SeaLife Reefmaster DC250

I previously used a Nikonos and bought this inexpensive SeaLife Reefmaster DC250 camera (less than $200 with case and close up lens) to try out digital photography underwater. This camera surprised me. On a 45 minute shallow dive I came back with six photos worth processing into 8 x 10 glossy prints (no discernible pixelation even though only 2.1 Mp). A much better ratio than I used to get with the Nikonons. It does well with close ups of 1 - 2 feet (buy the 3x macro lens) with the internal flash. Set the flash to fire all the time. For photos of larger subjects you will need an external flash and probably the wide angle lens. If you have an existing underwater flash with slave function (e.g. Nikonons 105, etc.) that will work fine. You won't be able to use the LCD display underwater (not bright enough) but the external cross-hair viewfinder works fine. The standard lens on this camera is a little bit wider than on the 3.3 Mp version. This is important underwater. I would take the wider lens' lower resolution CCD over the higher resolution CCD longer lens of the DC 300/310 camera, for underwater photography.

This is essentially a small 2.1 Megapixel camera in a waterproof housing. I used this camera on a dive at Cape Vidal and Sodwana Bay (South Africa) and found it really easy to use and gave crisp clear photos. What I did not like is being able to review my photos underwater because the screen wasn't bright enough. The housing is surprisingly good and was OK at the depth used (22 metres). The short battery life is a problem and one should check that the batteries are fully charged when you do your dive. I had to swim back from the reef where I was diving to change batteries and the front port misted up afterwards. It was a very humid, hot day and as soon as the camera hit the colder water the port misted up. The light metering is good so all the photos were properly exposed. The flash went off when I photographed a sleeping ray in a cave so all the finely divided material in the water blurred the image. An accesory strobe would have solved this problem. All in all a beginnners underwater camera.