Travel Photography - Camera for Scuba Diving

I have an upcoming trip and want to take some decent pictures underwater while I'm scuba diving. It's saltwater in case you're wondering. Which camera would you recommend?
I'm not a professional photographer and don't wish to spend too much money on my first camera for scuba but I don't want to buy a crappy camera either. I'd like to take some quality pictures like the ones some people post on their blogs.
I also like to travel light so nothing heavy please.
My budget is under $650 if possible. Let me know which additional accessories I need to buy because like I said I'm not a pro. Any suggestions?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?ci=16477&N=4185679681+4283022111

is a pretty decent listing of what is available. I have used the Sealife DC 1400 and was happy with it.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?ci=16477&N=4185679681+4283022111

is a pretty decent listing of what is available. I have used the Sealife DC 1400 and was happy with it.

Personally, I would go for the SpongeBob camera!;)

Although I haven't yet used the ones pictured, for diving you definitely want to go with something rated to at least 100 feet. I wouldn't consider anything less.

What i use:

Camera - $350
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/822303-REG/Canon_5245B001_PowerShot_S100_Digital_Camera.html

Case - $230
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/823936-REG/Canon_5481B001_WP_DC43_Waterproof_Case_for.html

You may want to buy an extra O-ring at some point (after repeated use).. buy some silicone gel to coat the O-ring with after each use/clean
But total under $600.

You get a great Point and Shoot camera.. one of the best with manual controls yet small and easy to carry.
The case is also very solid.. dove to 100 ft no problems.

The reason i like the camera is i can shoot in RAW.. which is definitely needed unless you get some MEGA lights, your white balance is almost certainly off, so shooting RAW allows me to adjust in post process without quality loss.

Rent an underwater camera. Generally resorts will have a few for rent.

Taking decent pictures underwater is difficult unless you are in almost calm waters. Decent underwater housings cost as much as the camera or more. Shutter lag in point and shoots is a real problem.

I am a bit of a snob concerning my pictures.

Rent an underwater camera. Generally resorts will have a few for rent.

Taking decent pictures underwater is difficult unless you are in almost calm waters. Decent underwater housings cost as much as the camera or more. Shutter lag in point and shoots is a real problem.

I am a bit of a snob concerning my pictures.

I rented at first, but they cost 50-60 to rent usually, so if you go ONCE then definitely rent..
If you go diving quite a bit, consider investing in your own
If you go ALL the time, you might want to look at SLR/casings.. but that's thousands of dollars.

Agreed, underwater photography is difficult. u need light, and current makes it hard to focus.. and shutter lag is a real pain, but you learn to get used to it. Don't have crazy expectations.. it won't look as good as your Canon 5d3 photos on land.. :)

What i use:

Camera - $350
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/822303-REG/Canon_5245B001_PowerShot_S100_Digital_Camera.html

Case - $230
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/823936-REG/Canon_5481B001_WP_DC43_Waterproof_Case_for.html... ...

Does that mean that I can use my own digital camera if I have the right case? I thought the normal digital cameras are not meant to withstand the higher pressure underwater.

GoPro HD with either an eyeofmine modified housing, or the actual GoPro dive housing. Add a red color filter from Mako Spear Guns, and you are in business for 1080p video and 6/11mp still shots for less than 300 bucks.

There are ~$80 point-and-shoot underwater cameras that are probably what I would do for the first while if I was going to do it again. It's silly to spend too much on a camera and housing when it's going to take more than a few dives before you're actually regularly taking photos where the quality of the camera is the limiting factor.

That said what I actually did is get a gopro. You need to buy the dive housing or replacement lense but the housings are pretty cheap. The gopro is definitely a tradeoff. You can't see a preview and the still photos are pretty noisy in low light so you're not really going photo hunting. They're best used by starting the video recording and then forgetting about them. The video quality is excellent.

The gopro is just expensive enough that having one flood will be quite annoying. But just cheap enough that you don't need to treat it like your crown jewels and add a rider to your insurance policy either.

The alternative as mentioned above is to get real scuba housing for a camera. There are housings for just about every decent camera out there from point-and-shoots up to the top-of-the-iine dslrs but each housing is for one specific camera. So if you're shopping for a camera you're making a pretty big bet on your choice of camera because if you don't like it you'll also be replacing the housing. If I were going that route I would be looking hard at the mirrorless bigger-sensor cameras that have been coming out the past couple years. The new hottness is apparently the Sony RX100, not sure if there's a housing for it yet.

