Review: Sea & Sea DX 1200HD

[DevilDiver]

I picked up the Sea & Sea DX 1200H today from ST. I will shoot some test photos and post as soon as possible.

Link: SEA & SEA DX1200 HD Camera reviews and discounts, Sea & Sea

First impressions:
Camera-
Very small & light, large easy to read LCD, small buttons. Strait forward and easy to understand menu, lots of preset modes (including Sea & Sea mode for underwater). This camera would easily fit into a shirt pocket for topside use as well.

Housing-
Small but very sturdy feel, good latch, very light and fits nice in your hand . Camera fits very snug inside the housing. Has built in diffuser with attachment for a single fiber optic cable cleverly hidden on the outside under the Sea & Sea logo that can be moved into place. Buttons are arranged for easy access to the controls (might be a little small & close for operation with gloves). The housing has a ring around the lens port that can be removed to access a bayonet style mount for adding accessory lenses.

[DevilDiver]

OK, Here is the Camera and housing out of the box.....

[DevilDiver]

Here are some shots in the Macro Mode.......

No flash, natural light with overhead room light on.

Macro with no optical zoom:

@ 5cm


@ 10cm


@ 15cm


@ 20cm

[DevilDiver]

Here are some shots in the Maco Mode using the optical zoom. This is the closest focused photo I was able get using 1x, 2x and 3x.

@ 20cm using 1x optical zoom

Exposure:0.091 sec (1/11)
Aperture:f/3.846
Focal Length:13 mm
ISO Speed:110
Exposure Bias:0/100 EV



@ 35cm using 2x optical zoom

Exposure:0.111 sec (1/9)
Aperture:f/4.564
Focal Length:17.1 mm
ISO Speed:110
Exposure Bias:0/100 EV

@ 45cm using 3x optical zoom

Exposure:0.063 sec (1/16)
Aperture:f/5.265
Focal Length:21.2 mm
ISO Speed:490
Exposure Bias:0/100 EV

[SynCitizen]

I just picked up the same camera from ST as well.
My first impressions are;
Pros:
Very compact
Fast turn on times
Fast auto focus
Lots of preset modes
UW case appears very sturdy
Case buttons marked well but very small/close together
HD video = excellent
TV video = very good
8gb card compatible ( OMG lots of pics or well over an hour and a half of HD vid)
Battery recharge time is very quick

Cons:
Slow refresh for back to back pics (Possibly due to my failure to operate correctly)
Concerned about battery charge life.
Camera lens seems a little less than sturdy


Here a couple misc sample pics I took today using generic landscape and portrait modes.

[WV Diver]

Syn, your concern regarding battery life is something I had not originally thought about but it is indeed a concern. I would be interested to know how many pics, at full capacity (12megs) you get with a battery charge.

Devil, thanks for all your help regarding this particular model and all the advice along the way.

Looking forward to more experiments. I will watch this thread closely.

[DevilDiver]

Thanks for posting SynCitizen! Please post more photos and what you find with the camera when ever you can.

I will not have a chance to take any U/W pics with this camera but hopefully the topside photos will help people...........

[DevilDiver]

Here are some photos I got using different modes for comparison. Unfortunately it has been overcast all day so the lighting was not what I would have liked it to be....

Auto Mode Wide Angle

Exposure:0.01 sec (1/101)
Aperture:f/2.837
Focal Length:7.6 mm
ISO Speed:100
Exposure Bias:0/100 EV

Sea & Sea Mode Wide Angle

Exposure:0.012 sec (1/82)
Aperture:f/2.837
Focal Length:7.6 mm
ISO Speed:100
Exposure Bias:231/100 EV

Portrait Mode With Flash

Exposure:0.022 sec (1/45)
Aperture:f/2.837
Focal Length:7.6 mm
ISO Speed:100
Exposure Bias:0/100 EV

Auto Mode Macro

Exposure:0.029 sec (1/35)
Aperture:f/3.16
Focal Length:9.3 mm
ISO Speed:100
Exposure Bias:231/100 EV

Sea & Sea Mode Macro

Exposure:0.015 sec (1/66)
Aperture:f/2.837
Focal Length:7.6 mm
ISO Speed:100
Exposure Bias:0/100 EV

[DevilDiver]

Here are some landscape photos to give you an idea of the zoom capabilities......

Landscape Mode

Exposure:0.021 sec (1/48)
Aperture:f/7.149
Focal Length:7.6 mm
ISO Speed:100
Exposure Bias:0/100 EV

Landscpe Mode 2X zoom

Exposure:0.005 sec (1/188)
Aperture:f/3.846
Focal Length:13 mm
ISO Speed:100
Exposure Bias:0/100 EV


Landscape Mode 3X zoom

Exposure:0.01 sec (1/101)
Aperture:f/4.564
Focal Length:17.1 mm
ISO Speed:100
Exposure Bias:0/100 EV

[SynCitizen]

DevilD what flash are you using or planning on using or would your recommend?

and where are you getting this info from?
Exposure:0.021 sec (1/48)
Aperture:f/7.149
Focal Length:7.6 mm
ISO Speed:100
Exposure Bias:0/100 EV


U/W pic testing will commence on dec. 3rd