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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic upgrade to those 35mm film disposable underwater cameras!, June 4, 2009
This review is from: Vivitar Vivicam 8400 8.1MP Digital Camera 8x Digital Zoom, 2.4" Screen, Photos/Short Movies Down to 10 Meters Underwater - Yellow (Electronics)
Just got this camera, and so far find it to be a fantastic value. I was drawn to this camera by it's price and megapixel size (of up to 8.1). This price I got it for is very competitive with similar cameras of lower 3-6 megapixel ranges (I snagged it for about ninety dollars).
But please do keep an eye on the prices because I've seen the price on this change very frequently (in a matter of minutes) and vary about $[...], since I started writing this review.
Why else did I get it? I'm going on a trip to the Bahamas in August and don't want to take 35mm underwater disposable cameras with me. Airport X-ray machines can ruin the film if it's in your carry on (since most of those cameras use ISO 800 film) and that's the only luggage I plan on bringing. So I wanted to take a digital camera since I'll be snorkeling while I'm down there, as well as have it not get ruined if it fell off a kayak or it started to rain. I'm too terrified to try one of those underwater pouches for my primary camera (a Samsung S700) due to lack of reviews on the pouch-type it would require and fear that if it got ruined I'd be out my favorite camera so I've opted for this camera and so far I am SO glad I did! Vivitar seems to have fit a lot of nice features into this point & shoot camera.
But if you're looking for a professional camera, let me stop you right now and tell you to look elsewhere as this probably won't be anywhere near your expectations. This is by no means considered a professional camera. However, if you're looking for a better option than a 35mm underwater disposable... then it CERTAINLY provides better results than a 35mm film underwater point and shoot camera. I say this with experience from using those 35mm film underwater disaster cameras but from also working in a photo lab where I've seen the vast majority of what those cameras produce at water parks and the Caribbean... and the Vivitar Vivicam 8400 camera is by far so much better.
I tested it in my friends pool yesterday and it had no leaks around the gasket/closing mechanism and the pictures were surprisingly clear! I will add some sample photos to the product gallery as soon as I get some I'm willing to share with the public at-large. Overall, I give it a 4 out of 5 and that's because I'm nitpicking.
Pro's:
- Water resistant up to 30 feet!
- Supports an external SD memory card in up to 8GBs in size! This was great for me as I already have plenty of this type of card from my other camera. And this type card is generally inexpensive compared to other size cards. Just to give you an idea of storage capacity I put a 4gb SD card in the camera and it said I could store 1596 pictures at the highest 8.1mp setting OR 1 hour 37 minutes and 15 seconds of video! Obviously, you can do a combination of each if you switch between the modes.
- Uses AA size batteries. I've been using energizer rechargeables in this and got a decent amount of life from them from STEADY non-stop use. My suggestion would be to use the photo lithium or the rechargeables as I'm sure that just like all other digital cameras on the market, that they would probably suck the life out of the cheaper basic alkalines.
- Reasonably large LCD screen on the camera at 2.4 inches.
- Can record photos AND video.
- Comes with an adjustable wrist strap so it's easy to secure to your wrist--however, should it come off your wrist the bright yellow color of this camera makes it easy to spot to retrieve unlike the blue model.
- Sinks somewhat, so you won't have to deal with too much resistance to keep it staying underwater.
- Has the screw hole on the camera's base for mounting to a tripod.
- When powering off the camera it clearly displays "Bye-Bye" on the LCD screen.
- Easy 1 touch "Mode" button to switch between capturing still photos or video.
- Lightning bolt button easily lets you change from auto-flash, flash (for all photos), or no-flash.
- Can take photos with Super Fine, Fine, or Normal settings.
- Although the camera is 8.1MP, you have the choice of shooting photos in the following resolutions (8M, 5M, 3M, 2M, 0.3M)-This can be great if you're limited on how much space is on your memory card.
- You can adjust the white balance in Still Photo mode OR in Video mode. It defaults to "AWB" (auto white balance) but if you know how you're lighting will affect your photos you can change it between Auto, Day Light, Tungsten, Fluorescent, and Cloudy.
- There are 3 Color Effect options to shoot photos in: Color, Sepia and Monochrome.
- There's the option of changing the exposure setting from (-2.0 to +2.0): -2.0, -1.5, -1.0, -0.5, Auto, +0.5, +1.0, +1.5, +2.0
- It offers a Self Timer of either 10 seconds or 20 seconds.
- Date stamp is optional.
- A "Burst Snapshot" feature allows you to set up the camera to take 3 continuous images as you move the camera.
- Video's are recorded in *.AVI format which are compatible with most Windows type movie-maker programs (ex: Windows Movie Maker, Corel VideoStudio, and many others)
- You can change the resolution of the video recording from 640x480 or 320x240. AND change how many frames per second it records (15fps or 30fps)
- You can "lock" the pictures you've taken to prevent them from being accidentally deleted.
