How to choose OWD (18m) underwater camera?

Hello,

we are finishing our OWD course and would like to get a simple underwater camera.

We did a "discover" dive in Brazil, where we got a GoPro. From my perspective, GoPro has a too wide focal length for an effective photography of the most animals you see, unless you encounter some whales or large sharks and such . However, I might be mistaken and there might be a reason for this...? This is he very reason I am starting this thread: What focal length would you think is optimal for a beginner underwater snapshots?

We need something waterproof to about 20 meters (I know there is not much light there and we will probably not spend much time so deep, but it would be sad to stop at the certain depth only because of the camera), I am thinking a zoom capability would be nice and we would like some reasonable IQ. Olympus or Ricoh comes in mind...

I do not want to get the D600 housing - I would not want to risk it and also, it costs more than the camera's body, plus, I would not fit it in my backpack (we are inlanders, so our diving will be done during some kind of backacking trips).

Any tips?

Thank you.

PS: We also have a Canon Powershot, I think it's SX740, would buying the casing for this be better than, say, TG6 or Ricoh?

I think you need to look at your budget, how much are you willing to spend?  Underwater photograph just like any other hobby can be really expensive.

Are you an on land photographer? if so you might want to look at a second camera body that uses the same lens mount as you main camera body so you don't have to buy new lenses.

I would recommend looking into the Olympus TG5/6 options from Backscatter.com this link is a good starter package, its Olympus point and shoot camera with a housing

I have the Olympus EPL10 from backscatter this link , I was an Olympus shooter before I got into underwater photography so I knew I could use a lot of my lenses on the EPL10 for underwater.

For the OP: I do have a GoPro Here 9 Black that I'll be taking with me the next time I go diving later this year. I just purchased the GoPro U/W housing for it. I'm planning on investing in a handle/tray and filters from Backscatter prior to my next diving outing.

Dann-Oh wrote:

I have the Olympus EPL10 from backscatter this link , I was an Olympus shooter before I got into underwater photography so I knew I could use a lot of my lenses on the EPL10 for underwater.

This is my situation as well--an Olympus shooter with Oly/Pany lenses.

Are you finding the EPL10 in any way limiting when you're diving coming from your EM1 and EM5 topside? I have a EM10.2, but am considering Backscatter's EPL10 option.

Another question are you primarily shooting wide angle or macro when you're diving? I saw both type of lenses in your profile. Did you buy the dedicated dry port/dome for either?

Thanks,

Keith

Falcon04 wrote:

Dann-Oh wrote:

I have the Olympus EPL10 from backscatter this link , I was an Olympus shooter before I got into underwater photography so I knew I could use a lot of my lenses on the EPL10 for underwater.

This is my situation as well--an Olympus shooter with Oly/Pany lenses.

Are you finding the EPL10 in any way limiting when you're diving coming from your EM1 and EM5 topside? I have a EM10.2, but am considering Backscatter's EPL10 option.

My EM5-3 is sitting on the shelf (I don't think I have 2000 shutter actuations on the camera body), I do not like the ergonomics of it at all. I wish I would have initially bought the EM1-3, but I am the kind of person who buys nice because I buy twice.

The biggest issue I have when going from the EM1-3 to the EPL10 is that I use back button focus, the buttons are in different location and the EPL10 is not that ergonomically convenient other than that I do not have any issues going back and forth between the two camera bodies.

***The images linked are to my Instagram account (not for traffic/likes/follows but because I don't have the photos saved online for access from my work computer)***

I just printed image #1 and image #2 at 8x10" and the images are really nice (the actual photo may be a different story to some people's opinions). the 16MP sensor is MRE than enough to print 11x 17" in my opinion.

Another question are you primarily shooting wide angle or macro when you're diving? I saw both type of lenses in your profile. Did you buy the dedicated dry port/dome for either?

I mostly shoot the Panasonic 8mm F3.5 Fisheye in the dry dome, sample 1 , sample 2 . These images image #1 and image #2 (the same as above) are captured with the Olympus 60mm F2.8 Macro in the dry port.  I also just bought the Olympus 30mm F3.5 lens that I will also use in the 60mm port but I haven't had a chance to use it yet. I dive off the coast of Southern California and visibility is not that great at times so I'm hoping the 30mm macro will allow me to get closer to my subjects to reduce the backscatter and particles in the water column. I have the Olympus 9-18 lens but Backscatter has talked me out of getting the semidome port for it as its worse than using the fisheye or the 14-42 kit lens for southern california diving.

Thanks,

Keith

I hope my responses help, if you have any other questinos please let em know and Ill try to answer them as well.

Dann, i cannot access the photo links you added. Could you post them here, so that I see what you mean?

Anyway, I think the Olympus TG is as far as we can stretch, preferably we would keep the price even lower. As I said, it is mainly for snapshotting and it needs to be small, unless it replaces the Canon's capabilities: But i doubt that. So no mirrorless exchangeable lenses cameras etc. Just as I will not be dragging the second body when backpacking, I am rather uncomfortable with the D600 + two lenses 's weight as I carry it around now (not necessarily physically uncomfortable, more like ideologically ).

