Field test: Olympus underwater camera
We saw some questions about this camera posted on one of the travel forums, so we thought we’d weigh in with our two cents worth. We bought an Olympus Stylus 720 SW about six months ago and just recently had guts enough to see how well it works under water. (Well, duh, but at around $300, you kinda get nervous the first time.) Pentax also makes a waterproof camera, which was our first choice, but it was sold out everywhere when we were shopping.
Our impression of the Olympus? This camera is GREAT on land. It is full-featured and sexy-small. There is however no viewfinder. LCD screen framing of your shots only. Underwater, the pictures are good, as is the video. We’re disappointed the lens doesn’t have threads for filters. A yellow or orange filter really improves underwater pictures. Those are the first colors water filters out of the spectrum, and that’s why underwater pictures often look blue. For underwater stills, there are several settings to choose, and the flash WILL work with most of them. It is best to force the flash (turn it to “on”, not “auto”.) Use the flash. It goes a long way toward correcting the blue. At least up close.
The video is a fun feature, and actually not bad quality. Here is 20 seconds of video of a parrot fish at Trunk Bay. It will take a while for this to download, because it is raw, right off the camera. We didn’t compress it or stream it, so anyone interested in this camera can see the exact quality video it captures. The camera operator also won’t be getting any calls from the Cousteau team anytime soon.
February 11th, 2007 18:39
Hi, Just thought I would chime in, I’m a professional Photographer in Washington, D.C. I have all the fancy cameras for land, but for snorkeling, I have the Pentax. It is great for snorkeling with out having to worry about bulky equipment. You will get blue tones in under water photography, but it is easily corrected with most photo editing software. Just add a little red tones to correct.
February 12th, 2007 07:47
Good morning
Filters for color correction underwater? Thats one I havent seen.
Dont know about these all-in-one waterproof point n shoots, but most amateur set ups that can use filters need an adapter ring that cannot be accomodated within an underwater housing.
Easy enough to get great results on color correction with even the most basic photo software, often via just the auto correct feature, or using “warmify” edit feature of Picasa software that is a free download from Google.
Re use of forced flash, I found that sometimes it will illuminate unseen particles that may be floating within the framed shot, compromising results.
Enjoy the site guys, especially the recent use of the word “roiled” in a headline.
February 12th, 2007 15:48
Darth Vader can snorkel? Who knew?