- A Rotate option allows you to rotate photos taken at a 5M resolution or lower, on the camera.
- English not your primary language? No problem. There are 7 language options to choose from on the submenu: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese.
- You can set the light frequency from 50Hz to 60Hz.
- The beep/buzzer sound on the camera isn't annoying loud, but you can disable it if you'd like.
- Comes with a USB/TV-out cable so that you can play back your photos on the TV or even take photos or video's while hooked up to the TV! Just use the USB cable provided, plug the small end into the camera and then the yellow jack to your yellow jack on your TV, and then turn on the camera! (I've never had this feature before and I think this is awesome!)
Con's (and most of these are me nit-picking):
- There is a very apparent shutter-lag. The image you THINK you took will freeze on the screen after hitting the shutter for a couple seconds but in actuality it captures your picture about 1-2 seconds later and the actual captured image will flash on the screen for about a 1/2 second.
- It does not capture photos well at night or in dark areas.
- The locking/closing mechanism on the camera for the area where the SD card and battery compartment is feels a little cheap to me. I think a better material could have been used than plastic clamp/lock. So I would advise closing and opening it with care. You have to push a small black arrow right first to release the long plastic lever, pull that lever all the way down, and then the hinge will release to open the compartment for the batteries, SD card slot, and USB connection.
- Buttons on the camera seem a little stiff to press down on, this is probably due to the type of engineering required for this type of cameras purpose.
- The Vivitar 8400 is a little larger and heavier than my Samsung S700.
- There's no lens cap to protect it when not in use.
- No separate "delete" button function. If you want to delete a picture on the camera during playback mode you have to hit the "OK/Menu" button and navigate to the delete option.
- After taking a picture, there is very little delay and it disappears very shortly off the LCD screen so there's no time to check it. You have to use the playback mode.
- No sound on Video recordings which I think is a bummer given that the lower grade model-though priced higher (seen here: Vivitar VIVICAM-6200W 6.0 MegaPixel Underwater Camera with 4x Digital Zoom 2.0" LCD) had the sound in its video recording option.
- No regular viewfinder like on standard cameras so that you don't use up battery power with the live-view LCD screen. And the screen can be somewhat difficult to see underwater.
- When switching from auto-flash, flash (for all photos), or no-flash mode using the lightning bolt sometimes it "hangs up" and gets caught switching and the screen will go blank and a blue light beside the screen will flash.
- The Rotate option does not allows you to rotate photos taken at the highest 8M resolution, on the camera.
- The 61 page user manual is on the CD that comes with the PhoTags software. I realize this is a greener alternative but I would've liked to have had it already pre-printed.
- The Photags Express software is not compatible on Macintosh computers.
- Does not come with batteries.
***UPDATED*** 09/07/2009
I just wanted to update you all on my experience with this camera in the Bahamas... and quite frankly, I think it worked out great during all 6 days of snorkeling and swimming! And would still give it 4 stars! NO LEAKS--Even after opening it every night to access the hub in the camera so I could play the pictures and video back on the TV using the video cable that comes with the camera and re-closing it! I used Energizer Lithium AA batteries in it and did not have to change them at all the whole trip. I've added a few pictures from when I went snorkeling to the customer gallery... and one of the great reasons why I still think this was better than a 35mm underwater disposable... I took some great video as well! (I'll add a compilation of video clips I shot to through a "video review" as soon as I figure out how to). However I did want to make some tips/notes for potential buyers or current users...
TIPS & NOTES:...
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not-so-waterproof, August 24, 2009
This review is from: Vivitar Vivicam 8400 8.1MP Digital Camera 8x Digital Zoom, 2.4" Screen, Photos/Short Movies Down to 10 Meters Underwater - Yellow (Electronics)
I bought this camera right before a trip to California. I thought it was a good price for a waterproof camera. It did great on a kayaking trip and a rafting trip. Both times I dipped it in the water to see if it would do okay, and it did. The next trip, though, was snorkeling. Within about 5 minutes of being in the water, the camera was shot. Water had gotten into the battery compartment and totally fried it. Tonight I called Vivitar customer service to see about their warranty. They will send me a replacement, but no refund. So now I've traded a not-very-good camera for the same thing. I would stay away from this camera.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not worth it at all, June 5, 2009
This review is from: Vivitar Vivicam 8400 8.1MP Digital Camera 8x Digital Zoom, 2.4" Screen, Photos/Short Movies Down to 10 Meters Underwater - Yellow (Electronics)
This camera feels bulky and light, like cheap chinese electronics, the buttons are not responsive, the firmware has few options and constantly resets some things (like flash settings). It doesn't use a standard USB mini cable as the description claims. The imaging sensor is horrible - The pictures are flat and grainy, and almost as bad as my camera phone. I returned it within 24 hours.
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