Using my camera underwater

J1234 · 23 Mar 2009 at 19:20

I'm going to the Maldives in July, and will obviously be wanting to take some underwater pictures. I took a disposable underwater camera to Cuba with me in January, and the pictures came out pretty poor, so I am looking for a case for my current digital camera, the Fuji F100fd.

I've seen the proper Fuji cases, but they are around £100 which is a bit pricey. Has anyone tried a cheaper alternative, such as those watertight 'bag' things?

Or am I better off getting a underwater digital camera instead of buying a case for my current one?

Paul11 · 23 Mar 2009 at 20:00

it depends how deep you want to go

a case for your existing camera would be the best all round solution..

a prebuilt underwater camera wont be better quality than your existing camera. so no point in going this route

A.N.Other · 23 Mar 2009 at 21:15

As above, it depends on the depth. Are you SCUBA diving or just snorkelling or something?

I've never had one but friends' experiences with Fuji cases have been very good. Just don't use the flash or you'll get some serious back scatter

The_blue · 24 Mar 2009 at 13:39

Buy the housing! The bag will kill the lens motor with the pressure and if its the bag with the dome them think about the buttons, unuseable or all pressed in at the same time.

The fuji housing is great and i've had mine to nearly 50 meters without even the buttons sticking.

Examples, all taken with the F31fd:-

2 from warm water

2 From cold water

2 from deep and dark (45+ meters with silly ISOs)

tem07 · 24 Mar 2009 at 15:56

I saw something pretty cool on Kip Kay TV!
If you have a look, I'm not sure about the link but it was pretty budget!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3nurNZOtq0
For a video camera.... but idea is quite good.

The_blue · 24 Mar 2009 at 16:14

erm..... how about a sandwich bag?

Simple idea but it wouldn't hold up at any depth.

At 20 meters which is easily within reach of novice SCUBA divers the ambient pressure is triple that of the surface (3 bar). Even a snorkeler can reach 10m with not much effort.

Anyway you couldn't press the shutter when its in an ammo box

Paul11 · 24 Mar 2009 at 16:32

agree with the blue. go for the case for your camera

these were taken with the F31 in fuji case..

SiHH · 24 Mar 2009 at 16:46

Looking good. Im now convinced im going to get the housing for my F31FD

J1234 · 28 Mar 2009 at 00:06

Excellent.

Case it is!

Cheers guys.

J1234 · 21 Jul 2009 at 14:19

Just a quick update.

Went for the proper Fuji housing in the end, images came out really well, better than I expected:

Going through them all and processing them at the moment, anyone got any tips?

Paul11 · 21 Jul 2009 at 14:24

nice shark pic

making me want to go diving again.....

J1234 · 21 Jul 2009 at 14:29

The sharks were very fun to swim with, they're shy so were quite difficult to get good pictures of them:

DampCat · 21 Jul 2009 at 15:34

Black Tip reef sharks. Lovely little guys eh?

Gorgeous pictures mate. the housing is an excellent investment, well worth the premium for sure.

J1234 · 21 Jul 2009 at 16:48

Indeed, sharks are awesome.

The housing is well worth it, hopefully returning to the Maldives next year so will use it again.

footman · 21 Jul 2009 at 17:49

Where in the Maldives were you? Excellent pics. I used a cheapo baggie thing last year and the results were acceptable not brilliant.
The main problem was that the image on the LCD screen was impossible to see so it was a case of point and hope.

J1234 · 22 Jul 2009 at 09:23

I was at Bandos Island Resort & Spa.

I could see the LCD very clearly with this, so could zoom, take macros etc and see what I was actually taking.