SeaLife SharkDiver SL 300 Underwater Reloadable Camera

by SeaLife

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5 x 4 x 3 inches ; 7.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000W45A4
• Item model number: SL300
• Batteries: 2 AA batteries required.
• Average Customer Review: 2.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,006 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: November 5, 2003

Product Description

The Sealife Sharkdiver SL 300 is a reloadable underwater 35mm camera featuring a ruggedized housing depth tested to 80 feet. This camera can be loaded with 800 ISO or 400 ISO film for great underwater photo taking. The camera features automatic film advance with Automatic & Manual Flash Activation. Case grip is rubber armored for secure use while snorkeling or diving. Tough LEXAN housing with "O" ring seal keeps out water. The hinge features extra strength for loading and unloading film.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good, great value for money !, October 31, 2004

By 

Mark S. (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SeaLife SharkDiver SL 300 Underwater Reloadable Camera (Electronics)

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.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Flooded on first use, June 7, 2004

By 

"mpodowitz" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SeaLife SharkDiver SL 300 Underwater Reloadable Camera (Electronics)

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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Junk. Returned it. Read all the reviews and make your decision., June 18, 2006

By 

Dave Millman "davemill" (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: SeaLife SharkDiver SL 300 Underwater Reloadable Camera (Electronics)

When a product gets a couple of good reviews and a LOT of bad ones, you have to suspect something is wrong. Listen to your suspicions in this case. Those two good reviews here on Amazon may be true, but then why so many bad reviews? And one reviewer wrote that he put silicon grease on the gasket...nothing in the instructions about that. So one of the positive reviews actually modified the product to make it work!

This is not a quality product. It leaked on the second roll of film, despite extreme care in seating the gasket. I have purchased single-use underwater cameras which give much better results, and I recommended those over this junk.