WCIF Underwater Digital Cameras? (in Taichung Preferably)

I am going to Thailand in October and I would like to buy an underwater digital camera, but don’t have the resources to buy one online (i.e. credit card or even a friend with one) so I was hoping although I assume this is a long shot, if anyone knows where to find underwater digital cameras.

I live in Taichung and will check Nova again this weekend (although last time I went the places that I went to said the didn’t and didn’t know where I could find one)

I don’t have much time to travel to other places, but I guess if I have no choice, I have no choice. I am obsessing and need to have one!

I would LOVE to have the Sealife Ecoshot since it’s in my price range, but highly doubt I can find any places that have it here.

Thanks anyway…I will try to search more later!

Bre

Well, there IS COD. :wink: Courier delivery charges within Taiwan are ridiculously cheap, so if you have anyone there who can help you handle negotiating web pages in Chinese, perhaps you can order something from a Taibei store and have it delivered cash on delivery?

www.ik.com.tw

They’re at 48 Wenxin S. Rd. Opposite the big Giant Together bike/hiking store and the round Starbucks.

They’ll have something, or will be able to order it. Make sure you bargain - their posted prices are a little high, but they always drop them if you ask.

How do those crappy throwaway UW cameras work?

Great!! Thanks! I’ll try to go this weekend!

As for the crappy u/w cameras…I don’t use one, but I do have a no flash, film camera with housing that I got for free. I have only gone snorkeling twice and it was OK, but I am ready to move on to better ESPECIALLY for Thailand!

Here are the quality of my pics…not as good as with a digital camera and could only take 36 pics and if I got a bad shot (like someone’s arm or whatever due to the waves) then too bad…I am stuck with it…

http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y119/kaorinite/Green%20Island%20Taiwan%207-9%20May08/Green%20Island%20Snorkeling%20May%2008/

http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y119/kaorinite/Kenting%2011Jul-13jul08/Kenting%20Snorkeling%2012Jul08/

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I went down a slightly different route a couple of years ago.I bought a Canon G7 camera, and then the housing to go with it. I was very happy with it, and it is awesome for underwater video.

I noticed recently when at a busy dive shop that many people are moving away from U/W SLRs and going for the more advanced compacts with a housing.

My friend in South Africa was so impressed with my G7 setup that he bought the successor, the G9 with a housing, and recently won a fairly significant U/W photography competition with it over a whole bunch of DSLRs several times the price.

The added bonus is once you are not using it for diving, it is also an excellent above water camera.

Nice set up Truant. But the thing Breezy wants is just a small step up from a throwaway camera and costs under US$200. Yours is a proper camera and with the housing is closer to US$1,000. Not really the same thing at all.

Oh shit, sorry, I didn’t read properly. But anyway, mine was not that pricey. More like 6-700 USD.

I have seen some heavy flexible plastic setups that allow you to put in any old camera and take them down. If you have a digital camera already that might be an option.

I used one of those disposable U/W cameras a few years ago in Thailand. The pics were quite good, but you just don’t know what they will turn out like until they are developed.

you could try this Olympus… 10.1Mp, 3.6x optical zoom, waterproof to 10m, crush proof to 100kg, shock/drop proof to 2m…
pretty tough for an out the box compact digital… not sure about cost in TW though web prices seem to be around NT$12-15k…

http://asia.olympus-global.com/imsg/digital_imaging/sw_mju_series/mju1030sw/

click for underwater sample image

Wow! That’s really nice! But unfortunately, waaayyy over my budget. I really like the Sealife Ecoshot and also need to buy a strap, rechargeable batteries and charger, a case and moisture munchers and i only really have NT$10000 to spend for all of it.
sealife-cameras.com/cameras/ecoshot.html

I checked out the website of the place on Wenshin and their website didnt seem to have what I was looking for but I emailed them (in English) and I will try to go the store this weekend and talk to someone.

I hope they can order it for me!

OK, thanks! I hope to hear more!

I was going to recommend that Olympus above as well.
Waterproof-shock/crushproof-dropproof-kidproof-barproof.
It seems they’re becoming quite popular.

