SeaLife SharkDiver SD 300 Underwater Reloadable Camera

Rating:
Summary: Flooded on first use
Review: Despite taking extreme care to ensure o-ring integrity after loading this camera the first time, it flooded on its first dive at 45 feet. I followed the manufacturer's directions exactly, ensured a clean o-ring and mounting, visually inspected the o-ring for stretch, tears, dust, hair, etc. prior to closing, all to no avail. A replacement camera from a no-name brand I purchased from a local dive shop on Bonaire for half the price as a replacement performed flawlessly through six reloads at depths of up to 100 feet. Hugely disappointing.

Rating:
Summary: Very good, great value for money !
Review: I got this for our recent holiday to Ibiza as I was planning on doing some snorkelling. With it being rated to 75ft I thought it would be well within it's limits for just snorkelling when you're only going 10 to 15ft down.

I was pleasantly surprised by the picture quality for such a cheap camera. (...)
The underwater photos, not the above surface ones, they're off a digital camera.

Before buying I'd read the reviews on the net about the casing leaking, but as it was made by Sea Life, a reputable manufacturer in underwater cameras I decided to chance it. I've had no problems with the three films I've put in it. I'd just say be careful you have the square section 'o' ring located properly before you close the case, as if you get it jammed then it could leak, and this may be what happened to the other reviewers.

Some tips I'd mention if travelling abroad is to not load your film until you are ready to use it. If you load it in a cool environment (ie in the UK) then go to a hot environment (ie Ibiza), the air trapped in the case will condense due to the heat difference, which will give you the small amount of water inside the casing mentioned in other reviews (a possibility). So I'd say it's better to close the casing in the environment it's going to be used in (ie: warm dry air if in sunny climes).

I only used it to around 15ft so it may have leak problems deeper down, but from the seal it got I wouldn't have thought so. When opening the camera back up, once you opened the clasp the casing still took some prising open due to the suction on the seal created by the water pressure, so I think it would take some pressure to make it leak. Which makes me feel the seal was not in properly in the first place.

To be honest if you were scuba diving (ie: deeper depths) you'd spend a bit more than this camera costs for an underwater camera. But for my intended use (snorkelling) it was perfect.

If I was scuba diving, so going deeper, I'd buy an underwater digital camera, for the option of no film costs, and being able to delete bad photos, so being more cost effective in the long term.

I couldn't fault it, thoroughly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Prone to leaks
Review: The first time I used it, I noticed that it was starting to fog up inside the housing. I opened it and sure enough there was some water inside. The second time, using the extra rubber ring that was provided, I noticed water leaked inside again. It seemed to take a little longer this time (30 minutes) and didn't fog up. I used it snorkeling (no underwater dives), so the max depth the camera could have been at was 5 feet. Fortunately, there was not enough water to get inside the camera body and into the film compartment. I believe that if I had taken it to about 45 feet, like the previous reviewer did, that it would have also flooded.

I guess all I can say is beware.

Pros are: It is much cheaper than the next model from the same company, has a flash, automatic film advance, and a nice strap.