Inexpensive Underwater Camera with Excellent Results

To my surprise at Christmas, I received an underwater camera. I would never have guessed I would get a gift like that. I had asked for a nice electronically controlled underwater housing for my video camera, but that did not come, which was not a surprise given the price. My wife talked to the folks at Sea Sports Scuba here in Houston. They talked her out of the more expensive MX10 setup and convinced her to save some money and go with the MX5 which they claimed would provide at least as good pictures.

Needless to say, when I opened the package I was excited to get a surprise gift. I read all of the material and set out to find a good warm water destination filled with beautiful fish for the first photo trip. Having not operated an underwater camera for almost 15 years I was a bit unsure about what kind of results I should expect. Given that I was going to Kona, Hawaii to get the first few shots out of this camera, I wanted near perfection even though I was just beginning my underwater photography hobby. To begin, I loaded in a roll of 36 shots on Kodak film at an ASA speed of 400. That was the recommended speed according to the camera owners manual. Kodak film was my choice. I did not compare the results to any other film as of yet.

After my two dives on dive day one, I went to have the film processed. I was still a bit worn out from the dives and the jet lag, but I wanted those pictures. So off to a one hour photo shop I went. I know the results may not have been as good as they could be, but speed was important here. A little over an hour later, we had our pictures and off to dinner we headed. At dinner, I was able to examine the pictures closely. Wow, what results. With only a few pointers from the owners manual, I had successfully produced 80 photos. Of course, as a beginner in the underwater photo realm, I was exceptionally happy to end up with almost 20 shots that I was really pleased to have taken. The rest were good, just not as good as I wanted. Only a few were messed up by air bubbles on the camera lens. (A lesson for my future pictures.)

The camera with the aforementioned film produces, in my hands some really sharp pictures. As long as the subject was within a reasonable range, which is determined in part on the film speed, I got a sharp image with great color. The camera has a built in flash that is timed correctly with the shutter speed. As such, the lighting on most subjects will be perfect. Of course dive lights can add even more light as we learned through trial and error.

The camera itself is very easy to operate. In fact it is probably easier to operate than just about any dive computer. The camera comes in a variety of colors to match your dive gear. My camera enhances the blue in my dive gear, with the light yellow touches on the camera casing. The film loads easily and a digital counter on the top of the camera keep you in touch with the reality of how quickly your film is being used. The light near the eye piece shows when the flash is ready. (Do not forget to let the flash to recycle or you will end up with a bad picture...I am talking from experience here.)

The camera comes with a plastic lanyard that fits nicely around your wrist. It also has a canvas case that could be attached to your BC if you do not want to keep the camera on your wrist during a dive. The large sight for those who do not want to use the eye piece underwater, folds down over the lens when the camera is not in use. The on/off switch locks the sight closed when the camera is off. The camera has a single 28mm lens that can not be changed. There are as of yet no accessories for this camera.

I really enjoyed it which surprised me since I was not really a big photographer over the past several years. I enjoy my video making more, but am excited about taking more photos underwater in the near future.

If you do not want to spend too much money, buy a Sea and Sea MX5 which is only around $180 or less through some of the discount houses. I enjoy my camera and you will likely enjoy yours also. They even take great shots on the surface.