GoPro HD with either an eyeofmine modified housing, or the actual GoPro dive housing. Add a red color filter from Mako Spear Guns, and you are in business for 1080p video and 6/11mp still shots for less than 300 bucks.

We're using the GoPro HD Hero2, comes with waterproof housing. Just needed to add the orange flotation pad which sticks on the back panel.

2 buttons - on/off, start/stop. Dead easy to use. And really compact to boot.

The results are rather impressive for well under A$500...

Nikonos.

Best inexpensive underwater camera ever. The original was a Cousteau prototype, hence the name Calypso, before it became Nikonos.

My first was a new 1965 model. My second was free the next year when I found a Nikonos that someone had dropped or lost while diving. I took it into a camera shop, had it serviced, and it still worked fine. Generally, they don't leak and they don't fog.

Reliable history, simple maintenance, different lenses, flash, the whole package.

Why not try one of these: http://www.dicapacusa.com/?

We're using the GoPro HD Hero2, comes with waterproof housing. Just needed to add the orange flotation pad which sticks on the back panel.

2 buttons - on/off, start/stop. Dead easy to use. And really compact to boot.

The results are rather impressive for well under A$500...

Willy. i've been curious about the GoPro cameras..
are they shooting video or photo?
and what kind of editing abilities do you have?
(i.e. can you shoot RAW images to adjust white balance after the fact)?

Thanks!

I'm considering Olympus TG-1iHS. The review seems pretty good.

I'll echo the recommendations for a housing on a regular camera you're familiar with. I'm currently using an Canon Elph 300 HS and the Canon housing for it. I got some pretty good shots out of it on my last trip:

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/thewanderingaramean/files/2012/05/IMG_0367_thumb.jpg

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/thewanderingaramean/files/2012/05/IMG_0271_thumb.jpg (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/thewanderingaramean/2012/05/underwater-off-fajardo-puerto-rico/)

Video, too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3c4FvJm0ms&feature=player_embedded

I'd also say to get to the point where you are comfortable using it before you get in the water. Understand which buttons are where and how it works. Trying to learn/understand that while underwater and remembering the dive stuff really takes away from that side of the fun.

I'll echo the recommendations for a housing on a regular camera you're familiar with. I'm currently using an Canon Elph 300 HS and the Canon housing for it. I got some pretty good shots out of it on my last trip:

Those look great. Did you use any additional lighting?

I would also suggest you look at www.scubaboard.com. They have a photo section with tons and tons of great info.

If you don't get an external light (strobe) your pictures below about 30 feet will be very blue. You need some type of photo editing software to make them presentable, even if you use the built in flash on a camera.

If you don't get an external light (strobe) your pictures below about 30 feet will be very blue. You need some type of photo editing software to make them presentable, even if you use the built in flash on a camera.

+1^

Which is why you want to shoot in RAW, and adjust the white balance afterwards.
:)

I'm a Divemaster and I thought I'd chime in on Cameras.

Most photos people take are terrible. Light is very challenging underwater, and makes for bad photos. You either need a huge flash or to get very close.

Cameras turn decent divers into terrible divers. They spend the entire dive looking at a 3" screen instead of enjoying the dive. They also float all over the place, endangering themselves.

I highly recommend giving the camera to your divemaster and have him/her take pictures of you and your party underwater - those are always great. :)

I'm a Divemaster and I thought I'd chime in on Cameras.

Most photos people take are terrible. Light is very challenging underwater, and makes for bad photos. You either need a huge flash or to get very close.

Cameras turn decent divers into terrible divers. They spend the entire dive looking at a 3" screen instead of enjoying the dive. They also float all over the place, endangering themselves.

I highly recommend giving the camera to your divemaster and have him/her take pictures of you and your party underwater - those are always great. :)

I presume you are referring to inexperienced divers, with inexperience when it comes to photography. :)

I hand my camera to someone else once in a while.. but only to take a photo of me.. then i want it back. :p

Willy. i've been curious about the GoPro cameras..
are they shooting video or photo?
and what kind of editing abilities do you have?
(i.e. can you shoot RAW images to adjust white balance after the fact)?

Thanks!

Both.

