Not Another Camera

I will admit it, I bought another camera. I have more than I need. A couple of DSLRs, a bag full of lenses, a 35mm SLR, a couple of compact digitals that fit nicely in my pocket.  An early Fujifilm mirrorless. And my phone has a three lens 48-megapixel camera that takes outstanding photos. In other words more cameras than I need, or use on a regular basis. Well with one exception.

Blue Lagoon in Iceland. 

And I had one, a waterproof or underwater camera. A few years ago on my Amazon daily ad a NIKON Coolpix S33 popped up. I had missed owning a Nikonas during film days, and I thought why not. These are waterproof down to about 10 meters (about 30 feet.) Three times deeper than I am likely to ever go.  I didn't use it often, but it came in handy for a walk in the rain, or sunny afternoon in the pool, or a float around a geothermal spa. 

The next swim after the photo at the top, it fogged up inside, it was a few years old, and I may not have been as careful with it as I could have been, but it won't boot up. I thought about it, and I kind of missed having the option of taking a camera out in the rain, to the pool, or the beach, or back to Iceland. 

I took a look, and sadly Nikon has discontinued the camera, in fact most of the brand names have stopped selling simple underwater cameras. Action cams that are more focussed on video have taken over the compact market. 

There are exceptions, made in China - probably in the same factories that built the Nikon*, the new one does not actually have a brand on it. It shoots 4k video and has a 64MP sensor. It takes good photos, and in the water things go all kinds of optically strange. And it was less than $100, delivered to my door the same day I ordered it. 

Just what I needed, another camera.  

* It is not uncommon for factories in China to use the same tooling and design to make off label products. Either when the manufacturing contract has finished, or even on weekends and holidays when they are not making the brand name product. Intellectual property law is different in China.  The camera that I bought is shaped like one that Olympus sold ten years ago and have discontinued. The case is a different color, and the sensor has been updated to a larger megapixel rating. But it sure looks like the one that sold for $500 ten years ago.