Liquid Image 304 XSC Explorer Series 8.0 MP Underwater Video Camera - Yellow

I bought this digital snorkel camera mask through Amazon in July 2012 in time for a trip to Hawaii in August 2012, after first seeing it advertised in a SkyMall magazine I flipped through on an airplane a few months back. I used the camera on three separate snorkeling trips while in Hawaii, and in each case (upon seeing the pictures when I got back), I wish I had used it for longer than the 30 minutes some of these reviews (or perhaps the instructions) suggested. Before using the mask, I had one of the workers on the snorkeling catamaran burn the excess silicone off with a lighter, and the snorkeling groups I went on also gave us anti-fogging water to use, so I had no issues with not being able to see with the mask underwater. There seemed to be a lot of excess silicone, so you may want to get that take care of with a lighter before you use it. The pictures and video files are not very big size-wise, so a 2 or 4 gig micro SD card (or larger) should be plenty. (I already had a 16 gb micro sd card, which was way more than enough). The mask doesn't come with a breathing tube, but assuming you've snorkeled before, you probably already have a breathing tube that will be interchangeable. Mine attached like it would to a regular mask, although getting it attached was a little counter-intuitive to me. I also used disposable underwater film cameras, but in comparing the two results, the pictures with film camera were inferior to the digital ones taken with this snorkel digital camera. When you factor in the cost of the three underwater film cameras we purchased (plus developing), it almost was as much as this camera, and that was for less than a third of all of the pictures we wound up taking underwater (and no video). The next time I go snorkeling, I will be using this mask, and not wasting my money on a disposable underwater film camera. Like any other electronics used in salt water, I'm sure this mask isn't build to stand the test of time, but so long as you take care of it, rinse it off when you're done, let it air dry, and don't let the batteries corrode in it, it should do the trick for more than one vacation. I didn't go very far down (maybe 10 feet at the most), and don't recall having any issues that were unique to this mask as compared to a regular snorkel mask. The pictures taken from the camera are decent (and some were great), and the videos taken provide good memories (I suggest taking 30 second or longer videos). The film camera pictures were grainier and had a lower percentage worth saving. Before using the mask in the water, I would tinker around with the buttons so you know what you're hitting so you can snap away underwater, but keep in mind also that it's digital, so snap away to your heart's content, and then go back to the surface and make sure you're on the setting you want (photo or video). You're going to get far more good pictures than you think and probably a few worth printing and hanging up. This mask is well worth the $80 (with Prime) that I spent on it, and far less expensive than (likely) superior underwater digital cameras designed for more heavy use. If you're looking for an inexpensive underwater digital camera that will get you most, if not all, of what you need for your trip, plus doubles as a mask so you have one extra hand to swim around with, you can't go wrong with this one.

Super Cool. Kids love it. Good fit/seal. Kids loved it during a trip to mexico. Great for swimming with and viewing saltwater marine life. Picture quality was not great but we were not surprised. Water quality, lighting and low megapixel were all too blame. Would buy for again for a young swimmer going on a similar vacation.

We used this camera on a recent trip to British Virgin Islands. We snorkeled 7 days and took more than 100 pictures and tons of videos. It was reliable, withstood banging around in the boat when not in use. Some of the pictures are amazing -- great color, crystal clear -- some don't even look like they are taken in water! Alos the pictures taken over the water looked great too! Of course, some of the pictures are blurry or dark but it is because of movement -- both the water and the person or the sun not being overhead. The videos are really fun too. The only negative (if you can call it that) is it is a little difficult to move from snapping pictures to taking videos than back again). It was hard to discern at times what mode the camera was in). But nonetheless we got back terrific pictures so worked fine in the end! For the money, this is a terrific product. PS. My 13 year old son used it many days and also found it easy to use.

This underwater camera looks great when you take it out of the box. I tested out of the water and it worked fine. In my last vacation in the Caribbean I snorkeled every day and I used this underwater camera. Since day one, it gave me a lot of troubles. The plastic internal mask didn't fit very well on my face. The mask didn't seal, which means that water came into the mask and it wasn't possible to use. Also, I thighted the original strap many times without positive result, water just kept going into the mask. I needed to replace the strap because the one that comes with the camera is very thin and it was loose all the time. I solve the strap problem but no the one with the plastic internal mask, I couldn't seal it. Frustrated, I decided to use it like a regular hand camera, which defeat the purpose of the product. It took a good quality pictures and video, but, I'm going to return the product if possible and buy a regular underwater hand camera. This is a nice idea but a very low quality product.

I purchased two of these, (different models) one for my wife to snorkel with and another one for scuba. I used them both in Roatan where the water visibility was excellent. My wifes model (Liquid Image 304 XSC Explorer Series 8.0 MP) did not work at all and froze after the third picture on several occations. I'm going to assume it was just this particular mask because the other mask worked as expected. The quality of the pictures on my more expensive model (Liquid Image 5.0 MP) was not great, nor was the video quality great, but it was also not terrible, considering the price of the equipment. It was good enough to capture the moment, but if you're looking for awesome pictures, then you'll need to spend much more money for better quality equipment. Note the cheaper 8mp model is only rated to 15' (?), whereas the 5mp model is rated to 60'. Operating the modes (Video or Photo) was not always as easy as one would think, although after a few days I did get used to it. In the bright sunlight and great visibility of the Caribbean it was hard to tell which camera mode you were in - Red for Camera and Blue for Video, which resulted in several disappointing results. Another tissue I found was the depth restriction. If you only plan to snorkle then this is adequate, but if you plan to scuba then you'll need something that can handle deeper depths. In short I would say if you're looking for an inexpensive novel camera solution for snorkling this is a good option for the money.

camera is good but the mask has many broplems with water and fog So I thing 3 start is good for item