Camera Snorkel Mask

Product Description

The Liquid Image Hydra Series is an Underwater Camera built into a dive mask, making underwater photography "Hands Free" for safer swimming, snorkeling, and scuba diving. The camera Mask takes a 4GB+micro SDHC card and can expand up to a 32 GB card. A 4 GB card records approx. 2 hours of video per 1 Gb of memory added. It works well with the Model 347 Underwater 60 degree side torch

Features

• Wide angle video camera embedded into a diving mask captures what you see, for easy Hands Free photography while snorkeling and diving to a depth rating of 130ft or 40m
• Video Mode records HD 720P Video 1280x720 up to 30 fps
• Photo Mode records 12.0 MP interpolated images through a 135 degree lens
• 4GB+ micro SDHC card recommended (expands up to 32 GB) A 4GB card records approximately 2 hours of video Camera records approximately 700 or more images or 30 minutes of video per 1GB of memory added
• 4 x AAA Energizer Lithium Batteries or Rechargeable Lithium Batteries recommended

Top Reviews

Good mask, awesome video!
by Remote MO (5 out of 5 stars)
January 31, 2016

Hydra Review

My wife got me the Hydra HD 720p for Christmas with the idea we'd be able to use it on our trip to Mexico in January - THANK YOU! Order was shipped promptly and everything was as expected. Based on other reviews I played with it some before we left to get used to the different settings but for me all I really needed to know was how power up, power down and how to cycle between the 4 camera modes (HD video VGA video, still photo and continuous photo). Each mode causes the LED indicator to change to a different color. Realizing that toting the paper manual around on the beach wasn't going to be practical AND with a Mexican vacation often comes plenty of tequila so it was very likely I'd forget what each colors meant by the time I got to the reefs. I solved this by taking sharpie and made myself a cheat-sheet of LED color to mode on the back of the mask before we left. This proved to be very useful while on the water.

I used the mask with a blue filter several hours a day for 6 consecutive days tooling around various reefs. I am impressed and the photo and video quality were fantastic. Had no issues with durability, no leaks, putting it on, taking it off was easy as was adjusting tension while in the water. And, based on observations of the "Go-Pro" setup absolutely prefer a fully integrated camera over a top-mount (reason mentioned below). Constructive feedback (below) aside I rate this a 5/5, would buy this again and plan to soon for my wife.

With that said there is definitely room for some engineering improvements. Not sure if any of this would be possible but here's what I'd change:

Camera: The primary reason you get this is for the camera. Since it is mounted basically on your forehead when used for snorkeling the camera will bob in and out of the water even though your lenses are submerged. This made for some pretty shoddy video until I realized what was happening and adjusted my swimming to be more "look down". Still, you have to look ahead at times to see where you are going and can pretty much assume the camera is out of the water when you do. I'd suggest moving the camera down and I'd say directly over the nose cover would be about perfect and wouldn't impact vision.

Batteries: I did not find getting the batteries installed nor the memory as difficult as some have but it could be easier. This mask does burn through batteries pretty quickly in video mode (pretty much all I used). Given the space allowed I'd vote to replace the two side AAA battery compartments with two side 9v batteries like we use in our smoke detectors. Would take up about the same space but give much longer life plus would solve the issue some have with installing.

LED: The LED is a great way to quickly know what mode you are in and seemed promising in my living room but when you are submerged it was not even remotely possible for me to see whether the light was on much less what color it was. I didn't have a problem popping up, pulling off the mask to check and adjusting as needed but the light needs to be moved. I'd suggest somewhere prominent like between the eyes so it'd slightly illuminate the rubber and you could even dim it down some then. Also, printing a quick-reference that maps LED color to camera mode on the mask itself seems like a no brainer. Including a water-proof card with some additional quick references might also be a good idea.

Not sure if any of that would be possible but I'd be willing to pay a little more for those few options.

