Underwater Cameras to Capture Your Fun Summer Memories

by Caroline Ulbrich

2010-05-11 11:05:57

Summer time activities almost always involve water - it’s the best way to beat the heat! This can make capturing photos of these fun memories difficult if not impossible with the standard digital camera. Even a little splash of water on your camera can ruin it, and water damage is NOT covered by your warranty. Salt water and sand are also a death sentence for electronics. So what do you do?

One option is to buy a disposable underwater camera. These usually only cost about $10 but they have some serious drawbacks. Number one, you usually only get 27 pictures out of each camera. Number two, there is no “instant gratification” of seeing the photo as you take it like with digital, and with all the underwater casing and the cheap lens on the camera you can’t actually look through it to see what you are photographing, so you are essentially shooting blind.

The biggest drawback is one that I can best illustrate through a personal story. Earlier this year I took a cruise to the Caribbean and my friends convinced me to take the “snorkeling with stingrays” excursion in Grand Cayman. I bought a disposable underwater camera to capture this activity and we quickly shot all the frames of us hugging and kissing the stingrays. It was an incredible experience and the whole trip I was dying with anticipation to see the photos.

I dropped the camera off at a local drugstore to be developed immediately. An hour later I arrive to pick them up only to be told that the camera was broken and they couldn’t get the film out. The truth is, they didn’t rewind the film after removing the underwater housing and just popped open the camera exposing the film to light and ruining every shot. My once in a lifetime memory of swimming with the stingrays is lost forever because the photo lab techs are so used to working with digital images now that they don’t even remember to take basic precautions to protect film.

So, let’s stick with digital cameras. Many popular camera models have underwater cases available either by the manufacturer or a third party. It is imperative that you get the one for your exact camera model to make sure it fits snugly and everything works. You should also review the manufacturers warranty - if their product leaks and your camera is broken, will they cover the repairs?

If there is no underwater case specific to your camera there are pouches made to fit various size compact cameras made by DiCAPac. These will work but can be clumsy and you may have trouble seeing through the plastic to your camera and manipulating menu buttons. It also has a snap closure that you must seal properly or else it will leak. I would do a test run in the kitchen sink with a tissue inside to make sure you are comfortable with operating it.

Finally, you can buy a camera that is made waterproof. There have been incredible advances in the technology and these cameras are compact just like a regular point and shoot and similarly priced. They are generally ultra-durable so you can drop them, hit them, freeze them and they’ll still work fine.

All the major camera manufacturers are getting in on the game. Olympus has its Stylus-Tough series (starting at $230), Canon has the waterproof Powershot D10 ($330), Sony’s TX5 Cyber-shot ($350) is as well and the Pentax Optio W80 ($250) also joins the crowd.

The common factors in these cameras are waterproof (up to 10ft), dustproof, shockproof and freezeproof and they are 10-12MP. The variables such as zoom, special effects and general handling will be your main deciding factors and you should see which ones specs meet your needs.

This summer, don’t be afraid to photograph your water adventures - they may make some of the best photos you have! Whether you buy an underwater case for your camera or one of the waterproof models (I know I’ll be getting one before my next summer vacation) keep on snapping. These are the memories of a lifetime and you don’t want to waste them.