Underwater or Above – Dive Cameras That Take a Beating

Posted on June 12, 2008
Filed Under Diving, Technology | Leave a Comment

Are you tired of always having to “mind” the camera whenever out and about at the beach, hiking or biking some back trails, or just romping with the kids on vacation? I want it with me to catch all those moments, but end up worrying about breaking the thing.

Well no more! A handful of manufacturers have finally come out with digital cameras that can be dropped, dunked, or banged about, yet keep on working as advertised. These things are almost better than sliced bread or ATM machines.

There are a couple I really like that are virtually indestructible and both take great pictures.

Olympus Stylus 1030SW Digital CameraFirst are the Olympus Stylus SW models. The name says it all in that “SW” stands for “shockproof” and “waterproof”. There are four versions, the 770, 790, 850, and just released, the Olympus 1030. Depending on model, image resolution ranges from 7 to 10 megapixels and they are waterproof to 10 feet or 33 feet of depth.

This depth rating makes them great for snorkeling, the beach, or any other water-sport, plus being airtight makes them impervious to sand and mud. For scuba diving, there are housings available making them watertight down to 130 feet.

Besides being waterproof, they are super small, and can be dropped from 5 to 6 feet without harm. For those who live or visit in the snow country, they are also freeze-proof down to 14 ° F or -10 ° C.

SeaLife Mini Dive CameraSecond are the SeaLife Mini and ECOshot dive cameras which are waterproof to depths of 130 feet and 75 feet respectively, without any additional housing.

They are both 6 megapixel models, rubber-armored, and shockproof even when dropped from as high as 6 feet high. The SeaLife models have actually been subjected to torture tests where they had a car run over them and worked fine, suffering only some scratches.

Both these Olympus and SeaLife waterproof cameras are made to stand up to rough treatment. The Olympus models are extremely compact and can easily slide into a shirt pocket, whereas the SeaLife models are larger due to their housing that allows them to go deeper.

If you want the ultimate sports and outdoors camera, you can’t go wrong with either make. Main differences besides size and price, are image resolution and the optical zoom featured on the Olympus Stylus.

Resources: Dive Cameras

Grand Cayman & Bob Soto’s Diving - End of an Era

Posted on December 28, 2005
Filed Under Diving, Travel | 5 Comments

The year is about over and with it, the passing of an institution in the world of diving. Anyone familiar with diving in the Caribbean, surely knows about Bob Soto’s Diving on Grand Cayman. Well it seems it is no more. Along with the other dive operators and pretty much everyone on the island, they suffered significant damage from Hurricane Ivan in late 2004. There are many businesses still trying to recover, and some are up and running, but Bob Soto’s closed their doors early in 2005… continue reading….

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