Sea & Sea DX-2G Underwater Camera Review

Who Would Buy This Camera?

The Sea & Sea DX 2G is an advanced compact point & shoot housing and camera system that is best suited for the earnest beginner who wants easy to use preset options but has the ability to learn and expand to more manual control. It is also good for the advanced user needing full creative control with easy to access manual controls.

A close-up of the DX-2G, with a fisheye lens attached

So tell us about the camera inside the housing!

When you buy the Sea & Sea DX-2G, you are purchasing an underwater housing and a point and shoot camera together.

Ricoh GX200 inside

The DX-2G is actually a rebranded Ricoh GX200. The Ricoh GX200, which is quite a compact camera, features a 12.1mp high resolution sensor, a sharp F 2.5-F4.4 24mm-72mm lens with a 3X optical zoom, a 2.7” bright high resolution LCD screen, with 460,000 pixels. The sensor size is the same as the sensor in a Canon S90 or G11.

The camera offers a very little shutter lag, full manual control as well as program exposure modes. You have complete control of balancing the available light to strobe light, which is important in an underwater camera.

The GX200 replaces the Ricoh GX100, which was the Sea & Sea DX-1G underwater camera. The biggest change in the GX200 is a fast improvement in the raw write speed, and the LCD screen is also larger.

Main characteristics of the Sea & Sea DX 2G Underwater Camera

The Sea & Sea DX 2G housing is well made and laid out giving you easy access to all controls, it is rated to 180 feet and features a bayonet mounting system, two built in fiber optic mounts. The shutter is accessed by button/dial on the back top right side of the housing, if pressed this button give you access to 4 user pre-set settings (AF, AF/MF, WB, Exp Comp, Flash Comp, ect) including the ability to move the focus area to anywhere inside the frame.

DX-2G 24-72mm optical zoom

The aperture is accessed by a button/dial on the front right side of the housing directly below the shutter release lever. There is a third button on the left top side the can be pre assigned for another function if wanted. I have this set for manual focus for use with macro. There is an accessory shoe located on the top of the housing that can be used for attaching a single strobe or focus light that is helpful for low light and macro focusing situations.

DX 2G review intro