Sealife DC2000 or Sony RX0 II ?

the sony is a gopro  with a 1" sensor, but it has impending flood written all over it.  Had they designed it for wireless charging and image transfer, they could build it for the purpose, but I see replacement batteries offered, so it must have a tiny o-ring assembly that the user can screw up.  And with so little dead space, any moisture won't have far to go.   Unhoused cameras with tiny doors have a high death rate.

It would be more assuring if they showed any images of it open.

On the ergo side, that level of compact means you need a grip option just to take effective pictures with it.  Great for easy carry, but marginal for actual photography.   Sort of the Sony way, really.

Have you handled one?

The DC is probably not a good choice.   Built specifically for the water, but at their scale, they can't compete with Canon/Nikon/Sony/Oly/Pan on the software/firmware.

Do you really need a 1" sensor?  You said yourself, you're in the shallow, well lit area.   You limit your choices with that decision.

Adam Palmer wrote:

Would have been amazing if they improved the sensor on the new tg-6.

bigger sensor means bigger lens and/or narrower zoom range.   See Panasonic's LX100 as an example here.

the microscope mode, a key feature for many TG owners, would be sacrificed as well.

The other question the TG6 begs is why they continue to refuse to provide manual mode.  Oly created more hacks that get you closer, but it requires the user to be quite the expert on their specific model, when it seems easier to just add M to the dial.

NMPh wrote:

Hi everybody,

I am looking for a robust and compact camera for underwater / beach photos that supports RAW format and has a good picture quality (i.e. makes for good prints). I would not need to go deep underwater, though.

I was considering the Sealife DC2000 as it has 1 inch sensor (I am leaving away cameras with smaller sensor), and then found out that the brand new Sony RX0 II (also 1 inch sensor) would be also OK for the task, as it withstands water depts up to 10 meters.

Any of you having experience with any of them?

Thank you in advance,

Nico

I have the DC2000 for two  years and haven’t had a better camera for the purposes you mention. Don’t go for the Olympus TG-5; I have bought the camera twice, but always sold it again. It is a far more streamlined camera with very nice options, but the image quality just isn’t as good as the DC2000. You really can tell the difference between the 1” and the smaller Olympus sensor. If you can live with a fixed 31mm and quirky handling (menu-wise), you have a camera that delivers very good IQ, under water and on land.

I haven’t used the RX0, but it seems to limited to me. Of course this is just my opinion 😉.

I had high hopes for the Sealife DC2000, but Just sold it to stick with my Olympus TG-5. Some reasons for selling: No optical zoom, slow shutter response and write time, somewhat awkward controls when in the water, build quality not up to Olympus, and only incremental better image quality over the 1/2.3 sensor. I should note that I only use the TG-5 when snorkeling to about 25 feet, so quick camera response is a necessity.

Probably will buy the new TG-6. Al;though, for whatever reasons, it still does not have a manual mode (like the DC2000), it now has a "minimum shutter speed" feature that should be able to limit shutter speeds in "aperture priority mode:" to a range sufficient to cleanly capture fish, etc.

NMPh wrote:

I have the DC2000 for two years and haven’t had a better camera for the purposes you mention. Don’t go for the Olympus TG-5; I have bought the camera twice, but always sold it again. It is a far more streamlined camera with very nice options, but the image quality just isn’t as good as the DC2000. You really can tell the difference between the 1” and the smaller Olympus sensor. If you can live with a fixed 31mm and quirky handling (menu-wise), you have a camera that delivers very good IQ, under water and on land.

I haven’t used the RX0, but it seems to limited to me. Of course this is just my opinion 😉.

Thank you so much for your feedback! The 31mm fixed lens for me is an advantage, as I normally shoot with 28 and 35mm lenses. Do you dare to use the DC2000 without shell when taking pictures underwater? It appears it should work just fine...

I never use the shell and haven’t got any problems!

TJD999 wrote:

I had high hopes for the Sealife DC2000, but Just sold it to stick with my Olympus TG-5. Some reasons for selling: No optical zoom, slow shutter response and write time, somewhat awkward controls when in the water, build quality not up to Olympus, and only incremental better image quality over the 1/2.3 sensor. I should note that I only use the TG-5 when snorkeling to about 25 feet, so quick camera response is a necessity.

Probably will buy the new TG-6. Al;though, for whatever reasons, it still does not have a manual mode (like the DC2000), it now has a "minimum shutter speed" feature that should be able to limit shutter speeds in "aperture priority mode:" to a range sufficient to cleanly capture fish, etc.

Not my experience. I agree with the somewhat awkward controls, but strongly disagree with the “only incremental better image quality”. I think it is really way better with the DC2000. I wish the TG-5 had the same IQ. I would immediately buy another one....  But of course, this is only my opinion....

JanMarten wrote:

Not my experience. I agree with the somewhat awkward controls, but strongly disagree with the “only incremental better image quality”. I think it is really way better with the DC2000. I wish the TG-5 had the same IQ. I would immediately buy another one.... But of course, this is only my opinion....

bear in mind the comment about sticking to 25ft or shallower.   That erases much of the benefit of the larger sensor.