Summer 2013 with the Rollei Sportline 62

After a long time I used my Rollei Sportline 62 during the summer vacations. Picture quality is not very good, the lens is flaring very easily. The Exif information says that the aperture stays always at f2.8 I don't know if this true because the Depth of Field is very large and the camera's lens is fixed focus. Probably the aperture is around f8-f11? to achieve sharp focus without focusing.

The camera was used underwater. The shutter button after one year of inactivity became stiff and needed a lot of pressure. The LCD is almost impossible to view in the bright sunlight. There is a long shutter lag, so the diving persons are no more underwater when the picture is taken. That meant a lot of missed photos and the two new batteries were drained after half an hour or after about 60 shots.
But if you have a lot of spare batteries and your company is willing to dive again and again this camera is fun to use.

Some samples

 

 

 

 

Useless plastic underwater disposable camera

I paid 1 euro for two identical plastic underwater disposable cameras. Their film was used, I developped both rolls but there was nothing intresting in. The cameras got permanently damaged because taking out the film needed breaking of the camera.
There is only one shutter-aperture combination that I think it is inadequate for a proper exposure underwater.
As there exist many other plastic cameras that can be reused, I suggest to stay clear off this one.

Rollei Sportsline 62 operation review

I only used the Rollei Sportline 62 camera at the beach and underwater, so I thought it would be nice to test its capabilities for street shooting.

The camera has a fixed aperture of f2.8. Auto ISO setting tends to expose for ISO 50 or 100 and is not suitable for moving subjects. I selected ISO 400 and did not see any deterioration of the image quality. That said, image quality is not good at all. There is high contrast and over saturation but the pictures are just acceptable. Shutter lag is a big problem. You have to press the shutter well ahead before the shot. I usually press the shutter and the quickly compose the picture by turning my hand to the subject. Lastly, the camera is a battery drainer. Use only strong alkaline batteries and have a spare of 4-6pieces.

I used LR3 to edit the samples below.

More from the Rollei Sportsline 62

More samples

and some pics with the macro setting:

Rollei Sportsline 62

This is a modern digital camera that is waterproof to 3 meters. I have not found much information about it and decided to put a description in the blog.
After my failed attempts with the yellow plastic underwater camera and the faulty Minolta weathermatic camera I bought a cheap digital camera.
The Rollei 62 has a fixed 35mm/f2.8 equivalent lens which is fast enough. There is a button that makes the lens suitable for macro from a distance of 11 to 18 cm. It also has two LCD screens, one in front the other on the back, that allow for self portraits. And of course is waterproof down to 3 meters.

Picture quality is not great but is fine for underwater shots.

some samples

Minolta Weathermatic 35 DL

A full featured underwater camera from 1987. It has Autofocus, auto winder, auto exposure, auto flash, dual lens (35mm which becomes 50mm with a touch of button) with close up button.
It's waterproof down to 5 meters.
I bought it from an antique store for 7 euros. Unfortunately when I put the 4 AAA batteries in, there was a bakelite smell, the electronic circuit is burnt.

Yellow camera under the water

I put a 400 ASA film with 36 exposures into the yellow underwater camera. This proved to be a big mistake. The camera suggests a 12 or 24 exposure film. One must pre wind the film out of the catridge, and then after each exposure it goes back into the canister. The film was very difficult to wind, and there where many stains on the surface of the emulsion, probably from the increased pressure caused by the bigger volume of the 36-exposure film.

Yellow underwater camera

Plastic yellow camera in a transparent waterproof housing. Lens is 28mm. It has only one setting, around f11, 1/125sec, and a button to charge the flash. Needs a 400 ASA film with 12 or 24 exposures.

The junkee seller wanted 2 euros but I only had 1.60. The camera performed well only in bright sunlight and with flash.