Motormarine 35 SE
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The Motormarine 35 SE is a scale-focusing underwater camera developed in 1983[1] by Sea & Sea. Its stout yellow plastic housing is claimed to be waterproof to a depth of 45 meters or 150 feet. As the name implies, the camera has motorized film advance and rewind (powered by two AA-size batteries), although there is no continuous burst mode.
The camera has a single, non-adjustable shutter speed of 1/100 of a second; but apertures from f/2.8–16 are selected manually using a lever on the front of the camera. This is coupled to a light meter which illuminates a trio of indicator LEDs, visible through the clear plastic back of the camera, which guide the exposure setting. The 35mm f/2.8 lens nearly matched the standard optic included with its contemporary, the Nikonos V, but the SE35 was priced much more affordably[2].
The aperture control also serves to switch on the small internal flash, usable at either f/2.8 or f/4. Because of backscatter from particles suspended in water, the internal flash is primarily intended for photography above the surface. The camera includes a port in its clear back door which may fitted with an electrical connection for one of Sea & Sea's "Yellow Sub" (YS) series of underwater strobe lights. By keeping the flash source well away from the shooting lens, the results are more likely to be successful.
Notes
- ↑ According to the Sea & Sea company history at the company's website.
- ↑ An advertisement from New York City retailer B&H in a January, 1988 Popular Photography magazine quotes prices of USD $439.95 for the Nikonos V with its 35/2.5 lens; while the Motormarine 35SE was priced at $189.95 (Vol. 95, No. 1; page 102).
Links
- PDF user manual from the company website