Snap Sights SS-1000 Underwater Digital Camera Review

By Kerry G

If you are going snorkeling or spend time in a pool it’s always great to have a digital camera that can go right in the water with you. The Snap Sights SS-1000 is designed from the ground up to serve this purpose. Built right into a hard plastic enclosure, the SS-1000 can certainly take to the water, but can it deliver on the images?

Digital point and shoot cameras are virtually disposable these days and most current cell phones are coming with 3mp cameras and soon the standard will be 5mp or more. The SS-1000 takes a step backwards with it’s 1mp sensor and no real lens to speak of. That said, there is a niche for almost any product so let’s take a look and see where this camera fits.

Setup

Almost no setup at all, install the batteries, secure the latch, power up the camera and start shooting. From unboxing to shooting should take less than 30 seconds.

Features

The Intova SS1000 Snap Sights Sport Utility Digital Camera is an incredibly durable and waterproof pocket camera for divers, surfers, skiers, and all sorts of adventure seekers who wish to document their experiences in pictures. Of course it is also ideal for taking worry-free pictures in the rain or at the beach.

This low-cost camera is an alternative to waterproof single-use type cameras, yet the SS1000 offers full digital convenience, including: 1.4″ LCD viewfinder, USB computer connectivity, microSD card to 2GB, casing waterproof to 50′ (15.24m)

• Waterproof to 50′ 
• 1.4″ LCD viewfinder 
• USB computer connectivity 
• Micro SD card to 2GB

Usage

Using the SS-1000 is simple enough, one button turns the unit on and it is ready to shoot. Pressing another button switches to video mode. The simplicity of the design allows fairly young children to use the camera. I found it almost impossible to use the tiny screen as an LCD viewfinder, it just isn’t big enough or possibly my eyes are not young enough anymore. Being underwater simply made viewing the screen even worse.

Getting to your images is pretty simple, just plug in a USB cable and your computer should recognize the camera as a drive and you should be able to easy copy or import the images.

Results

Well….to say I am disappointed in this camera would be a fairly accurate and yet not surprising statement. The sensor is just sitting behind a piece of clear plastic, there is no real lense at all. At best, you might get ok results under some conditions, but generally its just got the good to deliver anything that is destined to end up on a wall anywhere.

 

 

 

For a kid’s camera, the $35 SS-1000 will be a digital camera that they can take to the beach, the pool, or pretty much anywhere. For anyone looking to get good quality underwater pictures, this is just not the camera for you.

Source: Cameradojo