Anyone tried the Northern Diver camera

[divebuddy]

I'm thinking of getting the wife an underwater camera for her birthday, and I saw this on the Northern Diver Website.

The new camera system from Northern Diver features a robust 5MP digital camera.
CAMERA
• Huge 2.5" LCD panel for clear viewing
• High definition 5.0Megapixel CMOS picture element, (interpolates up to 12 megapixel)
• 8X digital zoom
• 16 megabytes built-in memory
• Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery
• Charger Included
• SD memory card (up to 2GB)
• Records High quality MPEG4 Movies


CAMERA SKIN
• Flexible polyurethane skin
• Depth rated to 3' (1m)
(without the main housing!)
• Allows full control of camera functions
• Tempered optical glass front lens port
• Polished polycarbonate rear lens


HOUSING
• Tough, virtually indestructible polycarbonate
• Rated to 180ft (55m)
• 14 buttons allowing full camera control
• Tempered optical glass lens port
• All metalwork is 316 marine grade stainless steel
or nickel-plated brass

Has anyone got one or tried one out?

[Steve S]

Hi Divebudy,

after a reported post I have removed the RRP and have given you the benefit of doubt that it's a genuine post and not an advertisment.

As I'm sure you're aware commercial advertising is not allowed without becoming a YD sponsor.

Safe diving,
Steve

[big_si]

Does sound like potentially good camera. Good depth rating and records as MP4 video. Interesting!

I've not heard of it.

[Carlb]

Edit - Sorry, I was talking about the Video system they do so please ignore this

[ChristianG]

The site does not seem to have the still camera on its website any more.

I would always question any "Messrs Yum & Cha" camera which has no track record as well as, and in particular, no track record as to the capabilities (if any) of its lens and, after all, it's the glass that counts.

Why is it, d'you think, that manufacturers of the like of Panasonic and Sony use the lenses of well respected lens manufacturers? Hardly a coincidence I would have thought.

Think of the basics, the first basic is the lens (and also that of the housing port), everything else comes thereafter.

[Cussy]

Originally Posted by ChristianG

The site does not seem to have the still camera on its website any more.

Christian,
It is there, but I only found it using Google (edit, I must have been looking on northerndiver.com, not ndiver.com):
Northern Diver - Underwater Camera System
It looks like a re-badged camera to me. No experience of it, so I wont commetn.
Rob

[Digger]

Yep, similar features to the Sea & Sea ones by the looks of things. I don't know a lot about cameras, but if it's just point and shoot then I'd happily go along with all this for £179. Seems like a good enough deal.

Digs.

[ChristianG]

Originally Posted by Cussy

It looks like a re-badged camera to me. No experience of it, so I wont commetn.

Thanks for that Rob.

Ah, but not knowing something doesn't often put me off.

Hmmm, lessee now:

"• High definition 5.0Megapixel CMOS picture element, (interpolates up to 12 megapixel)". Would utter rubbish be too polite a phrase? How's about GIGO then?
"• 8X digital zoom" and no mention of an optical zoom. That immediately sets the alarm bells clanging in my head. As we all know, or should, digital zooms are next to useless.
"• Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery". I'm developing, as I speak, a "bit of a paper" on rechargeable batteries and I'm pretty sure that Li-Ions aren't going to come out of it smelling of a bed of roses, particularly for u/w use. Watch this space. I'm unsure whether NiMH is a viable replacement in this instance, the information isn't there.
"• SD memory card (up to 2GB)" My guess is that it doesn't come with any at all - OK, nor did my new camera which cost some five times as much as this whole system for the camera body alone but Sigma didn't put it in quite such a "subtle" way.
"• Tough, virtually indestructible polycarbonate" is how the housing is described. Probably fairly correct but I much doubt that it also applies to the "• 14 buttons allowing full camera control" which form part of that housing.

I now have some questions:

• It seems odd to me that there is no mention of the lens, its capabilities, other than that it has an 8x digital zoom. So what's the aperture? Shouldn't that information be a given? The first thing I look at in ANY lens, ANY P&S camera is the aperture.
• Are proprietary wide angles attachable to the housing? I'm prepared to say NO here and now even though I have no real way of knowing that.

So what's good about it? It's cheap and being cheap it's a good starter for all those budding photographers who think that u/w pics are happy snaps - and then get disillusioned when they realise that's not the case. This way they at least lose less money to find out.

I'll now put away the cynic hat until the next time.