No editing on-camera, and the only files are .mp4 and .jpg - no RAW AFAIK. This is a "point and shoot" infinite focus camera that is great to "just use".

There are some much better cameras recommended in this thread, however the GoPro is light, easy to use, and allows you to enjoy your diving and snorkelling...and not have to concentrate on the equipment.

I presume you are referring to inexperienced divers, with inexperience when it comes to photography. :)

I hand my camera to someone else once in a while.. but only to take a photo of me.. then i want it back. :p

Even experienced divers are dumb with the camera. My friend just came back from Indonesia and was doing this epic dive with Hammerheads or some other sharks. Tons of them One of the divers who was quite experienced was taking all sorts of photos and meanwhile was sinking downwards. There wasn't any frame of reference because the sharks were everywhere, and when very deep you don't really feel the extra depth on your ears. One of the divemasters went down to 55m to pull him up, which is extremely dangerous. I don't know that I would have gone that deep.

I've seen this too many times as people drift up towards a bunch of boats on the surface or down to the bottom. Even worse, I've seen instructors let their open water students carry a camera.

So if you get a camera, please please be careful! :) Diving is plenty safe but you have to keep your wits about you.

I got the Go Pro HD HD HERO2: Motorsports Edition and am getting my certification in Jamaica.

If I buy the Dive housing does it come with a head strap? Is it possible to turn it off and on while underwater? I would probably just have it in video mode and turn it on if I see anything interesting.

Are the red lenses easy to install and how bad is it if I don't use them?

+1^

Which is why you want to shoot in RAW, and adjust the white balance afterwards.
:)

I'm really new at this and it might sound dumb but what does it mean "to shoot in raw?"

I got the Go Pro HD HD HERO2: Motorsports Edition and am getting my certification in Jamaica.

If I buy the Dive housing does it come with a head strap? Is it possible to turn it off and on while underwater? I would probably just have it in video mode and turn it on if I see anything interesting.

Are the red lenses easy to install and how bad is it if I don't use them?

The headstrap comes with the Outdoor Edition package or I think you can buy it separately. I don't think it comes in the grab-bag of mounts but I could be wrong.

Fwiw I found the headstrap kind of annoying to use with a facemask and it made me worry it would be hard to clear my mask if I needed to. YMMV. I'm thinking of epoxying one of the small mount things to the top of the facemask directly. There are some videos of people doing this using a bolt but my mask doesn't have anywhere I could bolt onto easily.

Changing modes reliably requires being able to look at the screen. But just starting and stopping the video if you're in video mode or taking photographs if you're in photo mode can be done without looking at it. There are distinctive beep patterns specifically so you can use it without looking at it.

That said it's a perfectly viable option, and perhaps safer, to just start videoing at the surface and stop when you're done. A 32MB card can store 4h of video and one battery lasts > 2h so you could probably get two dives on a single battery or you could change batteries between dives.

There's even a mode you can turn on that makes it start as soon as you turn it on. That way you can leave it off until you're ready and press a single button to start and never touch it again until the surface.

I don't think the gopro dive housing takes filters. IIRC Eyeofmine mod takes filters but none of the others do. I don't imagine it would be terribly hard to add but I wouldn't know.

Those look great. Did you use any additional lighting?

Some of the stills had an external strobe. Most didn't. All shot in straight JPEG and minimal editing if at all.

The headstrap comes with the Outdoor Edition package or I think you can buy it separately. I don't think it comes in the grab-bag of mounts but I could be wrong.

Fwiw I found the headstrap kind of annoying to use with a facemask and it made me worry it would be hard to clear my mask if I needed to. YMMV. I'm thinking of epoxying one of the small mount things to the top of the facemask directly. There are some videos of people doing this using a bolt but my mask doesn't have anywhere I could bolt onto easily.

Changing modes reliably requires being able to look at the screen. But just starting and stopping the video if you're in video mode or taking photographs if you're in photo mode can be done without looking at it. There are distinctive beep patterns specifically so you can use it without looking at it.

That said it's a perfectly viable option, and perhaps safer, to just start videoing at the surface and stop when you're done. A 32MB card can store 4h of video and one battery lasts > 2h so you could probably get two dives on a single battery or you could change batteries between dives.

There's even a mode you can turn on that makes it start as soon as you turn it on. That way you can leave it off until you're ready and press a single button to start and never touch it again until the surface.

