SeaLife has introduced its new Micro HD camera, the first permanently sealed underwater camera that never leaks.
SeaLife says:
There are no O-rings to maintain, no openings or doors that could possibly leak, and no batteries or SD cards. The self-contained camera has no housing and is waterproof down to 200 feet.
Charging the battery or downloading pictures and video is as easy as plugging the USB cable into the camera’s waterproof USB port, and the internal high-capacity Li-Ion battery lasts for 3+ hours of continuous operation with one charge.
Small and ergonomic, the camera operates with three wide “Piano Key” controls that make it easy to handle underwater, even while using dive gloves.
The company is offering the camera in two models: The standard Micro HD includes a 16 GB internal memory for hours of continuous recording and thousands of pictures, and the premium Micro HD+ model features a 32 GB internal memory and WiFi for connecting to smartphones and tablets:
The Micro HD+ can wirelessly download and share images and video to iOS and Android devices through the free Action Cam HD app. The app provides uploading to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox and other online services, perfect for backing up and sharing your photos and videos immediately after a dive or during your vacation. The app also allows for wireless control of the Micro HD+ camera, providing a real time view of the LCD and the ability to capture and review photos and videos all on your smartphone or tablet.
The camera has an “Easy Setup Guide” that uses pictures instead of text menus to select land, dive, snorkel, or external light modes, allowing shutterbugs to spend more time immersed in their environment rather than scrolling through a menu list.
The Micro HD also has fast, one-touch video recording:
Bypassing the usual steps, the video key will start and stop videos immediately. While video is recording, pushing the shutter button will take a still picture without stopping the video. Featuring full 1080p HD resolution video and 13MP images, the Micro HD is capable of delivering stunning underwater footage of colorful sea creatures, reefs and other undersea landscapes.
Capturing surprise encounters with sea creatures is made possible with a fast shutter response and sharp focus from one foot to infinity, and the built-in 140-degree wide angle lens helps stabilize videos and capture large objects and wide scenes at close shooting distances.
Color correction filters are not necessary since the camera features four underwater modes with automatic color correction. The Snorkel Mode is perfect for capturing vibrant natural colors at shallow depths, while the Dive Mode restores the red and yellow colors lost at deeper depths.
Since bright lighting is essential to reveal magnificent underwater colors, the Micro HD is expandable with the powerful new Sea Dragon underwater lights and flash. Also available to expand the camera’s capabilities are Flex-Connect arms, grips, trays and accessories. Flex-Connect accessories “click” together in seconds for easy set-up and disassemble equally as fast for compact traveling.
An exciting way to get close to colorful reef scenes and creatures in caves and crevices is to mount the camera on SeaLife’s extendable AquaPod, a 54-inch extendable camera pole designed especially for use in water.
The Micro HD underwater camera will be available at SeaLife dealers starting September 1, 2014.
The 16GB Micro HD will retail for $399.95. The 32GB Micro HD+ (WiFi included) will retail for $499.95.