Customer Reviews

SeaLife SharkDiver SL 300 Underwater Reloadable Camera

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I bought this camera to take to the Keys on a snorkeling trip. I made sure to load the film when I arrived in FL, I was careful with the rubber ring so as to insure a tight seel and still the camera leaked. I was never attempting a picture at a depth further than a few feet. What a crappy camera. I wasted two rolls of film and four batteries before I just gave up...save your money, I wish I had!

***7/5/06 Update*** Took it on 5 more dives to a max depth of 71' with no leaks. Again, grease the seal!

I took this camera on 4 dives recently to a max depth of 40' with not one leak. At the recommendation of the dive shop I applied silicon grease to the seal, maybe that was the difference. The instructions could be a bit clearer, and maybe re-written by somone more fluent in English. My next dives will be to 60' so I'll update at that point. The pictures came out very clear, tho a little dark at times (I shot Fuji 400 asa). Overall was very happy with the camera, it loaded without a problem (even reloaded on the boat in 8' swells). Batteries did drain pretty fast though. By the end of the second dive the flash was taking a little longer to recharge, and was using Duracel Ultras so....

I bought the shark diver camera. I tried it once and the film stuck, I reloaded the film, and this time water leaked into it and ruined the camera, film, and batteries. I would not recommend buying this!

The first time I used it, I noticed that it was starting to fog up inside the housing. I opened it and sure enough there was some water inside. The second time, using the extra rubber ring that was provided, I noticed water leaked inside again. It seemed to take a little longer this time (30 minutes) and didn't fog up. I used it snorkeling (no underwater dives), so the max depth the camera could have been at was 5 feet. Fortunately, there was not enough water to get inside the camera body and into the film compartment. I believe that if I had taken it to about 45 feet, like the previous reviewer did, that it would have also flooded.

I guess all I can say is beware.

Pros are: It is much cheaper than the next model from the same company, has a flash, automatic film advance, and a nice strap.

I have used this camera on about a dozen dives to 85 feet and several snorkle trips with satisfactory results and no leaks. Just be sure to keep the seal clean and to inspect it closely after closing to ensure you did not pinch or roll the seal. It's easy to handle and simple to operate in the water. After a couple hundred photos, I made a significant upgrade to a DC600, but the SL300 was a great package for me to be sure the large investment to upgrade would be worthwhile (and to give me confidence in the DC600 housing). My biggest complaint is that the flash button is automatically activated by pressure and the flash is always on below about 20 feet. This drains the battery as well as removes the option to not use the flash. Also, remember after shooting a roll of film, the rewind is motorized, but not automatic.

Not bad at all for the price. I had a very sophisticated camera before so this one is a bit simplistic - BUT it still takes photos. I would NOT advise using 400 speed film AND the flash - all the pictures came out a surreal blue. Stays nice and dry - LOVE the wrist strap!

I bought this as a gift for my son in law, who took it snorkeling once. It leaked and is now worthless. Do not purchase.