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Waterproof Cameras for Surfers - GE DV1 Review

Our Simple Camera
DV1

5 Mega Pixels 4x Digital Zoom 1080i Video @ 60 fps 33mm Equiv. Lens Weight 5.1

More Features
Actual Surf Camera Shots

2.5 in View Screen Image Stabilization Waterproof to 16 feet Shock Proof to 1.5 meters Dust Proof

OUR REVIEW

WRITE YOUR REVIEW

One word can describe my review of the GE DV1 waterproof camera... "Impressive!"
This DV1 camera is truly amazing. With the cost of this DV1 at less than half of most other waterproof cameras, I expected dull results and slowness with short battery life. Quite the contrary!
Seriously, why would you want to buy less of a waterproof camera for more than twice the price of this DV1!?

THE GOOD :

Waterproof! dah..
Super easy. By far the easiest camera to use today.
The speed - I love taking still shots while in the continuous mode. It shoots off 7 shots per second and the quality of each shot is great. Just press and hold the shutter with your thumb while following the surfer. If your subject rips while surfing towards you then you're sure to get that close up, full sized, huge off the lip or big spray with complete clarity.
Quality - Picture and video quality is what was really impressive. It ranks right up there with the 350 dollar cameras... yes!
Battery session life - A full 3 hour surf session using photos as well as shooting video with 1/4 tank left.
Seperate shutter buttons for stills and video - You can take snap shots while you're shooting video out in the surf. Cool uh! The resolution of still photos captured while video recording is the same as the video resolution you have set.
Stability while shooting video - Seems to be as steady as most other expensive waterproof cameras. Check out this quick surf video clip I shot while bobbing around on my surfboard.
The lens - I didn't have any problem with the lens fogging up on me.
Size - It's small, compact and light weight making it easy to handle.

THE BAD :

The view finder is small because you are holding the camera vertically and it's not all that bright. You can still see the surfer in there and follow but it's much smaller compared to most other horizontal cameras. But on playback viewing, you can hold the camera horizontal so you get the hole 2.5 inch screen full of your images.
No flash. Don't expect to use the DV1 camera at indoor dark areas. It does have auto brightness which works well but only to a certain point of dim lighting where a flash is needed. Luckily we're using it for outdoor action sports.
It scratches easily. If your prissy and want your camera looking beautiful all the time you may not want this. After a hand full of surf sessions the camera looks like I've had it a while. The lens stays scratch free though and the internal quality is what I care about.

EXTRAS

Some other cool features of this DV1 waterproof camera is that the battery is internal so you don't need a batter charger that some of us forget when going on a surf trip. It has a small door that when opened a USB plug pops out so you can use any computer to charge it.

When using our Surf Camera float handle with a very short lanyard and the fact that you hold the DV1 camera vertical makes holding this camera nice and steady. While the camera float handle is in the palm of your hand with slight tension on the lanyard it eliminates the DV1 from pivoting in your finger tips making for steady filming.

I highly recommend the DV1 camera even if you have the money for the expensive cameras.
At its price it's a no brainer and you can talk your cheap surf buddies on getting the DV1 Surf Camera too. Trust me, they'll be stoked!

3 feet or 10 feet rated camera depth?
For surfing IT DOES NOT MATTER! Even in double overhead surf. My old Pentax WPi of 4 years is only rated to 3 feet and it works fine. I lone it to my friends all the time in big surf. The depths on these cameras are rated after being that deep for 2 or more hours.
Beyond their rated depth they still don't leak, they just simply won't operate.

Shock Proof & Freeze Proof? It matters... not so much for surfing but with other action sports like dirt bike racing if your worried about wiping out or snow skiing in freezing conditions.
Using these cameras with the Surf Camera case in your action sports will greatly increase the protection!

Optical Zoom?
With Video - It matters! You should only use the optical zoom with video because you can not zoom in on your computer with video... Unless you have an expensive edit program... and lots of time.
With Still Shots- It does not matter! (Especially in the water) You will want the widest angle possible with still pictures. The more optical zoom you use the greater chances of a blurry action sports shot and the athleteout of the frame. You can always crop and zoom in on your computer later.

Mega Pixels? It matters. When you're editing your still action sports shots you'll be amazed on how much you can zoom in and crop the action sport shot on your computer.

Weight? It matters. An addtional ounce or two does make a big difference in the feel and comfort in getting a steady action sports shot.

28mm Wide Angel? It matters. It's very difficult sometimes when trying to get an instant last second action sports shot of an athlete coming fast down the line. You'll wind up having a lot of shots with the athlete halfway out the picture. The 28mm wide angle will aliminate much of that.

HD Video? It matters. Specially when your filming a surfer on a nice long wave. 640x480 will take in nice videos but when the surfer gets further away the HD will keep it clearer.

GE DV1 waterproof camera review for action sports. DV1 reviews.

surf camera