Sony Housing MPK-P1

[Autometic]

I apologise for intruding like this... and for writing this after the fact :|

I live in Malaysia and have been looking to buy this camera with the casing as well.

Sue, would appreciate if you could post some pictures of your first underwater use of the camera.

I am still wondering how the camera performs under slightly darker light-conditions without a strobe.

Thanks and regards,

Autometic

 

[Sue]

Hi Autometic

Thanks for the links – the pics are great.

In what concerns the camera, I’ve just returned from my diving vacations in Mexico where I had the chance to try the Cybershot with the housing. Despite the fact that I have a lot to learn in what concerns uw photo, its performance was ok – not leaks at all, a bit of condensation tough.
Resolution is good enough, getting better as close as you get from the subject (which is quite difficult in Yucatan'’ drift diving!!!).
I’ll assemble the best ones and will put them online shortly.
I’m already thinking about a new uw camera, but I still think the DSC-P1 is good value for money.

Sue

 

[Autometic]

Thanks Sue for the info. Hope you had a great vacation / dive-trip. I went diving just a few weeks ago in Pulau Tioman, off hte east coast of Malaysia. Unfortunately, I still do not have a camera.

Looking forward seeing your first pics.

What camera are you looking to buy now ?

Autometic.

 

[Duca]

I'm seriously considering purchasing one of these set ups soon.

Can it be used with a strobe?

Can anyone advise the lenght of video/amount of pictures you are able to save on a given size Memstick?



TIA

 

[scubakat]

Isn't that the setup that you have?

-kate

 

[WetDane]

Yes it is.

I have had this camera for a little over a month with a housing to go with it. I think to say the least the results have astionished most of the people I know who take underwater images - I have had very positive feedback.

Be advised that the DSC-P1 was discontinued and replaced with the P5 - same resolution - I believe the entire series is getting a facelift and that is all the changes. There is now a housing to fit the P5 as well.

As far as life time, I get about 90 minutes on the battery, just as the specs state.
I have a 128 Mb memory stick (since changing underwater appear to be impractical), it holds somewhere in the range of 100+ images at full resolution. So far I have only managed to get up to about 50 shots in one dive - and I think I annoyed my buddy on that one.

I have taken the camera and housing to 100 fsw without incident, however, I am reluctant to take it deeper.

I have found that getting a replacement O-ring is harder than expected, they should be available from Sony at 1 800 222 7669 (Sony Digital).

As far as strobes go, I have only had one chance to take the camera out and test it, so far I have been limited to closeup shots where is performs VERY well. On the one strobe dive, I had WAAAYYYY too much light for the camera, so that requires a bit more investigation to figure out how to work it.
The housing does have a screw in socket for mounting a strobe arm to it.

ask questions if you have them.

Big T

 

[Duca]

I've found several sources for the new moedl of the camera, but I cna't find any that also offer the houseing....

Anyone know of a source?? I'm ready to buy......

 

[WetDane]

You could try:
http://www.backscatter.com
or give them a call - I'm sure they can get about anything...

I got my housing directly from Sony - but I think you should be able to order it at the store where you are purchasing the camera, in a last case scenario, you can also go to Sony.com and order directly from there:
http://www.sonystyle.com/di/prd.jsp?model=MPK-P5

I also have a stick reader and a 128Mb stick (worth the money).

Good luck - you will have LOTS of fun...
If you have questions, just let me know.
If your images look a little funny - run the "adjust values" filter in photoshop - the standard version will do magic to your images!

Big T