Olympus sp-350/pt-030 viewfinder

I had a problem using the sp-350 with the pt-030 housing while snorkeling. When the sun was very bright, it was not possible to see anything in the viewfinder. I tried to change the brightness of the screen but to no avail. I had to guess that the object was being photographed. When the clouds were out, I was able to use the viewfinder. I had the same problem using the camera with the pt-030 while above water when taking pictures in sunny conditions. Has anyone else experience the same? Any suggestions?

There's a detachable hood for the LCD window on your housing. Was it on? If not, install it. It should make a difference.

If you're shooting downward and the sun is glaring directly on your viewfinder, try shading it with your face by holding the camera lower or hooding it with your left hand between your eyes and the camera. Then tell me where you're diving, cause I haven't seen the Sun in a month and a half!

Thanks for the replies. The hood was on. We were snorkeling in Bonaire in December. Not much swimming weather up North..

Unfortunately all color LCD screens are created equal in this regard. The other side note is the optical viewfinder on the camera is almost useless even on the topside muchless underwater. I've had a few thoughts here, my intention is to make sure to cover all the bases.

1. You might play with the histogram setting under camera settings. In low light it has to be off to see the screen however, it might have the opposite affect in bright sunlight. The default setting is on.

2. Try depressing the shutter halfway before looking at the screen to compose a shot. The screen intensity should increase dramatically albeit momentarily while it obtains focus.

3. If you take too long between pictures the camera will actually shutdown until you push the shutter button or power button. I've actually learned the hard way that its not taking a picture when its asleep!

4. If all this fails, you'll have to get out your C Card and take that picture from a different angle!!!