Well, after some research, I think I might go over my budget and buy the Olympus μ-1030sw…right now I don’t have the time or resources to travel all over Taiwan for an underwater camera or a credit card to buy online and my Chinese is still VERY basic so trying to decipher these websites gives me a big headache…Although Google translated that IK site to English which has helped a bit!

That ik.com.tw store has it, so I am going to go Saturday after work and see if I can buy it then…I really hope I can find the place although if it is around Starbucks (around Carrefour kind of right?) Then I am sure I can find it!

Plus, I read some reviews about the Sealife cameras and how the computer wouldn’t recognize the camera so the person couldnt upload pics. I don’t know if it is the person or the company, but at least I know Olympus is a major brand and sure to work on my computer. I think it will save a lot of hassle.

What do you guys think about the camera? Do you know anyone who has one?

I have a few video cameras that are water proof to 30 meters and are tiny and can be worn on your wrist (like a watch) while swimming. They can also be stuck on your helmet, bike, car window, wherever. And only cost 6000nt.

Downside, they don’t do too well in low light.

[quote=“Breezy”]

That ik.com.tw store has it, so I am going to go Saturday after work and see if I can buy it then…I really hope I can find the place although if it is around Starbucks (around Carrefour kind of right?) Then I am sure I can find it! [/quote]

I don’t know of any Carrefour there, but I’m not that familiar with Taichung. It’s close to the intersection with Wuquan Rd (I think that’s the spelling they use now on street signs there). Wuquan runs past the Art Museum - should be easy to find.

[quote]Plus, I read some reviews about the Sealife cameras and how the computer wouldn’t recognize the camera so the person couldnt upload pics. I don’t know if it is the person or the company, but at least I know Olympus is a major brand and sure to work on my computer. I think it will save a lot of hassle.

What do you guys think about the camera? Do you know anyone who has one?[/quote]

I’d guess that problem is user error - the photos are more than likely just jpgs that can be read by any computer. It’s a lot faster and easier to remove the memory card from the camera and use a USB2.0 card reader to upload photos to your computer. The USB connection in a lot of cameras is only 1.1.

You’ll need an external flash if you want any luck taking underwater photos…In fact, I’d skimp a bit on the camera to add this crucial piece of equipment. Otherwise, your underwater world will be one big backscattered mess.

A point and shoot digital with an external flash can take some startling good photos.

This was taken by a very good friend of mine on a dive trip to Layang Layang. You have external fill flash on a standard point and shoot 7.1megapixel cameral.

Pretty impressive. Get yourself a flash.

ShopUSA seems to have most of the more exotic things here, but you have to order online… shopusa.com.tw/index.php?mai … s_id=25787 It seems like they have that camera you were talking about.
Pentax also has some water proof cameras, but even their latest model is only good down to 3.9m, so not as good as the latest Olympus.

Aha, the elusive British Grayfish.

OK, so I found that store on Wenxin and bought the Olympus Mju 1030 SW like you were all talking about and I’m glad I did! I still feel a little weird because this is one of the biggest purchases I’ve made without extreme research, but I did do enough research. I tested it out this afternoon, but I still need to read the manual about how to really use the camera. I want to be able to take good pics in Thailand and use the proper settings because I’ve always just used Auto mode on my Cybershot and although the pics are nice, they could be nicer and better color due to the proper settings. So my Saturday night is going to be doing that (and signing up for frequent flyer cards for my trip back to Holland at Christmas to see family). This camera is NICE…and I think my stepdad is totally jealous-haha!!!

I love fashion and clothes like the next girl, but I guess I’d rather spend NT$15000 on good technological equipment(Cameras, computers, etc) than on shoes.

Maybe I will take it to the indoor pool tomorrow while Im swimming and test it out some more!

Thanks guys for your help!!

Glad to hear you got it. If you want any general tips on photography etc feel free to ask.

i got that waterproof olympus model 3 months ago in bangkok for 300USD. Its waterproof and shockproof. We were in vang vieng in laos and taking video while dropping off 30ft rope swings and then sinking a couple of metres. They are super quality for the $$$.