Underwater Cameras - Scuba Diving Camera - Waterproof Cameras for Divers, Beach, Sports, & Outdoors
Underwater photography is easier than ever with the new swimsuits from SeaLife. This new 12 megapixel camera combines a diver friendly design plus four underwater color modes, for sharp, colorful pictures underwater or on land. There's no reason not to get the shots you want.
SeaLife eliminated ladies swimwear on the back of the camera, in favor of five thumb operated "piano key" controls. The large shutter button extends forward with a fingertip-control lever that allows scrolling through menus or zooming in and out without releasing your grip from the camera. This "Central Command Lever" in conjunction with the "Piano Keys" make taking great underwater pictures and videos easier than ever before.
Expand the DC1200 with SeaLife's popular line of underwater accessories, including a wide angle lens and Digital Pro Flashes. Automatic focus from 4" to infinity. Record 2+ hours of sharp, colorful video with sound when using a 4GB SD memory card. Depth tested to 200ft. Fully rubber armored for shock protection. Full 1-year warranty covers the underwater housing and camera.
SeaLifes Sea Modes which have built in color correction and External Flash Modes for vibrant color and manual control of the cameras shutter and aperture, round out the DC1200.
12 megapixel CCD for sharp high-resolution picturesLarge 3″ LCD for easy on-camera viewing25X Zoom; 5X optical plus 5X digital zoomOptical Image Stabilization compensates for less than steady handsAuto focus to 4″ (10cm)Lithium battery 700mAh for 2 tank dive+ (2+ hours or 200+ pics)Fast shutter response time and quick start-up for fast action photographySD and SDHC memory Card compatible up to 16GB2+ hours of continuous video with sound when using 4GB SD card12 Land modes – Automatically pre-sets the camera for the type of sceneAnti-shake and aperture/shutter priorityManual White balance controlExpand with SeaLife wide angle lens and up to two Digital Pro FlashesRemovable inner camera for use on landRubber armored for durability and sure gripDepth tested to 200 ft (60m)
Why Are My Underwater Photos All Blue?
Those just starting out as aspiring underwater photographers generally run into the same basic problems. The good news is they are relatively easy to fix and once mastered will likely make an astounding improvement in your results.
A common complaint is that pictures turn out blue, not very sharp, and perhaps spotted. What that really says, especially when folks cite how great their topside snaps are, is that they haven't figured out how to deal with the water.
Think about how the 200' viz that's so fantastic underwater would seem on land – pretty dismal. That's because water is a very good filter and extraordinarily capable of sucking up color and light. Your pictures are blue because that's the last color to go. Reds disappear first and within just a few feet, followed by orange, yellow and so on across the spectrum.
The solution is to add the light back by using a strobe or flash, but again light won't travel too far through water. So you've got to get close – real close – the closer you are to what you're photographing, the less water you have to shoot through.
Starting out you should be no more than 2 or 3 feet from your subject. This will also help make images sharper and more likely to stand out against a background, especially if you get down low and shoot upwards as well.
Of course this may tax your diving skills if you've not yet become proficient at moving smoothly through the water and mastered buoyancy control. Getting close to critters that can swim or scamper away will take practice at approaching low and slow, and even waiting for them to approach you.
In fact you may want to start with shooting something incapable of moving at first, like a reef or a wreck. That will allow some mastery of the lighting and distance judging before adding the complication of fish that won't hold still.
Yes distance becomes important. You'll no doubt recall from your scuba certification course that objects appear about 25% larger and closer underwater. While the apparent size isn't relevant, since the camera will just capture what it "sees", the distance could be a problem if you think you're within effective flash range but are actually beyond it.
On the topic of using a flash, they're pretty much mandatory unless incredibly shallow, but they can cause problems too. Like those white spots where you thought the water was clear. That's called backscatter and usually happens when using an underwater cameras internal flash.
The light has reflected off particles suspended in the water directly back into the camera lens resulting in blurry circles covering the image. The solution is an external flash or strobe mounted well away from the lens. Light from the flash will still reflect off any particles, but off somewhere else, thus not spoiling the shot.
If you remember the mantra, to get close, get low, shoot up, and use a strobe, you should see dramatic improvement in your underwater shots. The rest is fine tuning and tons of experimenting and practice.
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Octopus – Master of Disguise
The camera captured this octopus in the midst of changing color. Not sure what color it was going for because shortly hereafter it gave up deciding and darted away in an inky cloud.
Location was on one of the pilings underneath the cruise ship pier in Frederiksted, St. Croix. In fact it was a great all round macro site, probably due in no small part to the fact that the cruise ships had stopped visiting. Something about the economy.
Anyway, the circumstances left this magnificent pier vacant and quiet, perfect for all sorts of critters to take up residence.
The octopi, normally nocturnal, were easy to spot even during the day. A couple were out in plain sight, and others under rocks, but the best hiding spots were inside cans or bottles. I never cease to be amazed at how these guys can squeeze into the tiniest places.
This white one here in the bottom picture pretty much ignored us, deciding we weren't worth changing color for. You can also see a tentacle of another shy one under the rock there about dead center and below the white octopus and the arrow crab at the far right.