Question for DC600 Owners

[Flatliner]

Hi All,

I am the proud new owner of a DC600 but I am having some trouble with it. I am not sure if these are user issues or there is something wrong with my camera. Any advice would be appreciated.

1.) Several of my pictures are really grainey. Esp. if I didn't use the flash.
2.) The auto focus only seems to work half of the time out of the case in program AE mode. (Yes I am sure it is set for auto and not macro or infinity.

Here are a couple of examples of what I am talking about. I don't want to send it in for a replacement if it is some kind of user issue but I am used to a camera (on land) that you point and shoot. Not one where you need to carefully frame, check focus, and then shoot while hoping for the best. Also the grainey thing is REALLY annoying but doesn't seem to happen every time.

[Cheddarchick]

Ok when I had my DC500 I would go thru the service people at sealife
service@sealife-cameras.com
They were great, I actually got a number from them and called a tech a couple of times...
email them your pics.....they will help

[FishFood]

Grain = not enough light. What's the shutter speed set to?

Blur can be either too slow shutter or it wasnt focused. Again, what's thr shutter speed?

I usually press the button half way, let it focus, then press all the way so itll take. Other wise sometimes it wants to get in a hurry, and not focus correctly.

[Bjorn]

Hi Robert,

Thanks for your post and emailing SeaLife Service. We have reviewed the picture samples and have the following suggestions:

Grainy image - Diving Nuts is correct that in most cases the less light there is the grainier the image will be. We were able to open your picture sample using an EXIF reader which tells us exactly what camera setting were used when you took the picture. This shows that the camera was set to SEA mode and no external flash was used. The shutter speed was 1/60 of second, F2.8 and ISO 200. The higher ISO value is the biggest factor here. The problem is if you manually reduce the ISO value, the image will be underexposed or too dark. What you need is more light and the only way to get more light is to adding an underwater flash accessory. With the SeaLife Digital flash, you can set the camera to Ext Flash mode which will produce less grainy, brighter images. In External Flash mode, the camera's exposure controls work differently - The aperture will switch between f5.6 and f2.8 depending on the ambient light, the shutter speed value will be faster (minimum 1/90 second) and the ISO value will be less than 100 (Usually around 50 and never 200).

Unfocussed picture - The camera uses an auto focus system that requires light and contrast for the camera to "see" the image so it can focus correctly. If the surrounding light is too dark, the camera may miscalculate the focus because it does not “see” it. In low light conditions, set the camera's focus to "infinity focus". This will lock the focus so everything is sharp from 2 ft to infinity. The other option is to use an underwater light (like a video light or powerful flashlight) to illuminate the subject. This way the camera can see the image and focus on it.

We have developed an online guide called Great Pictures Made Easy. This includes many more helpful tips and techniques for getting the most out of your SeaLife camera. Here is the link - http://www.sealife-cameras.com/assets/pdf/technical_support/GreatPicturesMadeEasy_OnlineGuide.pdf

I hope this helps. Please feel free to contact me or the SeaLife Service staff, if there is anyway we can be of assistance.

Bjorn

[scubaculture]

Wow great to see a reply like that from a manufacturer, great job!

[Flatliner]

Yes,

At Cheddarchicks suggestion, I sent an email to sea-life with a link to this post. As you can see, they were very quick to respond. While I am not overly happy with the land focus issue, I appreciate the quick response and I guess I will be looking to add an external flash in the near future.

I confess that I am a total neophyte when it comes to taking good pictures so as I stated in my first post I was aware that it may be a "user" issue.

Thank you to Sea-Life for the quick response. I have been playing around with the focus set to infinity (the mountain icon) taking pics of my kids around the house and that seems to work really well. Also, it turns out my LDS has an extra digital flash in stock and if they will shoot me a good enough price I may go ahead and get it.

[gibson1525]

wow, impressive response. that's got to make you feel good about the product you bought.

[Cheddarchick]

ah......hooked.....welcome to the expensive side. But really they are GREAT to work with...

[FishFood]

Im diggin up this old thread to give Sealife some praise.

Ive been having a problem with horrible battery life latley. I believe my charger is broken and not giving a full charge due to some symptoms im having. I emailed Sealife with the problem last night hoping they'd send me a new charger. I found an email in my inbox this morning stating they are sending me a new charger AND a new battery. Great customer service. That's the most painless warranty inquiry Ive ever had!

[cyclone3565]

The above is the main reason why I have tried and hate digital underwater. I have been using my Nikonos V with great successes for many years as has my wife. We have tried numerous good system such as the Sea and Sea and Sealife and you know, the fish don't hold still long enough to get a focused picture. If I wanted to be a photoshop expert I would have continued, but I can take my Nikonos system anywhere, get publishable pictures without even worrrying about it. They are crisp and focused. Holding down the shutter half way, for it to focus, does not work underwater. It need light to do so, try it in a lake here in Texas at 20 foot or in Salt at 100 foot and the ambient light is just not enough to get even descent pictures. I am sorry to be so negative, digital has it place, just not in my gear bag.