I immediately scoured the entries on ebay for cheap film cameras the minute I heard about this contest. I swim pretty regualarly on the Comal River here in New Braunfels, TX, so I was pretty excited about seeing an UNDERWATER film camera for $9.99 and FREE shipping.

It came with a 400 roll of "Cosco" film. I loaded and went for a swim with a fellow photographer.

We arrived at the river and much to our dismay, we'd arrived late afternoon and there were people all over the place due to Labor Day weekend. The river was less than clear. But we jumped in anyway. The whole time I shot, I was afraid that the camera wouldn't expose correctly because of the low setting sun and the muckiness of the water. But I was surprised to see how sharp and correctly exposed the photos came out!

L O O K S
It's physical appearance is as much a toy camera as you can get. It is basically a little camera encased in a clear plastic box with rubber seals. Plastic and yellow with bright blue patches and buttons, it's very lightweight. I never felt it bothered me as I swam.

L O A D I N G
Easy to open the clear plastic casing and super easy loading on the black internal plastic take-up.

S H O O T I N G
Althought it seems as though that big 'ole blue button on top would be hard to press, I did not have a problem pressing spontaneously.

P H O T O G R A P H S
I was happy with the clarity and the exposure of the shots. However, the camera does produce a bit of distortion around the edges. And not the beautiful distortion that holgas are known for. It's still pretty clear but it's almost as if someone is pulling the film on each corner. Additionally, I felt the lens keeps the colors relatively tame. I was surprised with how brown the river looked. In reality, it was more of a green color.

I did not mess with any of the photos, with the exception of a bit of contrast tweaking.