Hope someone finds this useful!
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Cheap, But It Works
by Sandy (WA) (3 out of 5 stars)
May 7, 2016

It worked. That's worth something. I have pictures and video of our latest SCUBA trip. But this is a very cheap device, and your expectations should match that. The strap feels fragile, it doesn't fit as nicely as a dedicated mask would, and the camera is pretty basic, but it does work.

A set of four AAA batteries barely lasts two dives so bring extras. The status lights are hard to see, so practice shading the corner and finding the dim light. I could never tell the difference between blue and purple underwater, so I had to count the beeps as the colors changed, since I could see green, red, and two blueish lights. Worked okay that way.

My biggest complaint is that the audio cut out several times, so half my videos start out with sound and then devolve to loud static. I have to post-process my videos to remove the sound so I can share them. But it was super cheap, and it worked. So I'm happy enough.
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Wonderful underwater camera!
by Stacey Subervielle (5 out of 5 stars)
October 18, 2015

These are a great deal!! You cant aak for more at this price. I was very pleasantly surprised. My pics and video were clear in and out of the water. The images I uploaded on Amazon don't do it justice. Amazon must reduce the file size.
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Works great but be careful with packing
by dave c. (4 out of 5 stars)
August 27, 2015

The camera portion as well as waterproofing works as described. No issues with downloading of pics and video. When I packed it I put it in with my luggage instead of my carry on for my cruise. Consequently the headstrap attachment broke during loading of the same luggage. The instructions warn several times about being extra careful with it. It seemed sturdy enough to me but that luggage got loaded with extra items that made it very crowded. My fault. So i did a hand held snorkel with it. Which was harder to do for a first timer. I did notice that it has a threaded nut already built in that would accept a selfie stick. I had one but did not try it in the water because it was my first time snorkeling. I will have to investigate getting a replacement harness but it may compromise the waterproofing cause it will take disassembly to put it on.
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Good mask, good pics, sound recording issues
by CrysSeego (3 out of 5 stars)
September 9, 2016

I took this mask to St Lucia for six dives. The mask quality and feel is quite good. Made of durable materials and tempered glass, soft and comfortable when worn. Light weight enough to carry about easily, like a normal dive mask.

I initially had mask flooding for the first dive and eventually had to remove my snorkel altogether to stop the flooding, by the third dive it was fine.

Instructions are easy to follow and even underwater changing from one mode to the next was quite easy. The led colours show up well even at deeper depths.

The quality of the stills was what you'd expect from a 12mgp camera and I had no issues with those. The video quality not the best but works well and has better colour contrast than the stills. My main problem is that after a few seconds of recording, the video sound goes to static. I don' know if this is just a problem with my mask in particular or is it a common issue with all users.

I used rechargeable batteries, and they lasted for two 40-50min dives. Cleaning and drying was simple, again follow the instructions and you should be fine. The seals are hard to close to the desired amount. With use it became easier to open/close.

In all I'd say its a good dive mask and works well fro the price, main problem was the sound static in my recordings.
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Five Stars
by Ms Sandy A. Schulte (5 out of 5 stars)
December 13, 2016

Love these dor snorkling and taking steady pictures
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liquid image
by Amazon Customer (5 out of 5 stars)
January 26, 2017

A verry well made synthesis between a camera and a diving mask. Once you have understood and internalised the somewhat tricky operation mode

you will gain a lot of good shots, videos or stills.
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Great fun recording waves and surf
by BWhit (4 out of 5 stars)
August 31, 2015

Great fun recording waves and surf. Can not wait for the surf to quiet down a little to get some snorkeling done.
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Three Stars
by victor l velez (3 out of 5 stars)
June 29, 2016

nice video batt run out quik
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YOU have to have this !
by Dan (5 out of 5 stars)
August 14, 2015

BETTER then expected excellent photos and long length movies taken with great clarity. ONLY option we would like to see id a snap on red lens filter, this would bring out the best of this product.

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