Sea & Sea Motormarine MM-III

by Julieanne on November 30, 2005



Underwater Photography reviews the Sea & Sea Motormarine MM-III

The Sea & Sea MM-III underwater camera might not only be the replacement for the Motormarine II but, now that the Nikonos is discontinued, perhaps will challenge for number one film camera too!

The MM-III has a nice chunky feel and a new gunmetal finish. It’s still plastic though, so is nowhere near as bullet-proof as the Nikonos.

In all other respects it is a competitor. The controls fall nicely to hand and, for the first time on the Motormarine, there is a LCD to give positive indication of battery power, frame counter, shutter speed etc.

What else is new? Well, for starters, there’s now a 20mm lens built-in. The previous Motormarine had a 35mm, which is not the easiest lens for anyone to use so this is good news.

There is a new range of supplementary lens to further enhance your options. This includes two macro lenses, a 15mm wide angle, and a fish-eye.

Also new is a built-in target light. Handy for Autofocus (but this is not an AF camera).


Sea & Sea
give the specifications for the Sea & Sea MotorMarine III

Camera type 35mm amphibious camera
Film format 24 X 36mm
Lens 20mm F3.8 optical glass lens (6 elements in 4 groups)
Close-up lens Primary lens minn. focus 0.38m
Focus control Manual: Two focusing points: 8 and 0.6m
Focusing range(land) 2ft/0.6m ~ 8 (at 8 point, f8) 1.3ft/0.38m ~ 4.7ft/1.4m (at 0.6m point, f8)
Focusing range(U/W)
(Apparent distance)
2ft/0.6m ~ 8 (at 8 point, f8) 1.3ft/0.38m ~ 4.7ft/1.4m (at 0.6m point, f8)
Exposure control Aperture-priority AE or manual
Shutter Electronic shutter: 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250 second
Aperture control Manual: f/3.8/5.6/8/11/16/22
Viewfinder More than 80% frame coverage, x0.35 magnification
External strobe triggering By 5-pin N sync cord. TTL photography possible
Film speed ISO50/100/200/400 automatically set with DX coded film
Built-in flash Nil
Power source Two AA alkaline, Ni-Cd or Ni-MH batteries
Film advance Automatic
Film rewind Automatic end of roll and manual mid-roll rewind
Depth rating 200 feet/60m
Dimensions (HxWxD) 4.9 X 6.9 X 3.7 inches(125 X 175 X 95mm)
Weight (excluding batteries, land) 33 oz/940g
External strobe YS-30IITTL/Duo, YS-60TTL/N, YS-90TTL/Duo/DX/AUTO, YS-120TTL/Duo, YS-350TTL/PRO * Compatible cord: Sync cord N


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