mode for the intova ic-800?

 

[IntovaJoe]

OK, couple of things. After the camera captures an image it has to "write" it into memory. This is called Write speed. The higher the megapixel and resolution settings, the more memory that needs to be written causing longer lag times and using up more space on your SD Card. Underwater, you will not get the benefit of these settings so I suggest using 6MP setting in standard (not fine) mode. See if this helps increase write speed and you should not notice picture quality loss.

Sports mode is good for shallower water where you do not need strobe. As you go deeper try Program mode. Have fun!!!

hi joe

i am using the anti-shake mode and 8 megapix resolution. for some reason the sports mode which the manual suggests wont allow me to use the flash. can you confirm if this is indeed a feature of the sports mode for the intova ic-800?

 

[jester1226]

I suggest using 6MP setting in standard (not fine) mode. See if this helps increase write speed and you should not notice picture quality loss.

As for not having a picture quality loss, that is incorrect. If you want a quality image, you always shoot at the highest resolution. Doing this will give your image more information to work with when you go to work on it or have it printed. Information lost or not used can never be gotten back into an image. Also, if there is no quality loss, then what was the benefit of purchasing the 8 meg model? If working with the 6 meg was good enough, you could have purchased the IC600 and saved money. The faster speed time does not justify the potential quality loss.

 

[rab1412000]

As for not having a picture quality loss, that is incorrect. If you want a quality image, you always shoot at the highest resolution. Doing this will give your image more information to work with when you go to work on it or have it printed. Information lost or not used can never be gotten back into an image. Also, if there is no quality loss, then what was the benefit of purchasing the 8 meg model? If working with the 6 meg was good enough, you could have purchased the IC600 and saved money. The faster speed time does not justify the potential quality loss.

I partially agree with this. having more pixels does improve image quality to a certain extent, but its main benefit is the ability to crop the picture and still maintain fidelity. the main factor in image quality is the cmos sensor. with a crappy cmos sensor shooting at 14megapix all youll have is a hazy/crappy/outa focus picture with 14million pixels as opposed to a good cmos shooting at 5megapix having a sharper/cleaner image.

i would rate the intova cmos as average, but considering its price point it very good value indeed


oh and interesting website jester

 

[jester1226]

I agree, the sensor is all that matters. I gave my son my old digital (pro) 3 meg camera, it out shoots many of the pro cameras being currently released. All due to having a superior sensor.

In this case, I am ASSuming the sensors are close in quality. Either way, if you reduce the quality from a crappy sensor, you are only making the image worse. Even if planning on printing a smaller photo than the file is designed for, reducing it after the fact is better than reducing and trying to increase it afterwards (noise).

Which is why I always recommend shooting at the highest quality setting.

 

[DrJRapp]

Joe

Been looking at your cameras. Which 8mp (there appear to be several) would you recommend for rec diving with a strobe ( I have the strobe) or should I just stay with the 6mp.

 

[rab1412000]

Joe

Been looking at your cameras. Which 8mp (there appear to be several) would you recommend for rec diving with a strobe ( I have the strobe) or should I just stay with the 6mp.

i would actually check out the ic10 which is their new 10megapix camera if i were you

 

[drmark920]

Concerning the Cmos sensor in Intova. I understand the IC12 is actually made by Olympus. It is almost identical to the T100 (I have both cameras). However, the Intova has better video and upgraded firmware from the Olympus. Olympus has a manufacturing contract with Panasonic for sensors. So, you are using a quality Panasonic Cmos sensor. The IC12 has faster processing than previous models and when coupled with the IS4000 it has very fast flash refresh. At 50% power on the external flash it is almost instantaneous. The IC12 also allows burst modes for multiple pics. At $200 for the camera and UW housing it is cheap to upgrade. Having a fast (at least class 6 if not class 10) SDHC card is also important for write speed.
Dr Mark