Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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!!!!

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.

I bought this as a gift for my dad for Father's day in June 2010. We have been using it since and it has been everything we expected. So the camera itself is pretty good.

Recently though, my dad went on a trip and the housing leaked and water got into the camera. The leak wasn't terrible and we were able to dry everything out and it all still works. My dad called SeaLife to see what they could do and they asked him to return the camera to be checked. After he did, they contacted him saying they found nothing and are now demanding a $135 service fee to send the camera back.

I understand that someone had to spend time checking the camera, but $135, which is 37% of the original cost of the camera, seems excessive. Really excessive.

I'm sorry I bought this for my father since it looks like any service we will need is going to be beyond reasonable. With "service" fees like that, you may as well consider it a disposable camera - once you hit a snag, just throw it away and buy a different brand.

I bought the camera and flash kit together. The first time I used the camera, the housing got a tiny bit of water in it (a few drops) but it was salt water and the camera was fried. SeaLife replaced both the housing and the camera (their service department is great!). The first time I went to use it on a recent trip, the housing leaked in the rinse tank. The dive shop owner was there and I asked him to open it with me. Neither of us saw anything wrong with the O-ring. Camera recovered since it wasn't on and it was fresh water. I used both the camera and housing the rest of the week. I've had housed cameras for over 20 years and this is the only one that has leaked on me so I do know how to prep a housing for diving. A fellow diver who is also very careful with the O-ring had a similar problem with his DC-800 - random leakage with no apparent O-ring issue. It appears that the housing is very sensitive and I keep hoping that it won't leak again.
It takes good pictures underwater and I've had it down to just over 100 fsw. so I can recommend it. You just have to be very careful in sealing up the housing. One suggestion the service tech had was to squeeze the housing shut and not depend just on the latch to seat the O-ring.

Bought the camera for my daughter who is working in Cancun Mexico at the resort Xcaret, she works with sharks and other marine life. I was amazed to find out that this is the type of camera used by divers and the marine park. They were exited of the size, and quality of the camera. During my stay with my daughter we swam and trie the camera out (in the water and out of the water). It took beautiful pictures in the water and out. Video quality is great also. (We did not test the video underwater), but if you are looking for a sturdy camera, this is the one! It was a great choice.

I bought this camera prior to going to Maui.
It took some very nice photos in the shallows. Once you get to around 50 feet or deeper, the colors are totally washed out. I tried various settings, but didn't find one that was good. I did not use a strobe or extra lights.
It was easy to switch between video and photo mode. And downloading the pictures to my laptop was easy.

I bought a SeaLife and soon found out that it was not a good camera to take pictures in a lot of conditions.
If you are a diver who plans to take the Underwater Photo Adventure Course, DO NOT buy this camera, since it will not give you the possibillities to get out of the camera's settings.
Soon after the camera was off the manufactures' warranty, water got into the seals of the camera, and the camera started malfunctioning.
SeaLife could not do anything about, but to offer a $[...] rebate, if I bought another SeaLife. I got really upset because the camera could not even go for repair.
Check SeaLife's website and you see they offer rebates on any SeaLife camera on a trade-up, working OR NOT.
I spoke to the representative, and said the camera was an expensive disposable, she did not disagree with me.
I would never recommend a SeaLife.

I took this camera on my dive vacation in Mexico and it was working fine, until it started to turn off randomly and the screen locked up where I could not see what pictures I was taking. I had to turn the camera off and on several times and before I could get it to work. This camera is defective. I now have to return it to SeaLife because I have gone over my 30 day return requirements for Amazon. The picture quality is good underwater (as long as you have sufficient light) but on land the quality is kind of poor.

I am very satisfied about this underwater camera, very nice picture , easy to used.
Recently I bought an additional underwater flash, very efficently.