# Photography with Fully-submersible Cameras



## Pyrotrons (Dec 12, 2009)

I recently purchased an Olympus "Stylus" 550WP from Target, for a whopping $110.00.

Despite the nearly throw-away price tag, this thing is specified for full submersion in water down to 10 feet!!!

Dunking it in my 20G tank, all through-the-glass artifacts are eliminated, and a somewhat "3D" effect can be had with plants in extreme foreground and background. Of course, there is great opportunity for O2-bubble closeups.

Anyhow, I thought it was pretty cool. 










What may be REALLY cool is when I'm swimming in the San Marcos River with my camera this Saturday. Check out the great "San Marcos River" thread in "Local Biotopes"...you'll get an idea of the amount of life this river holds. I keep seeing it in my dreams as being this surreal, blue-green place, with rays of sunlight slicing down through dense forests of aquatic plants. We'll see what happens :wink:


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## kimcadmus (Nov 23, 2008)

Very cool! Would love to see more pics! Did it come with a remote? If so I can imagine some great shots of fish and inverts as well.


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## PeterE (Feb 9, 2010)

Hi pyrotrons, don't forget to take as many pictures as possible, I'm already drooling! I can't wait to see those pictures!


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## Pyrotrons (Dec 12, 2009)

Hello All,

Well, I must say that was the best $110.00 I've ever spent.

Here's a pic for you to feast your eyes upon:









First one to ID the plants wins 

There are a few other pics in my gallery. These are from my recent trip to the San Marcos River, in San Marcos, TX.

I'll be posting a new thread soon, in the Local Biotopes section. As well as these pictures, I shot several minutes of video of exploring underwater in this area...with focus on aquatic plants of course  It's on my YouTube channel:

YouTube.com/Pyrotrons.


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## PeterE (Feb 9, 2010)

I love your pictures! I wish I could have gone snorkeling there. That Texas Wild Rice stuff looks really cool. As for the plant ID, that looks to me like some species of Ludwigia. I don't think it is a Hygrophila, but that would be my second guess. Sorry, I'm not really much of an ID-er. Did you see any fish?


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## Pyrotrons (Dec 12, 2009)

Interesting. Maybe Ludwigia Palustris? The leaf shape looks a little different though. I have a bit of L. Palustris in my tank at home, and the creeks around here (W. Houston) are carpeted in it.

The Texas Wild Rice was incredible to swim around. It waves like a flag in a full gale, almost mesmerizing.

Yes there were tons of fish. Mainly Texas Cichlids, Bluegill, and Largemouth Bass. But I did see one that was quite exotic looking. It was definately a bottom-dweller, and I can only describe it as looking VERY Goby-ish. As in, it looked just like a saltwater Goby. Very tame, he let me sort-of hold him a couple of times with my hand.

I have the full video at YouTube.com/Pyrotrons ; ) Unfortunately the Goby-looking fish isn't in there. Plenty of others!


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## PeterE (Feb 9, 2010)

Just saw the video! Incredible. Sounds like your Goby-ish fish could be a darter. They look a lot like gobies. I had a darter for a while.


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