Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This video was recorded as I snorkeled over a reef just off Kaanapali Beach, a few hundred yards north of our hotel (Honua Kai)- not the nicest reef by far, but this video should demonstrate the camera's surprisingly good capabilities, especially considering the low price. It was late afternoon and the water was a bit murky, and I was surprised how well the video came out. I have uploaded the raw avi file (66.9 MB; 44 seconds). This camera shoots VGA (640x480). Amazon processing reduced the resolution and quality, although it still looks fairly faithful to what I uploaded. Although I read reports of this camera failing rapidly underwater, ours did not present any problems after spending many hours underwater. It appears just about all the underwater cameras have about a 10-20 per cent failure rate based on rates in reviews here on Amazon. So, I decided not to risk $200-300 on a more expensive underwater camera, as they seemed no more reliable. The camera is fixed focus but seems to have enough depth of field to present sharp pictures. Note that the fixed focus offers an advantage with snapshots - shutter delay is VERY short.