Great camera - Sealife Reefmaster
Written: Sep 05 '03
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Pros: Easy to use, good purchase price, great picture quality.
Cons: none.
The Bottom Line: Great overall dive waterproof camera
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| mike_sutton's Full Review: SeaLife Reefmaster RC SL515 35mm Film Camera |
This camera has been one of the Best items I've bought for SCUBA diving. Having pictures to show the items you see on the dive floor are a great part of your vacation.
I bought this camera from Dive Sports (http://www.divesports.com) for about $200. It's basically a small Fuji Endeavor type 35mm camera in a rubberized waterpoof housing. It uses normal 35mm film and two AA batteries for power and flash. It is auto-wind, so no underwater winding with dive gloves on. This was important since my previous Ikelight camera was very difficult to wind underwater. It also has a large easy to use lever to depress to take pictures with and a large underwater view finder that's easy to use with a dive mask on. It has a built in flash, which works OK, but no underwater flash goes very far. It even worked good on night dives.
The Camera also has a wrist strap on the housing so if you
accidently release it underwater it won't float away.
I would suggest buying the one with the rubberized housing over the clear plastic model. The rubberized housing was nice the few times I dropped the camera and it hit the tile floor. I'm afraid the clear plastic one would have broken.
You can also order this is with a Pelican brand hard travel case, which is very nice to keep it from being damaged while traveling. An external strobe will allow you to reach farther with your flash. The external strobe comes with a soft padded carrying case, which can also accomadate the camera.
Since the camera has a removeable housing, you can also use it to take pictures on land also. The camera is small enough to fit in your shorts pocket while touring on land.
I've had no trouble with the gasket or the housing flooding or any other maintenance issues. The Pelican case has plenty of room for spare batteries and film.
Other usefull info:
I found the camera works best with lower ASA speed films like 100 ASA or 200ASA, which is recomende in the instructions. The pictures I took using 400 came out a little 'grainy'
The camera is positively bouyant, so you'll need to add a pound or two of weight possibly when using it.
I have been very happy with the picture quality it produces.
Since it's waterproof, it can also be used for other applications such as boating, rafting, etc.
Overall it's a great camera
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 200
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts
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Epinions.com ID:
mike_sutton
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Reviews written: 49
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