1. Moisture Muncher Capsule not fitting inside DC1400 housing
2. Back buttons on UW housing not working
3. Availability of spare battery and charger
4. Battery not charging inside camera
5. Picture out of focus when using SeaLife Fisheye Lens SL975
6. Cannot edit DC1400 videos with Adobe Photoshop Premiere Elements video editing software
7. Slow shutter response time / aka “shutter lag”
8. DC1400 firmware update (version V2014) released November 2013
9. Pink-ish hot spots in underwater video
10. “Card Error” or erroneous “No Image” warning
11. DC1400 lens reflection shows up in picture when using the SL975 Fisheye lens
11. Horizontal line in picture when using Digital Pro Flash (Ext Flash mode)
12. Image vignette (black corners in picture) when using the SL970 Wide Angle Lens
13. Using 32GB SDHC memory cards
14. Continuous recording and zooming in video mode
15. Problems connecting the DC1400 inner camera to your computer
16. Tips to prevent fogging [Inside the housing lens port]
17 Pictures and/or videos are out of focus or camera not focusing
18. Dark area in picture when using camera’s internal flash
19. Tips for avoiding rust stains on stainless steel parts
20. DC1400 Read / Write speed specification
21. Housing is hard to open after air travel
The Moisture Muncher capsule design has changed slightly. One end has a cap that won’t fit into the Moisture Muncher slot of the DC1400 housing. Only insert the thinner end into the slot as shown below. The housing will still close properly without interference and maintain a waterproof seal.
If the Focus, Flash and/or Menu buttons on the back of the housing don’t work, the zoom lever did not return to the center position or the shutter button is sticking.
Note: If the above information does not resolve the issue, please contact your local authorized SeaLife dealer or the distributor/service center in your country for possible repair service. Repair options for the DC1400 are limited because the item has been discontinued over 5 years ago and most parts are no longer available.
Effective July 2019, the DC1400 battery (SL16134) and charger (SL70036) have been discontinued. Spare batteries and chargers may be purchased at your local consumer electronics retailer or online. Here are a few batteries and chargers that we have tested to be compatible with the DC1400:
Note: Olympus, Lenmar and other aftermarket batteries can only be charged in a charging tray accessory, not inside the camera. Use the SeaLife SL70035 or Olympus LI-40C/LI-41C charging tray
There are two types of lithium ion rechargeable batteries that have been supplied with the SeaLife DC1400 camera:
The type 1 battery may be charged inside the camera or the SL70035 charging tray. The type 2 battery may only be charged in the SL70035 charging tray, not inside the camera.
Here is a list of what battery type is included with SeaLife items:
Type 1 Battery: DC1400 Camera (SL720), DC1400 Reef Edition (SL721), Spare Battery (SL7014 Spare Battery)
Type 2 Battery: All DC1400 camera sets and Charging Kit (SL7216) this items include a charging tray.
When using the SL975 Fisheye Lens accessory, make sure camera is set to Macro or Super Macro focus. Also make sure Quick Shot mode is turned OFF.
Important: When switching from picture mode to video mode the auto focus needs to be set to macro. The focus setting for picture and video modes work independently. Once you set the video mode focus to Macro, it will keep that setting when switching between picture and video mode or turning off the camera.
The DC1400 video files are .avi format using MJPG codec, which is not compatible with Adobe Photoshop Premiere Elements video editing software. We recommend using Windows Movie Maker (for PC) or iMovie (for MAC). These two video editing software are easy-to-use and have some great features. Movie Maker comes free with Windows computers and iMovie comes with Apple computers. YouTube has also come a long way with video editing tools.
Shutter lag is the time between pushing the camera’s button and image capture. The DC1400’s shutter lag can be as fast as 0.3 seconds when set to infinity focus or Quick Shot mode, or as slow as 2 seconds in Macro or Super Macro focus. The primary reason for this time difference depends on the camera’s auto focus setting.
In order to find the sharpest focus point, the camera evaluates a hundred focus steps and selects the sharpest one. In Macro and Super Macro focus setting the minimum-maximum focus range is wider compared to the normal auto focus setting, so there are more focus steps to evaluate, which takes a little more time.
Here are some tips on selecting the correct focus setting and minimizing the shutter lag time.
A green focus frame indicates the auto focus is good.
A red frame indicates the camera is not focused on the subject.
Here’s an example of how to use Quick Shot:
Quick Shot mode is useful when taking a series of pictures at the same shooting distance and shutter response time is an important factor. Remember to turn Quick Shot OFF if you want to resume using the camera’s auto focus.
Quick Shot mode is also very useful when shooting with the SeaLife Fisheye wide angle lens accessory (SL975) because the lens has an extremely wide depth of field. Set the camera to macro focus and take a picture of something at 3ft/1m shooting distance, which represent “infinity” focus distance. Now, turn Quick Shot mode ON. The camera’s auto focus is now locked to “Infinity” focus range. All subsequent pictures taken at shooting distance of 18”/45cm to infinity will be in focus. Without the fisheye lens, the focus range would be 2ft to infinity.
