Today's tip: Disposable cameras are just that

[Elkman]

Don't ever use a cheapie disposable underwater camera.  They aren't good for anything at all, except maybe for entertainment.

I learned this lesson the hard way because I bought the aforementioned cheapie camera for a trip to Wazee in early October.  I got about three or four pictures with it until I realized that we'd be diving below the 35-foot depth recommended for the camera.  (Also, I decided that I had to pay attention to doing the five PADI Adventure Dives so I could get the skills in.)

I've let the camera sit around until this morning, when I brought four friends into Going Under Dive Center for a "Discover Scuba" class.  I figured that since it was a dive in a pool, and since there'd be enough light, I could finish the pictures off from the camera and get decent pictures.  As it turns out, I finished the pictures off from the camera, but the picture quality was pretty poor.  Even though the pool appeared to be well-lit, the pictures are way too dark and they look murky.  It looks like the entire pool was lit by a single 40-watt bulb or something.  And, to top it off, I had the pictures processed at Target, and I asked them to give me a CD with the pictures on it (for an additional fee, of course).  If the pictures are on the CD they gave me, I can't find them -- the disc is unreadable in any of the computers I've tried it in.  I'm now attempting to scan the pictures in with my scanner so I can Photoshop them into something reasonable.

On a brighter note, my friends all enjoyed the "Discover Scuba" session, so I might just have them hooked.  We'll see how soon they take the classes.