Sealife DC 800 8.0 Megapixel Underwater/Land Camera in Removable Housing with 4X Optical Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD screen (Black)

by SeaLife

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3.4 x 5.5 x 3.5 inches ; 4.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0017NB0QM
• Item model number: DC 800
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,947 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 15, 2006

Product Description

Sealife DC 800 8-megapixel Camera includes 3 new dive-specific color correction modes. 4X Optical zoom in rubber housing makes it easier than ever to take sharp, colorful underwater photos. Easy to view 2.7-Inch LCD screen. Camera can be removed from 200 Feet depth tested housing for use on land. Wide angle lens is 28mm to 112mm film equivalent. 22 land modes can automatically set camera for a variety of photos with included face detection, anti-shake, aperture/shutter priority and Spy Mode.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For the beginner diver/snorkeler, January 7, 2009

By 

G. Gibson (Bay Area, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sealife DC 800 8.0 Megapixel Underwater/Land Camera in Removable Housing with 4X Optical Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD screen (Black) (Electronics)

I recently bought this camera at a local dive shop and was able to use it on a dive and a couple snorkel trips in Hawaii.

Previously, I was using an underwater camera bag (~$30) with a Sony DSC-V1 (5MP pro-sumer) to take snorkeling photos. I was able to get some great photos in the process. Unfortunately, that solution made it difficult to operate the camera, sometimes the bag plastic would warp/defocus the shot, and was a bit risky. I would also not be willing to take it on Scuba dives. The Sealife was an upgrade to improve on some of these shortcomings.

Using the camera underwater is very easy. The camera case feels good in your hands and very sturdily built. It is simple to operate and you can cycle quickly between photo mode/movie mode/review last shot with a single button, which is nice. The focus and shutter is reasonably quick for a small digicam, but of course it will require more time take shots than a DSLR. I am relatively new to diving (<15 dives), so the small size is perfect and won't encumber you like a larger setup might. Great for amateurs.

Underwater image quality was good and even though the Sealife uses a compact digicam-sized lens, it does pretty well. Lens speed is a key issue if you're just getting into underwater photography--available light disappears quickly as you descend only a few meters. Since you won't be using a tripod down there, expect many shots to come out blurry and forget about getting good photos of frightened fish. This is not something specific to the Sealife. My Sony V1 was similar even with a larger, slightly faster lens. Stay away from the zoom as much as possible because you'll give the camera even less light to work with. Still, with a little patience and a steady hand, you'll get a few nice shots.

The 28mm equivalent wide-angle end of this lens is great for getting close to your subject and still fitting everything in the frame. This is a key part of underwater photography, as the water acts like a blue diffusion filter in front of your camera, reducing the light reaching your camera. Getting up close and personal with your subject is the best way to improve the color, contrast, and quality of your photos. At first, I found it difficult to frame shots and wanted to use the zoom to fill the frame, but I got better results by moving closer when possible. Still, being able to zoom can be useful for macro shots (less than a foot away).

Something I found a bit different about this camera is the underwater mode setting. When the camera is in the case, it is designed to be used in this "Sea" shooting mode (some of the button functions actually change function). In this mode:

- Shutter speed is a priority and the camera will not go below 1/60th of a second, instead adjusting ISO upwards
- Default color balance is adjusted to boost red sensitivity (good for deep photos)
- The "Display" button becomes your new way to cycle between camera mode-->review mode-->movie mode

The shutter speed minimum is designed to reduce blur. You'll be hard-pressed to take good wildlife photos at anything slower than 1/60th of a second. Sometimes even 1/60th can be slow, so setting the camera to ISO400 manually will force an even faster shutter (I found ISO 100-400 very usable, but 800 or 1600 were a bit noisy).

The "Sea" color balance will help to compensate for the loss of color as you go deeper. Just be aware that pictures taken at shallow depths (<5ft) or above water will look very red. Luckily, you can go into the setup menu and set it to auto white balance if you're just snorkeling.

The button changes allow you to use the video mode that would otherwise be inaccessible on top of the camera. I've found the 640x480 video to be a lot of fun, and good quality for sharing online. It even captures sound (you'll hear your own breathing when scuba diving)!

The battery life was awesome. I was able to use the camera continuously for 3 separate snorkel trips without even thinking about the battery. I didn't even need to bother bringing the wall charger on the trip (though I did).

Above water, the Sealife is an "OK" compact camera but I found image and color quality to be slightly worse than my 3MP Canon Digital Elph. The Sealife's resoultion at 8MP is higher, but does not make a big difference. I also found that the Sealife had a difficult time focusing in many low-light or indoor conditions. If you have a decent alternative available, you'll want to bring that along for your nightlife or trips around town.

In summary, I'd recommend the Sealife DC800 to beginning to intermediate divers/photographers. If you are just starting out with underwater photography, a camera bag (like a DiCAPac) can be a cheap way to test your skills and interest on a snorkel trip. When you're ready to make another investment, the Sealife is a good next step before more expensive equipment. Even more seasoned underwater photographers may like having the Sealife around after you've moved on--it's small enough that you can take it on any dive if you don't want to lug around larger equipment.


Addition--December 2009: After a few more dive/snorkel trips with this camera, I've updated my review above with some changes, but I'm sticking with my initial recommendation. If you are only snorkeling, I would pick up a DiCAPac and try it out with your current compact camera--my experience with these has been great and the quality will be similar to this Sealife. Casual scuba divers will have a lot of fun with this little camera though, the handling is far better, and it will go deep where the DiCAPac won't.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great bang for the buck, August 4, 2009

By 

H. J. Groves "Heather Jo" (Furlong, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sealife DC 800 8.0 Megapixel Underwater/Land Camera in Removable Housing with 4X Optical Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD screen (Black) (Electronics)

Got the camera for a wedding shower and love it! Didn't figure out how to toggle between video and still until about my 6th dive and never did find that in the instruction manual (skimmed it briefly). To switch, just keep hitting the DISP button repeatedly. It cycles through different modes.

I only used 2 moist muchies over 14 dives in Cozumel. Definately lose color after about 40 feet, but still had good quality. A little photoshop helped with that. I found setting it on Landscape helped the speed (recommended in the instruction manual). Still got great pics and video. Not too many blurry.

Also, very helpful to checkout the Sealife website. They have sample video/pics for each camera there. They also have documentation I found helpful. Found a number of other divers on our honeymoon who had sealife cameras. Great reviews from those who had the DC800 and DC1000. One diver had the mini and did not have good luck. Her batteries and SD card kept slipping out of place. When she would go back to the hotel to review the pics, it would be blank. Her batteries went dead quickly too. I ended up taking pics for her and emailing them.

Overall, love it. Really want to get the external flash now!!!!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good underwater camera, September 13, 2009

By 

Paula J. Miranda "PJ" (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sealife DC 800 8.0 Megapixel Underwater/Land Camera in Removable Housing with 4X Optical Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD screen (Black) (Electronics)

Both the camera and video worked great under water, but if you are looking for a regular camera for other uses this camera leaves a little bit to desire. Since I bought it with the idea of being an exclusive underwarter camera it worked really well for me.