Vivitar VIVICAM-6200W 6.0 MegaPixel Underwater Camera with 4x Digital Zoom 2.0" LCD by Vivitar
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Digital camera reviews of Vivitar VIVICAM-6200W 6.0 MegaPixel Underwater Camera with 4x Digital Zoom 2.0" LCD
Digital camera Review: not a bad unit for the price
Summary: 4 Stars
For what I paid, this is well worth the money.
It's quite a hefty/sturdy camera, which does the job of underwater photography well. It feels sturdy and should be able to take some impact and waterproof.
Things could be better:
1) quicker focussing: you cannot use this for sports since it's quite slow
2) no photo preview right after you took the picture
3) better strap: the little loopy thing which hooks to the camera should be more sturdy
4) optical zoom would be nice.
5) video is very low res (400x320), and sound is choppy. And you cannot use zoom during the video.
6) white balance is sometimes inconsistent between shots. If you're picky
perhaps you should set it at a setting instead of auto
Overall, for the price, nothing comes close at the price point you get it at Amazon. Underwater cameras are a niche and very expensive.
Overall, I am happy with the purchase. No trouble with the shipping, it came as expected on time and in good shape.
Digital camera Review: Exceeds expectations
Summary: 4 Stars
I was a little hesistant to plunge this sturdy little camera beneath the waves. I took a few shots with it outside of the water. There was a lot of noise in low light situations and the shadows suffer from that the most. When I tried it underwater the camera really shined. The colors were crisp and and it picked up some fine details. I am very happy with this purchase and can't wait to snap those shots of the sharks in Hawaii now! PS. Make sure you read the instructions carefully.Digital camera Review: Excellent Kids Camera
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this for my son's sixth birthday. He'd been using an old Polaroid Spectra with expired film (to keep the cost down). Of course we can't get ANY Polaroid film anymore and he was crushed.
I didn't actually choose this camera for it's underwater capabilities, but that has certainly been an added plus. I chose it because it seemed rugged and much better than the "kiddie" digital cameras, which generally only have a resolution of 640x480...basically toys that they'll outgrow quickly for $50! Spent twice that but he has a camera that he can use for years.
It has proven to be rugged. I dropped it in our driveway while juggling too many things...the battery compartment popped open and the batteries and card fell out. Put them back and it worked fine, none the worse for wear.
It's also very simple to use, easy enough for my six year old to use alone. The pictures taken in automatic mode are quite respectable and he's taken some pretty good shots of our pets and family members, all on his own. He can also take shots of all kinds of crazy things that I wouldn't have let him waste the expensive Polaroid film on...like his stuffed dragon's foot ;). I haven't printed anything bigger than 4x6 yet, but those pictures look quite good...reasonably sharp and nice color.
We live on a lake and my son is a big swimmer, so the waterproof feature has proven very valuable, though that wasn't what drove me to choose this. I've been able to take underwater movies of him doing somersaults in a pool....everyone thinks that's pretty cool! And, he can take it to the lake and on canoe trips without worry about getting it wet. The underwater pictures, of course, are a bit noisier than the dry pictures...less light naturally, but, really, for a $100ish camera, I'm pretty impressed over all.
I've had surprisingly good luck with battery life using the Sanyo Eneloop rechargeables sold here on Amazon.
The lack of optical zoom does not bother me. This is not an expensive camera and I can't imagine how they'd manage that with the waterproof case anyway. My son certainly doesn't care. I have a Panasonic Lumix with the nice Leica lens and 12x optical zoom (plus a B200 teleconverter) for all the optical zoom I can make use of. That camera takes excellent pictures, but it is heavy, harder to carry and, of course, not suitable for a child or around water.
For an adult, interested in digital photography and wanting control and flexibility, this Vivitar wouldn't be appropriate as an only camera. But, for a child or someone who wants an easy point and shoot that can hold up to banging around and water, it is a great choice. And, for the price, a really good value. It appears to be the same camera as the Ecoshot underwater camera, but at 1/2 the price and in a gaudy color.
My husband and teenaged son are quite envious of this camera...I may be having to buy another for someone else's birthday ;).
Digital camera Review: I Love this Camera!
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this camera!!! I purchased it for a week long trip to South Padre Island TX and it worked great. We went snorkeling in the Laguna Madre and I used it playing in the surf of the Gulf of Mexico. The pictures have turned out very good and the camera took lots of punishment from handling and sand. The water clarity wasn't very good the day we snorkeled but the photos were very sharp. The only problem I had with it was I didn't rinse it off when I got back to the apartment (like I should have) and the shutter button stuck down the next time I used it. I wasn't sure if it was salt or sand in it so I soaked it in fresh water for a couple hours and then worked the button free by grabbing the rubber top of it and pulling it up. It was full of sand but once I cleaned it out it has worked flawlessly since. One review I read said that it was a terrible battery hog but that is definately not the case with mine. I think I only changed the batteries 3 times in the whole week and I used it alot on the beach for above water photos. I used Energizer rechargable batteries. The only pictures that didn't come out well were the videos of seagulls I took on a very bright sunshiny day. They came out overexposed but I think if I had taken the time to adjust the camera before taking the videos it would have worked better. The sound quality of the video is wonderful. I'm still trying to figure out if I can adjust the exposure on the videos with my computer but no luck so far. I would highly recomend this camera for underwater or above water use - just be sure that any time you open it up the camera is completely dry and clean the seal very well before shutting it. The very fine sand worked its way into the seal but not beyond it. I took about 500 photos with this camera and all but 10 were keepers.Digital camera Review: Just OK
Summary: 3 Stars
I thought the photos were fair. Some came out pretty well while others lacked clarity. I had to clean up the photos using Corel Paint Shop Pro. Overall I was disappointed.