I'm just back from a trip to Brazil where I was fishing for peacock bass. I had a hoot. One of the other guests at the lodge brought an underwater camera and I was amazed at how good the picture quality was, and how far it could "see". He put it down under the dock, at the lodge, and we could clearly see phiranas, peacock bass and other fish.

Now I "need" one. Do any of you have one? Any recopmmendations for a good one? On a bright day, how deep can they be used?

Dave
I doubt it classifies as a "good one" but I have a little underwater version of the cannon sure shot. it's a great little camera for taking fish pics. I think it retails for around 150. I have used it underwater twice. One pic about 8" under the surface came out great under bright conditions. the other one about similar conditions came out poorly.

Probably a poor choice for the professional but if you want a camera for taking fishing it's a great choice and I highly recommend it.

Rob:

I did not communicate very well. I was talking about under water VIDEO cameras. The one the guy at the lodge had used a cable that was 40 feet long. It gave him surprisingly clear videos. I thought it might be nice, purely for recreational use, to look and see how what my depth finder is telling me translates when viewed on a screen.

Dave are you referring to the cameras like Rob is talking about or the ones you can hook up on down riggers (etc) if the latter Cabelas carries two models and I believe Sportco has one they carry also.Have not tried them myself because of price but I would love to stick one in a river and sit back and watch.

P.S just wondering if you picked up a Filson chest pack and what your opinion was of it.

you type faster than I do

Hey Dave .... I have an Atlantis system that I play around with from time to time and it seems to do alright.

You can go to underwater video thread to see some shot in the 'Duc below our deck in the fall of '02 (just after the netting fiasco you so kindly covered).

I transferred these at pretty low qulaity .. so you can expect much better on your own video, but it will give you some idea

I picked up a camera off of ebay. It is waterproof to 150' and had 60' of cable. Paid less than $80 and that included shipping. The camera is about 3" long and about 1 1/2" in diameter. Hooked it up to a 12v battery and bought a b&w 12v tv of $20. You have to build a couple of stabilizers which is no big deal. I attach a couple of cannon ball sinkers to it (wt. dependent on water speed).

works great. Only problem, you spend your time watching underwater tv instead of fishing...

Giz...

Now that sounds like fun!

I did exactly what gizmo man did. Ended up with great video system for under 150 bucks.

Bob: Those videos really have me fired up. Now I gotta have one of those. I will begin haunting e bay tomorrow.

But I agree with another poster who said it could be easy to spend allyour time looking at the video instead of fishing. But, what the hey, I always say the one who has the most fun wins!

Oh.. my bad:)

well, I have a sony digital camera that takes video and I bought a waterproof housing for it. Takes some pretty good pics I think but I dont really use it too much for video.

http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/bc/rwgav8

Dave

There was a lot of posts about these UW video systems on Alaska Outdoor Journal fishing forum. A guy by the handle "coho dave" has the most expertise.

http://alaskaoutdoorjournal.com/u/Forum3/HTML/000449.htm

is the address for their retired forum

http://alaskaoutdoorjournal.com/cgi-bin/ib/ikonboard.cgi?s=651a4a001e6eb0db95d1c4cc2b9e3b48;act=ST;f=1;t=47

is the address for their active forum.

You should be able to glean some helpful tidbits out of that discussion.

Dave

Click on the site below. My fishing buddy has one of these that he uses to prefish for bass tournaments. I think it is one of the most popular underwater camera systems. I'm sure you'll see many cameras at the upcoming boat show and sportsmens shows.


http://www.aquavu.com/

Dave,

I have the newest model that remotely swivels 360 degrees it's awesome, it comes with a tripod and holds great in most rivers including the Columbia and Cow. I picked it up at Sportco for around $500. The remote control has an arrow so that you will always know which way the lens is pointing.

Dave,
come by the store and have Bill sell you one!!!We carry the Atlantis and Aqua-vu models, he'll probably try to sell you some spoons too!!!
Winterun

I would come by, but the odds of finding Bill there are about as good as hooking a 20 lb steelie on your first cast. (Odds might be better on a rainy or cold day, as I hear he’s getting too old and feeble to go outdoors if the weather doesn’t resemble Miami Beach. Besides which, I hate to see him make a commission on my hard earned money.

As far as him selling me any spoons, I still have about 200 B.C. steels with his name on them. I always take a grinder and grind off his name cuz any steelhead that sees his name on a spoon knows it's big trouble for a steelhead. Tell him hi, if you ever see him. Also tell him I am doing a seminar at Three River Marina on the 10th. If he wants to learn how to use training wheels he can drop by.

I can feel the love!

Dave,
I'll tell him that!!! Funny thing though he's doing a seminar at Kitsap sports (I think) on the 10th. Riverliver is right its a cool camera(Aqua-vu) nice compact unit, infared light, rca jack for video cam, and some cool access. I'm sure you know the rep, ask him for a demo unit. As for going out in the cold your right, but I think I have talked him into going blackmouthing tues. Watchout Downriggin and Mavrick Winterun

Wow Dave. I asked this about a month ago and got no responces! I have been looking at the Aqua vu and the Atlantis. I want to use mine for downriggering, crabbing, shrimping, jigging ling or halibut, rivers, etc. I have really found no input for anything. Atlantis makes a good one too. Also Walker downriggers has one made onto the downrigger. The best Atlantis one has a pan to move the camera around. With downriggers the cable thickness will be a hinderance to the drag of the water. I understand you will be at three rivers. I will see you there and talk to you about it. I have been trying hard to read up before purchasing. Hereis Atlantis website. Grandpa has put it on his post. http://www.atlantiscamera.com/

Actually, I beleive Davey V. is just looking for a waterproof camera to slip into the girl's locker room shower for his live internet feeds...

Did talk to Bill at Sportco about the cameras, like the Aqua Vue. He lloked at me like my cat Rusty does, the guy really should stick to steelhead fishing and stay away from the technical marine stuff.