Digital Camera Technology

Most digital cameras will need a separate accessory or housing so that it can be taken on underwater photo shoots or dive expeditions.  Housing and underwater accessories can be very expensive.  So why spend so much money on buying the accessories and camera separately when you can buy already underwater digital cameras?  It was only about two years ago that manufacturers started to realize that this was a possibility.  But only a handful has really tried to put out a product that has a very small market.  Still, there are a few options out there, and the cameras aren’t that bad either.

Pentax

One of the first and few companies to take the underwater digital cameras seriously was Pentax, a global leader in various optical equipment and products.  They developed one of the first underwater digital cameras that did not need a housing accessory in order for it to be used while submerged in water.  The camera itself is packed with a 7 mega pixel sensor and can be used underwater for up to 30 minutes and as deep as five feet.  It can even take very high quality shots with a blur reduction mode built in.  The camera also has a movie mode allowing one to record underwater movie footage.  Of course, there is no microphone or speaker and the large 2.5-inch LCD is more than enough screen for a review while snorkeling.

Sealife

An unknown digital camera company, Sealife makes digital cameras for exactly that purpose: underwater photography.  So it comes to no surprise why their underwater digital cameras are probably some of the top selling ones in the market today since it is their expertise.  The Sealife DC500 is one of their underwater digital cameras.  It has a shake elimination feature conveniently called Shark Mode.  For what this camera can do at 5 mega pixels and with two flash modes (land and sea flash), this camera is a steal for just under $500.

Casio

It wasn’t long before Casio joined in to see if they could get into a fad that just hasn’t quite picked up even until now.  Nevertheless, they were more than willing to add their input and their underwater digital cameras to the market.  The problem is that although it is marketed as a good underwater digital camera, it still needs a special housing for it to be able to be submerged in water.  The Exilim Zoom EX-Z1000 was born and is probably the most powerful of marketed underwater digital cameras to date.  Underneath its compact exterior, the camera uses a powerful 10 mega pixel sensor.  It also features a much larger LCD screen at 2.8-inches and an anti-shake feature that promises even better shots while swimming around a reef.

There aren’t so many options for one looking for underwater digital cameras that don’t need extra housing accessories.  The ones out there, however, are worth every cent and you can be assured that more underwater digital cameras will make there way to the market provided there is a lot of noise coming from underwater aficionados worldwide.