Epoque EHD-800Ai camera and housing

Epoque EHD-800Ai, £199

Compared with the other models on the market, it struggles to compete on specs such as high ISO, megapixels and LCD screen size, but the housing goes a long way to negate this.

The build quality is robust, the overcentre closure catch is big and safe and the ergonomics and operation of the push buttons are excellent. More importantly, however, external slave flashes can be triggered easily and even more importantly there is a 55mm front filter ring for attaching wide angle and macro lenses as well as colour correcting filters.

It’s always difficult when choosing your first compact camera for underwater use to really know how hooked you are going to become. The beauty of the EHD-800Ai combination is that it can be expanded with accessories to suit your needs should you get the bug and want to improve the versatility of your shots.

The provision of all of these features makes the Epoque EHD-800Ai a clear winner for value for money.

AT A GLANCE

Housing integral
Megapixels 8
Lens (35mm equivalent) 36–108mm
Max aperture f2.8–4.8
Optical zoom 3x
Movie mode resolution 720 x 480
LCD screen 2.4in
Internal memory 32MB
Memory card SD, SDHC
Manual white balance No
Underwater modes None
Max ISO film speed 800
Depth rating 45m

VERDICT
Excellent value for money
Value 9 Performance 7

CONTACT
Cameras Underwater • 01404 812277 • www.camerasunderwater.co.uk