Customer Reviews

INTOVA IC800 8.0 Mega Pixel Underwater Digital Camera (Black)

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

 

 

I have used this product on three dives and still have mixed feeling about it. it is definitely a steal at the amazon price and i do not regret my purchase. the camera itself is easy to use and quite good in land use. in the underwater housing however, the buttons are a little hard to push. this becomes an issue since the shutter button must be pushed half-way to get a light meter reading, and i found this quite difficult. button responsiveness may improve over time though.
another issue was determining the proper settings for underwater photography. i used a sony u/w camera before the intova and it was fairly easy to figure out what setting worked and which did not. it was a little harder with the intova but after a couple of practice shots and dives a fairy competent photographer will get the hang of it.
video however was crystal clear and easier to shoot. the 640x480 resolution really makes a difference and the auto setting for the video clip were perfect- unlike the camera setting which required a few tweaks.
so would i recommend this product? yes, if you have the patience to experiment with it a little. and of course nothing beats the value for money of intova products!
cheers



update:

i have figured out the settings for better u/w pictures and it does take gorgreous pictures as long as the subject is reached by an adequate light source (external flash or strobe)
video is also decent but is prone to flash, as the other reviewer has described, when it is focused on a subject with backround lighting. you also cannot adjust the viewing angle (telephoto-wide angle shots) during video recording.
all in all still a great buy.
i have modified my rating to 4 stars

The IC 600 and IC 700 are good. The video of the IC 800 flashes, thus ruining any video taken in outdoor light. The camera overall is ok for light duty use. The U/W housing is prone to leaks if subjected to shock or vibration. I bought this with my credit card and Amazon.com and the seller assume no responsibility for returns for a defective product. I'm currently working with the company, but I am having great difficulty getting any help in fixing my problems with this camera. READ the fine print of the sellers and Amazon.com.

I purchased an Intova IC-800 about two months ago. I heard others rave about it, but I was leery about it being any good considering the price (around $180-200. I took it underwater in Guam and Palau and it did a great job in both still picture and video modes. It isn't a professional camera by a long shot, but if you are just looking for souvenir photos and not professional ones, this will do the trick. Consider it like a snapshot camera that can go way deep under water. It has a built-in filter (unlike the IC-600), but could still use one anyway. For close-up shots, it is great. I have used it to a depth of 130+ feet and the images are great (lionfish look especially colorful). But at any distance, the blue sets in and that is when you need the filter. I purchased 8GB cards for it and have run video for a large portion of my dive and still had room to spare. It is hard to read the buttons and see the display underwater, but as long as you familiarize yourself with the layout, it'll work fine. Bottom Line: well worth it for a non-professional quality camera.

As an underwater camera I highly DO NOT recommend this camera. The time delay between pushing the shutter release and the picture actually being snapped is very long. Taking pictures of fish, sea turtles, eels, etc, they are out of the shot by the time the picture takes. I've tried several different settings. Spend the extra money and get a regular underwater camera, you'll be much happier in the long run.

I purchased this camera and have used it many times and there has never been a problem with it. I did a few shipwrecks and a few cave dives and it held up just fine. It is easy to use had decent picture quality but the screen is a little hard to see in bright water. Over all not a bad item for the price.

Initially I liked the camera. I thought it took good pictures for the money even though the shutter speed was slow. My problem occurred when the camera froze up underwater and wouldn't turn off (and wouldn't take pictures). After numerous attempts to fix the problem I emailed the company which told me to send it in which I did over a month ago and still there is no replacement.

I have just purchased my 4th Intova camera for diving use. I have gotten good quality photos, nice little videos and it is easy to use but... the waterproof plastic casing is easy to flood and Intova does not sell the camera separately - at least I have not been able to find a source. So I have 3 casings (which I could just as well throw away) in perfect condition and now again have to purchase another in order to get the camera.

I wanted to take a few SCUBA pictures without spending a whole lot of money. I've used this camera on 5 dives. I've also used it outside the water, with and without the housing. Pictures were pretty good. U/W video was very good. I need to learn better settings for getting the most U/W color. Great color on close-ups of coral when the flash was used. The camera does eat up batteries though. I charged 4 AA batteries overnight, loaded fresh ones for the first dive, then I put in fresh ones between dives. With fresh batteries, I had no problems taking pics throughout the dives.

Used it underwater. Depth, less than 50 feet. Picture quality is not good whether or not the flash was forced. A $40 disposable would probably have rendered equal results.