Advice needed on Sealife digital cameras - thanks!

[frotu33]

Hi!

I've got some extensive dive travel coming up, and I'm looking to buy an underwater camera system that is uncomplicated, yet takes decent pictures. I don't need anything super fancy - no plans to shoot photos for National Geographic - but if I going to invest the money, it would be nice to get a few clear shots without back-scatter. In other words, I'm in the market for "good enough."

Basically, I am trying to decide between the Sealife Reefmaster-mini digital and the Sealife DC600. Despite a heckuva price jump to the DC600, the two cameras seem to boast all of the same features? Can anyone tell me the big advantage of the DC600? The Sealife rep I spoke with couldn't really. His big selling point seemed to be that the rechargeable battery pack in the DC600 will last longer during a dive than the mini, which uses regular AA batteries ... which means that I would have to buy extra (extensive) battery packs for multiple dives, as there would likely be no way to recharge the single battery during a surface interval.

Does anybody have a Reefmaster Mini + problems with it running out of juice underwater? Or can anybody tell me further reasons why the DC600 is better than the Mini?

I would be using either one in conjunction with a wide-angle lens and an external strobe light (which I will ask questions about in the appropriate forum).

Thanks so much!
frotu33

[frotu33]

Or can anybody tell me further reasons why the DC600 is better than the Mini?

OK, I've learned from browsing the web that the Mini has a "fixed focus" (bad) vs. the DC600's "auto focus" (good).

[Sarah]

Fixed focus, oh, that is a deal breaker!

Backscatter is somewhat reduced by having your strobe(s) set wider apart.

[frotu33]

Fixed fous, oh, that is a deal breaker!

Backscatter is somewhat reduced by having your strobe(s) set wider apart.

What? I gotta buy TWO strobes??? This sport is killing me!!!

[allisonfinch]

Yeah!! Welcome to the bottomless pit!! LOL!

[Mountain Dog]

I bought the DC600 a month ago and I'm very happy with the results so far. I don't have any great photos to show you because I've only had a couple of quarry dives with it so far. I'm basically getting in tune with it for my September trip to Bonaire.

Anyway, I bought the "pro" setup, which has one external strobe as part of the package. I can tell you from my limited use of it that you can get some nice results with just one strobe. Will I buy the second strobe? Eventually, yes, because it helps eliminate shadows that a single strobe can cause. But before I spend the money on a second strobe, I will be getting the wide angle lens and the diffuser lens for over my single strobe.

As for the bottomless pit aspect of diving, yep, get used to that. I read a great philosophy about spending money on scuba a while back. The author said to think of 100 dollars as a single "scuba buck". That way, every time you go to the dive shop, you'll only spend a couple of "scuba bucks". Doesn't seem to hurt quite as much.

Mountain Dog