The setup instructions provided by Heather Hammond were invaluable as the instructions provided in the manual supplied by the manufacturers are not intuitive. Once the camera was set up I decided to test it first in the cool green temperate waters of Dorset in August and then in Sulawesi in September. Using the camera in a range of marine environments was an opportunity to put it through its paces. I did not use a wide angle accessory lens on any dives, only the camera lens, which was more than adequate. Most of the photographs were taken in macro mode including a few general shots of reef fish to test the camera’s broader capabilities.

The first thing that I noticed is that the housing is robust and tougher looking than other housings designed for compact digitals. The camera fitted snugly into the housing, so snugly in fact that it takes a little more effort to remove it. The strobes were both connected to the housing via synch cords to ensure synchronous operation with the cameras internal flash. The camera seemed to operate on pre flash mode most of the time, mainly because the background was fairly dark.

The manufacturers manual mentions that preflash will operate in poorly lit conditions so it is a fair bet to say that this will be the case in all but the shallowest of dives. The strobes need to be set at the pre flash setting (setting 2 on the YS15’s), although this was not infallible. Heather advises that you may need to adjust the exposure compensation (ev) to get the flash to synchronise with setting 1 (no pre flash) but I have not explored this option yet. As with the 5000G and, as reported in Heather’s article, it was difficult to see the LCD screen on any other settings than auto, and for all dives I used it in this mode, only changing the aperture to suit the light conditions and subject.

You have the luxury of pre selecting three features that can be saved and, using the adjust button, you can access these features quickly underwater. I saved the white balance, film speed and exposure compensation to this mode, but it is a matter of user preference, so if you are taking multiple shots it gives you enough time underwater to decide whether another picture was required or the picture should be deleted.

The camera was easy to use underwater, the menu system is quite straightforward and the buttons are easy to operate although it might be difficult with thick gloves if diving in cold water. Fogging in the housing (condensation) was never a problem, albeit transiently when used in cooler UK waters, in which case you have to wait a few minutes and it should clear ok providing you have inserted the silica gel sachet. It is useful therefore to put the camera in the housing at ambient temperature, if possible. In Sulawesi I installed the camera outside of air conditioned rooms and consequently never had a problem with condensation.

Power was left on during the dives but you can turn the camera on and off underwater, a useful feature if you wish to conserve batteries. But remember to reset the macro button if you switch it off and subsequently use it at very close proximity to the subject. I could get two dives and almost two hours continuous shooting with rechargeable batteries. Sometimes two and a half hours were possible subject to how many pictures were taken... Sulawesi dives tended to be about 60 minutes in duration and I took about 40-50 pictures on each dive, all with the flash.

I would recommend however that you change the batteries after every second dive and certainly when diving in cooler British waters, as I found that fully charged batteries would last about 50 minutes in the UK. I had one dive in Sulawesi where the batteries died mid dive and this is where I discovered that you get limited warning of impending shutdown. Sometimes the only indication is when the shutter locks and you get a message instruction on the screen to replace the batteries. You have been warned! My top tip is if the battery indicator shows only two segments on the LCD screen, then change the batteries at the next available opportunity.

For all the dives the camera was set to aperture priority mode so that the camera selects the appropriate shutter speed. This is done using the rocker dial at the front of the housing to select the appropriate aperture and I found that this worked for most situations with the camera choosing a speed from 1/32nd sec to 1 /125th sec. The zoom was left at the wide setting and telephoto was very rarely used as this tended to result in very slightly soft images at the macro end of the scale, although general shots were fine. The film speed was set at ISO 100; higher settings produce significant noise and chromatic aberration plus reduced picture quality. All pictures were taken at the highest JPEG setting and saved onto a 1 gigabyte SD card. On this card you can store over 500 pictures at high resolution, more than enough for a weeks diving.

The camera did have problems focussing on subjects in macro mode ( a problem associated with all compact digitals) and this was alleviated by taping a small torch to one of the strobes to provide a focussing point. In clear waters the camera worked fine without a need for a focussing light, but in extreme close up mode you need to have the strobes above the subject just in front of the housing or at the sides.

Chesil Beach and Portland Harbour Dorset

This was the first time I used the camera in July / August 2005 and diving conditions were pretty good at both sites. These were both shore dives and the shore dive at Portland castle was excellent even though the water was no deeper than 6 metres. Visibility was around 4-6 metres at Chesil and 3-4 metres in the harbour. Water temperature was a consistent 19 degrees so fine for a 7mm semi and no gloves.

Taking pictures was a challenge at first but having mastered the camera’s basic controls I was able to get a few acceptable pictures, all taken with macro on. Shutter speed was usually 1/32nd and aperture f8.1. Backscatter is a problem so I always had the diffuser in place over the cameras internal flash. At Chesil I changed the white balance manually every 5 metres or so, to a max depth of 15 metres; it made a bit of difference but I guess that it would be best at greater depth in green UK waters.

Sulawesi... Bunaken and Lembeh

The joy of diving in a 3mm wetsuit and with greater agility was a real bonus in warmer waters. The Bunaken side of Sulawesi was averaging 29-31 degrees C and Lembeh was a slightly cooler 27-29 degrees C. Visibility was between 15 and 25 metres on Bunaken but averaged around 15metres at Lembeh. After a couple of dives I did not manually adjust the white balance on the camera as it seemed to make very little difference in blue water. Backscatter was not such a big problem but the diffuser was always left over the internal flash... Sulawesi was a macro paradise and in some cases when taking pictures of very small critters the lens port was almost touching the subject. The pictures reproduced here are just a small selection as I took over 300 during a week’s stay at the Kungkunan Bay Resort.

Night Diving

This was hard work, and despite a torch strapped to one of the strobes the camera would take a long time to focus on the subject. In the end I relied on my buddy’s torch to illuminate the subject and then used the camera to focus. A lot of the photographs I took were overwhelmed by the flash despite using the smallest apertures. Nevertheless I did manage to get a few good pictures but digital compacts do not cope well in dark conditions and this one was no exception. After a couple of dives I gave up photography and just enjoyed them as night dives or spent the evening at the bar, which was equally enjoyable.

Conclusions

Overall I was pleased with the DX80000G. The extreme close up macro mode to 1cm proves invaluable for really small marine life.
The compact design, sturdy housing & the fact that the strobes and arms fold neatly means that you can easily transport the camera and accessories, if you have them. Marine life colours looked natural and accurate and image quality was good at ISO 100 or below. This camera is suitable for beginners but would also satisfy the requirements of more experienced Underwater photographers that require some creative control.

Finally, because the unit has a very short shutter delay, you can capture faster moving subjects, especially with a fast SD card. In summary ……….. it is my opinion that Sea & Sea have a great camera system here which should stand the Digital test of time.