Liquid Image launches underwater digital camera Swim mask
The Underwater Digital Camera Swim Mask—Explorer Series from Liquid Image (such an excellent name) looks . . . odd. First it is a mask for swimmers and then it is a camera which will take pictures underwater without you carrying a camera. And at $100 it is at a very tempting price.
Now a confession. Although the writer published a skin diving magazine and a book which was a skin diving guide to Asia he blew his ear drums in Fiji and got and infection and has never been quite the same chap.
Yet every year he goes to Samos, an island in Greece, and stays in an apartment on an almost deserted beach, and poddles around in the water.
The Liquid Image Swim mask with digital camera is almost designed for that situation. And at US$100 it is almost the same price as you would pay for a good face mask and snorkel in Greece. (There is an even less expensive version but that only has 3.5 mergapixels.)
Liquid Image launched this splendid device at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and you could perhaps forecast that while it may not sell millions it definitely has a place in a niche market.
A special mention for the fact that it comes with a message:
‘Please respect the sea life and the environment! We will not add any videos of people touching fish, turtles, coral, etc. Please be aware of your surroundings while using the Camera Mask. Keep yourself safe and help protect the ocean.’
Well said. It only costs $100 yet it has a 5 megapixel resolution which is more than good enough for underwater. Although there is only18 MB NAND Flash Memory you can use an external memory card — a Micro SD.
It even has video which will go up to 25 frames a second which, true, is not high definition but when you are making underwater movies it matters very little. It is focussed from .5 meters to infinity so swim towards the shark and most of it will be in focus.
Yes, you have an LCD Display and it runs on AAA batteries which makes recharging a doddle. You can dive down to 15 feet, say 5 meters, with no problems. More than that and you need a profession rig.
In this very niche market — light recreational skin diving — there is probably no rig that even remotely approaches it. And at US$100 it is a steal.
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