Speedo Aquashot – The Underwater Camera That Floats
The back and LCD screen of the Aquashot cam by Speedo
Some people are very fond of sports that take place in water. Whether we’re talking about surfing, wakeboarding or sky jets, some people simply can’t imagine their lives without these activities. On top of the relatively smaller number of people who appreciate these kinds of sports, most other people will have to agree that swimming is pretty fun and it has proven to be a pretty healthy and convenient way to work out and shape your body. While we’re talking about accessories for swimming, the first name that comes to mind is definitely Speedo. The company provides swimwear as well as accessories for water sports. On previous occasions Speedo has introduced multiple interesting gadgets, among which the Aquabeat Waterproof MP3 player that enables people to listen to music while swimming. Speedo’s most recent achievement is a completely different device which will prove interesting for all of the photo and video enthusiasts out there.
The product is called Aquashot and what it allows you to do is capture videos of anything that goes on underwater. Waterproof camcorders and digital cameras aren’t really new on the market. What’s so special about Speedo’s camera is that it’s simple to use and sports a decently affordable price tag. Far from claiming to be a top of the line underwater cam, the Aquashot will only work up to three feet underwater, but the nice thing about it is that it floats, so you don’t have to worry about dropping it in the water and then having to retrieve it (action which proves quite tricky assuming you’re not using the cam in a pool). This float capability of the Aquashot separates it from many other products. It’s a simple capability that could be taken for granted, but which greatly improves the user’s experience.
Moving on to the technical part, Speedo’s Aquashot comes with a 5 megapixel sensor, 2.4 inch LCD display which allows you to preview what you’re shooting, 4x digital zoom and a SD memory card slot which will allow you to get more storage space for all of your content. The onboard memory is rather on the low side and the user will only get 32Mb.Aside from snapshots, the camera can also shoot VGA quality video at 30 frames per second. Just to plaint a clearer picture of the product, I’ll also mention that it measures 7.8 x 11.1 x 4 cm and weighs 140g.
Before you consider buying this $138 camera, be aware of the fact that it will take some pretty decent photos in the water, but it will be far from high quality when taken out of the water for regular photo capturing. While it’s clearly targeted at people with active lifestyles, some may have a problem with the fact that it only comes in neon green and pink.11
