On our first trip to
Sesame Place we packed a huge bag of necessities, including a standard camera. We took dozens of pictures, until we stowed everything in a locker so we could enjoy the pools and water rides. We still wanted to take pictures, so we purchased our first waterproof camera at the gift shop.
Since then I always try to have at least one
Kodak Water & Sport Waterproof 35mm Film Cameras on hand. This disposable 35 millimeter camera is completely encased in plastic and rubber, so that it can be submerged in water, and will not break if dropped. Inside the clear plastic appears to be a regular yellow Kodak camera, and it has blue rubber around it, a blue knob on top to advance the film and a blue button on the front to snap the picture. Through a clear window on the top you can see black numbers indicating how may of the 27 exposures you have left. A thick blue rubber band can be attached to the camera, so that you can carry it on your wrist.
The film speed is 800, with no flash, and I have found that it works best in bright sunlight. I used this camera at
Great Wolf Lodge, an indoor water park, and though the pictures were not as sharp as those taken outdoors, the sunlight coming in through the windows during the day and the fluorescent lights at night were enough to provide decent pictures, though the night photos were a bit more grainy. The film speed also makes it great for taking action shots of my children as they play soccer or baseball.
This is a single-use camera, meaning that the entire camera must be given to the photo lab for developing, and will not be returned to you. It is usually priced at about $12 and about $6 for developing. I have seen them priced at $20 or more at parks and gift shops, so plan ahead and get one before your trip.
The camera indicates that it can be used underwater to depths of 50 feet. I cannot attest to that, but it works great in our four foot deep backyard pool when taking underwater pictures of my children. My children quickly learned how to use this waterproof camera since it only requires pressing a button to take a picture and turning a knob to advance the film. It can get wet, be dropped and otherwise abused, and the pictures still come out great.
I have been pleased with the pictures I have gotten with this camera, but remember to take along another camera if you want to take indoor pictures since there is no flash. I recommend taking a
Kodak Water & Sport Waterproof 35mm Film Camera along whenever there is a possibility of a camera getting wet. I also highly recommend that you plan ahead and pack one in your suitcase, rather than pay a premium for it at your destination.