Click here for free download and installation instructions.
The firmware improves the following:
Hot spots may occur in extreme lighting conditions where you have small bright, reflective areas among mostly dark areas of the video scene.
For example:
If this occurs, set the camera’s white balance to “BluWtr<25ft” (Blue Water less than 25 feet). Using “BluWtr>25ft” (Blue Water great than 25 feet) adds too much color correction under these brighter light conditions.
If the camera displays a “Card Error” warning or the camera is not operating properly with the memory card installed, check the following. It’s not uncommon that a memory card works in one camera brand/model and not in another. You might be inclined to fault the camera, but in almost all cases comes down to the memory card.
When using the SL975 fisheye lens with your DC1400 camera and aiming the camera toward the sun or other bright light source, you may see the inner camera lens ring reflection in the picture.
The above two pictures show examples of the light conditions or shooting angles which may cause lens reflection.
If you see lens reflection in your underwater pictures, SeaLife makes available (at no charge) a non-reflective sticker which attaches to the inner camera lens ring. Please contact the SeaLife Service Center in your country to obtain a free non-reflective ring sticker (item # SL18035).
If you see a horizontal line in the picture when using the Digital Pro Flash (SL961), the Flash
Link Adapter or Flash Diffuser is not installed correctly. Here is what the picture looks like if the Flash Link Adapter is not installed correctly:
Flash Link Adapter is not installed correctly: The adapter is not over the flash window.
Here the Flash Link Adapter is installed correctly: The adapter completely covers the flash window.
Using the SeaLife SL970 wide angle lens accessory with the DC1400 will cause it to vignette (black frame around picture). The DC1400 already has a built-in 26mm wide angle lens.
For optimal performance, we recommend using a 16GB SDHC memory card, which will store 4396 14MP size fine-quality pictures or at least 90 minutes of video. A 32GB card can also be used for more storage capacity. Cards with more than 32GB memory are not recommended and may cause compatibility problems.
The video mode will record continuously up to a maximum of 25 minutes per video clip, or until the memory card is full or the shutter button is pushed. You can zoom in or out before recording video, but once the video starts recording the zoom cannot be adjusted unless you stop recording. Refer to page 37 of the DC1400 instruction manual for more information about video mode.
The DC1400 camera is compatible with Windows XP/Vista/7.0 or MAC OS 10.3.9 or higher. NO DRIVER IS NEEDED. The DC1400 camera will automatically connect to your computer when following the connection instructions outlined on page 58 of the instruction manual. Here are some tips if you are still having problems connecting the camera to your computer.
Humid air or water drops trapped inside the housing may condense on the cooler glass lens port and cause fogging. Here is the best way to prevent fogging:
If you followed the above advice and the camera still fogs, contact your local authorized SeaLife dealer or the distributor/service center in your country for repair service.
The DC1400 auto focus system has a focus range of 1” (2.5cm) to infinity. Here is some important information on how to avoid taking out-of-focus pictures:
A green focus frame indicates the auto focus is good. A red frame indicates the camera is not focused on the subject.
A dark area in the lower left corner of your image can occur when taking close-up pictures and the camera’s internal flash fires. The dark area or shadow is caused by the underwater housing lens extension which partially blocks the camera’s internal flash.
There are 3 ways to eliminate this shadow effect:
The DC1400 uses marine grade stainless steel hardware, which is ideal for use in saltwater and marine environments. If not cared for properly, rust stains may appear on surfaces. Make sure to rinse off the underwater housing with fresh water after each use. It is best to soak the housing in fresh water for at least 5 minutes. Push each of the buttons and turn the zoom lever several times while the housing is soaking to remove any salt deposits under the buttons and zoom lever. Allow the housing to dry before storage. Keep all metal surfaces clean. If rust stains appear, use a soft bristle brush (like toothbrush) or clean moist cloth. A good source for more information on stainless steel is http://www.ssina.com/knowledgebase/.
If the rust stain does not clean off, or if you see that rust stains have entered inside the shaft of the metal buttons [which usually will result in the button sticking], contact your local authorized SeaLife dealer or the distributor/service center in your country for repair service.
The DC1400camera can transfer data to the SD or SDHC memory card at 3 MB/s (megabytes per second) or 24Mb/s (megabits per second). To optimize the cameras recycle time, we recommend using a memory card with minimum “Class 4” speed (rated at read/write speed of 4MB/s). “Class 6” or “Class 10” cards are also okay, but avoid using a faster read/write speed may cause compatibility problems. Please contact the memory card manufacturer for specifications on the cards read / write speed.
The cabin and cargo pressure in airplanes can create a vacuum seal inside the housing, making it hard to open the housing door after landing. Do not use tools to pry open the housing! Open the latch and firmly grab and lift the door to open the housing. To prevent this vacuum lock effect, leaving the housing door open during air travel. Make sure to pack the housing in such a way as to protect the o-ring from damage and dirt.