The Sea & Sea MX-5. Into the surf with a plastic camera.
The Sea & Sea MX-5 appears to be a nice waterproof shell around what is actually a point and shoot plastic camera. Though it’s heavy, most of the weight seems to be due to the plastic shell, not the actual camera workings. I found mine at a Goodwill store for … what? 3? 4 bucks?
You put a little AA battery in there and it performs auto wind and auto rewind. There’s a yellow finger on the front that, when pushed down, releases the protective plastic sportsfinder. It also turns the camera on. My flash doesn’t work, but no biggie. I’m not a scuba diver – just a surface girl. It says it’s got a 28mm lens and I believe it. Deceptively wide, the final image encompasses quite a bit more than the viewfinder lets on. It’s got a nice little rubber wrist strap.
I put some 100 speed Ektachrome through it and ended up getting nice, consistent exposures on both sunny and cloudy days. The Sea & Sea MX-5 isn’t exactly an action camera. The images show motion blur. I WAS on a moving surf board, photographing moving water so I’ll have to give it that.
You’ve really got to reef on it to get the back shut. Getting that flash to work would be a big bonus. Wonder if it’s worth taking apart?
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