Thinking of buying a used SeaLife ReefMaster DC310

[hammer67]

I have an old DC200. I paid $200 for it used 3 years ago & still use it. It may not be the nicest camera out there but for me a 1 or 2 button camera is all I need. A couple of good thing is since I didn't pay much for it, If It gets lost or flooded I'm not out much, plus when I hand it to other people or younger divers I don't worry, the worst thing is it gets damaged or broken:uwphotographer: & I buy another cheep camera

 

[DiveJB]

Funny DD you kind of contradicted yourself one about thinking I might be too new to handle the camera the other about getting the darn thing bc it was a steal - lol.

I kind of was thinking too that the camera might be just too much for me to deal with at this stage. I've only done maybe 18 dives, 2 of which were cenote dives. I'm consider myself pretty comfortable down there but then the idea of having this camera rig down there might possibly ruin my enjoyment of the dives and or it might be too much to take on for a new diver - don't know. I can tell you that i did loose the disposable underwater camera on my first dive b/c it was too much for me to deal with....

I'll sleep on it and decide tomorrow.
JB

 

[DandyDon]

Yeah, I know - you are too new to be following a camera, but then it is too cheap to pass up. One SL960 strobe retails at one source for $172. You get two of them that can be adapted to a better camera later. I sold my old Dc310, strobe, and soft case to my dive bud for $100 some time back, he flooded it by not cleaning the o-ring, he learned cheap, then we fit the strobe to a DC500 - which he hardly uses but some.

So get the 3mp bargain, grow into it safely, maybe shoot a few pics or clips, and when you trash or flood it, then think about using the strobes on a new camera - or ebaying them. There are no SL960s available on ebay now, but in the last 2 weeks 6 sold for $38 to $152.

 

[DiveJB]

Funny you'd think that flooding a camera would be an easy thing to avoid but from what I have learned in the last few days it seems inevitable that you will sooner or later flood your underwater camera.

 

[DandyDon]

Funny you'd think that flooding a camera would be an easy thing to avoid but from what I have learned in the last few days it seems inevitable that you will sooner or later flood your underwater camera.

Haha, the saying goes It's not a matter of if your camera will flood, but when...! I don't know. I am a klutz diver and shooter, do back rolls and even giant strides holding my camera (altho I do inflate and hold high), and am not that careful otherwise - but I have 2 or 3 hundred dives with Sealifes and have never flooded one. But see http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ba...t-find-better-camera-gear-insurance-than.html

 

[mike_s]

I don't know how much video you can get on a maximum size card for the DC310, shooting motion jpeg @ 320 x 240, but you can find out largest card possible and then see how long it'll shoot on largest size. They use SD cards. I don't know the max acceptable; manual says 256 mb, but probly 512 - but I'm not sure. You may need to phone Sealife and ask for Tech. You may not find small SD cards locally but they're available on the net.
.

I think the max memory card size on the DC310 was 256mb. however, I've used the 512mb w/o problem. I think I've used 2gb in there but with a few minimal problems (listed below).

The issue with using larger cards is images might get 'scrambled' a little, for lack of a better term. Basically a small portion of one image gets put on the side of another image. almost like when they used negatives and printed a pic with a portion from the previous negative on it. I've had that happen a few times with the DC310, but usually from using memory cards that haven't been wiped and formatted in a while and it has trouble with the 'free space' from imaged that have marked deleted. formatting the memory card took care of it.

 

[DandyDon]

Wow! I don't think mine would recognize a 2gb, but I'm not sure - been long time. A 3 mp camera can get over 400 pics on a 512 mb card.

 

[DiveJB]

In the end I passed on on buying it and that was a good choice - we came down with so many extra bags for the wedding to begin with. Also I was testing out some almost new equipment that I bought off someone on Craigs List who only used them in a pool. So, on my 1st 60FT dive today I had to clear my mask perhaps 20 times in 35mins. I'm just imagining trying to dive with a camera and a mask which keeps flooding, that would have been fun. Thankfully the Dive Master brought an extra mask so the second dive was far more enjoyable.

 

[DandyDon]

Well, it's a great buy - even if just for the strobes that you can use on a better camera later. Learning to dive safely is first and foremost tho, and if you don't already own a mask that fits you well, that goes in your roll-on when you fly, that's a hint.