I don't think the gopro dive housing takes filters. IIRC Eyeofmine mod takes filters but none of the others do. I don't imagine it would be terribly hard to add but I wouldn't know.

Once you get past a certain amount of dives, your buoyancy becomes second nature-ish, and you will find that it really isn't too difficult to shoot video or take pictures underwater while maintaining directional control. The only ones that I see drifting are either novices, or are trying way too hard to compose a shot.

I actually prefer my GoPro HD without the LCD backpack because it forces me to just lay back and enjoy my dive, as opposed to trying to be a master photographer, constantly making a conscious effort to take pictures. I just carry my GoPro in hand (I have a simple retainer strap attached to my BCD just in case, but have rolled naked before and also have the $20 floaty red backdoor foam from the manufacturer attached to the backdoor) and point it in the general direction that I would like to shoot and sort it out later. I usually return to the boat pleasantly surprised (I carry my iPad and the Apple SD Card adapter to import and review my work.)

I typically roll around with it in continuous shot mode, that way I don't have to fiddle around with the shutter as I swim. If I see something really interesting, I have remembered all the button sequences, and can quickly switch to 720p 60 fps mode (all buttons are pressable underwater) without looking. Sometimes you can even hear the beep for confirmation, but sometimes I do tilt the front towards my face to double check that the red LED is blinking. I also tend to program it for instant on recording to save time as well. I typically get around a day's worth of diving (3-5 dives) off a charge, depending on how many times I use video recording. Picture-only mode lasts for what seems forever.

I have 2 spare batteries, but the only time that I needed those was on the liveaboard boat off the coast of Thailand. Also, 32 GB on a GoPro HD will outlast your battery.

This will fit inside any housing: (I have the Eye Of Mine) http://www.makospearguns.com/product-p/mccf.htm You have to stick it in the lens portion of the housing, and you may have to slightly trim it to fit, but a filter like this is a necessity from around 5 feet to 80 feet depth. They are cheap enough to buy several and play with until you get it right.

One of the divers who was quite experienced was taking all sorts of photos and meanwhile was sinking downwards. There wasn't any frame of reference because the sharks were everywhere, and when very deep you don't really feel the extra depth on your ears. One of the divemasters went down to 55m to pull him up, which is extremely dangerous. I don't know that I would have gone that deep.

I've seen instructors let their open water students carry a camera.


Ok that's dumb. I pay extra attention to depth and my surroundings when I have a camera knowing that I will be distracted.. And I tend to turn off the camera for a few minutes at a time so i can soak in the dive..
Instructors are crazy if they let a student carry a camera.. i guess you have irresponsible people everywhere.

I'm really new at this and it might sound dumb but what does it mean "to shoot in raw?"

RAW is an image format where no compression/editing is done in camera.. think of it as the name sounds.. you get the 'Raw Data'. When you click, you see an image on the back screen.. that image is processed by your camera. so the computer inside the camera does what IT thinks are adjustments needed. The problem with it (and jpeg) is that the computer will adjust then compress it.. so if you want to edit it after, you lose quality.

Read up a bit on it.. RAW isn't for everyone. if you want some snaps of friends at a bday party.. jpeg works great..
if you want to edit photos for wall papers.. you probably want more control of RAW.

RAW is an image format where no compression/editing is done in camera.. think of it as the name sounds.. you get the 'Raw Data'. When you click, you see an image on the back screen.. that image is processed by your camera. so the computer inside the camera does what IT thinks are adjustments needed. The problem with it (and jpeg) is that the computer will adjust then compress it.. so if you want to edit it after, you lose quality.

That's accurate but I think missing the key property that makes it relevant for diving.

The key point is that jpeg has less dynamic range than the camera sensor can actually pick up. That is, the difference between black and white involves fewer steps than the camera can distinguish. So one of the steps the camera has to do to do the conversion is decide what the darkest and lightest range of each colour channel it needs is. Anything outside that range is just fully saturated or desaturated.

For diving that means white balancing based on the RAW file might recover more detail from the red channel before the camera decides it's all too dark and needs to be quantized to just a few levels or worse might be all 0.

The other technique for dealing with this is to use a red filter. That darkens the blue and green channels so you can use a longer exposure or higher ASA to get more red detail along with the others.