Jazz Water Resistant 3 In 1 Underwater Digital Camera

When it's time to record your next snorkeling adventure, the Jazz JDC28W Underwater Digital Camera is the camera you'll want for capturing those amazing moments. Taking shots of that extraordinary coral reef or those schools of rainbow-colored fish has never been easier. This water resistant camera can be submerged under water up to 9 feet, making it perfect for that snorkling trip or your next beach vacation. This 3-in-1 digital camera also works as a still camera, PC camera, or video recorder.The camera includes 8MB of internal memory and can store up to 312 images.The Built-in Flash and self timer make this a great camera for any use. Use the camera in PC mode for video conferencing or make AVI movies for emailing to friends and family. And when you're out of the water and back on the beach ready to relax, just take the camera out of its underwater housing, and you'll be ready to shoot the sunsets or catch some great beach volleyball action. Perfect for boaters, bathers, snorkelers, waders, kayakers, canoers, beachgoers and a variety of other outdoor activities.
Additional Details:

* Water resistant up to 9 feet
* Double-seal gasket and quick-latching blade
* 3-in-1 still camera, PC camera and video recording (AVI)
* Built-in flash
* VGA 640 x 480 image resolution
* 8MB built-in memory
* 10 second self timer
* Mini LCD panel
* Compatible with Windows 98/200/ME/XP

Warranty:
Manufacturer 1 year

This one very cool  Digital Camera !

I almost did not purchase this little camera based on the other reviews. But I was tired of the expense and bother of single use underwater film cameras. And its price at the time was about the same as purchasing and developing 2 single use underwater film cameras. So I decided to give it a try.

I am very happy I made the purchase! I used the settings of its highest resolution (640x480) but with some compression so I could still fit 78 pictures in its memory. That turned out to be about as many pictures as I felt like taking in one snorkeling session. Between snorkeling sessions I moved the photos to my laptop and was ready to take 78 more photos in my next snorkeling session.

640x480 is a fair size for printing 4x6 prints and that is what I would have developed my film camera to anyway. So I don't feel that 640x480 is too small a resolution.

Other reviews complained that the camera case leaked water. It is only supposed to be water resisteant up to 9 feet. So don't plan any deep water dives. When I first got it I took the camera out of the case, put in a kleenex, sealed it, and swished it around in water for awhile. The kleenex never got wet. I would recommend testing this before you take any such item into the water. I took this camera on two snorkeling excursions. It did get slightly damp inside on the second trip, but it did not bother the camera.

Other reviews complained that there is no screen to review the pictures you've taken. But compared to the single use film cameras that I was trying to replace, niether one has this feature. So I couldn't count this against it. At least with this digital camera I can delete the last photo taken if I know I didn't catch the image, for example if the subject moved at the last second, or if I accidently took a picture of the ocean floor. I cannot do that with the film camera. So this is better than a film camera.

Do I get some poor photos with this digital camera? Yes, but I do with the film camera too. At least with this, I can delete those photos after I see them on my computer rather than paying to get them printed. Plus I can easily edit the pictures from this camera to make them brighter, crop, them or whatever I want pretty easily on my computer. With my film camera I have to go through the bother of scanning them in before I can do any fixing up of the pictures. So in this respect, I absolutely love this camera compared to the single use underwater film cameras.

My only complaint about this camera is that there is no way to take the photos off of the camera without using the download software that came with it. The download software has a feature you cannot turn off that automatically changes the resolution of the photo to twice its size. For example, even though you took a 640x480 photo, it will be increased when downloaded to your computer to 1280x960. Anyone who works with digital images on computers knows when you increase the resolution of a photo, you get a poorer quality photo. I tried contacting the makers of Jazz cameras, but I have never gotten a response from them. So I believe that is the reason some of my pictures turn out blurry. Even still, I have some pictures that turned out very sharp, with bright colors, taken with this little camera. If it weren't for this feature that doubles the resolution, I would have given this camera at least 4 stars.

Is it a toy? Maybe, but it is a fun toy and you can take many fun photos and reuse it over and over again. It is a great replacement for the single use underwater film cameras. But if you are really into photography and want to take stunning photos, stay away from this camera and get an underwater housing for your favorite digital camera.

(I also like the fact that it looks like a cheap toy -- I don't worry about someone wanting to steal this little camera like I would with my good digital camera.)