Just as kelpdiver said, we are beginners and will be having quite a lot to do with diving, so we are not keen on fiddling around with apertures and such: We are looking for a point and (zoom and) shoot.

Asanoth wrote:

Just as kelpdiver said, we are beginners and will be having quite a lot to do with diving, so we are not keen on fiddling around with apertures and such: We are looking for a point and (zoom and) shoot.

Perhaps you might find an old used Canon system?  I shot their point-n-shoots for years, periodically upgrading cameras.  SD 630, SD 870is, S95, s120.   The s95 and s120 were particularly nice in their day, and the camera plus housing sold new back then for around $500 total.

The housings were simple but reliable, probably made by Meikon.

The achilles heel for those cameras was the zoom mechanism.  Eventually it just broke and the lens would no longer zoom in or out, and you really couldn't turn the camera on at that point.  These are above-water failures due to age and use.   But if you get a less-used camera, it should be good for years.

An alternative for you would be to get a $300 Kraken smart phone housing for your phone.  Controls work via bluetooth.

Asanoth wrote:

Dann, i cannot access the photo links you added. Could you post them here, so that I see what you mean?

Anyway, I think the Olympus TG is as far as we can stretch, preferably we would keep the price even lower. As I said, it is mainly for snapshotting and it needs to be small, unless it replaces the Canon's capabilities: But i doubt that. So no mirrorless exchangeable lenses cameras etc. Just as I will not be dragging the second body when backpacking, I am rather uncomfortable with the D600 + two lenses 's weight as I carry it around now (not necessarily physically uncomfortable, more like ideologically ).

Just as kelpdiver said, we are beginners and will be having quite a lot to do with diving, so we are not keen on fiddling around with apertures and such: We are looking for a point and (zoom and) shoot.

Here are a few of the images I mentioned in the previous post.

EPL10 with Oly 60mm Macro in the AOI EPL Housing with 60mm macro port.

EPL10 with Oly 60mm Macro in the AOI EPL Housing with 60mm macro port.

EPL10 with Panasonic 8mm fisheye in the AOI EPL Housing with dome port - Full Image

EPL10 with Panasonic 8mm fisheye in the AOI EPL Housing with dome port Cropped Image

EPL10 with Panasonic 8mm fisheye in the AOI EPL Housing with dome port. - full image

EPL10 with Panasonic 8mm fisheye in the AOI EPL Housing with dome port - crop image.

Yes I'm aware the two images of the Hopkins Rose Nudi are slightly different images however I don't have the same composition of the second image. the point is to show that the 16mp sensor is more than acceptable.

First, I second kelpdiver. Mostly because it is dangerous for you both, since UW-photography is a highly absorbing activity and even very skilled divers are prone to errors, when UW-photographers, because they forget about everything when taking photos. Of course also the intactness of the reef is a factor to consider...

Second, a used TG (no need to be the latest model) will be compact, low priced (as low as possible in UW-photography) and versatile. Here a link where TG users show their (partially excellent) photos: https://scubaboard.com/community/threads/tg-photos-show-us-what-you-shot.606279/page-13#post-9737888

When, later, you find that your photos are as good as the best ones in the link above, but you would like to have more resolution for big prints, better sharpness and colors and more postprocessing flexibility, then the time has come to upgrade to a better camera system...

In case you do not have already, this book is very educational about UW-photography: https://www.amazon.de/Underwater-Photography-Masterclass-Alex-Mustard/dp/1781452229

All the best, Wolfgang

later

I should clarify: We will dive to see the marine fauna. We want a camera to preserve some of the memories of that. The underwater photo is not a goal itself. On the other hand, I am a full frame amateur photographer, so I would like the photos to look better than those of 2005 mobile phone (taking in general, not refering to the topic above).

We are from Czechia, we might not even get to 40 dives within a few years. We will be diving on vacations via tours, probably with divemaster. I should also say, that we will probably not be dragging any strobes/lights/frames with us.

Dann: It is not the sensor resolution what I try to determine, I think 16 MP would be more than enough for most daily applications, the focal length is what intrigues me.

PHXAZCRAIG: How would it be better than the PowerShot we have now?

Kelpdiver: I think that the photos would be the priority, so I would be looking for something like "photos are easy to shoot and video still possible", not the other way around.

If you can find a housing for the Canon, that would be ideal,  I suspect it might be hard to find these days.   Check both Canon and Meikon.

How does one do custom white balance on a Gopro?

When I first started diving, I had a camera from dive 1 pretty much.  But it was a Canon point-n-shoot on a wrist strap, and when I wasn't taking a shot, I just let it go and left it dangling from my wrist.  A very good thing for me as a new diver since I didn't have to pay any kind of attention to the camera when not taking a shot.

Of course I ran into the usual problems.   One whole dive in Cancun is a collection of ridiculous video clips when I didn't realize I had the camera set for video.   I'd take a shot and let go of the camera, letting it dangle.   When I got back I found that half the time I'd taken a shot only to actually have started a video, which then consisted of the view from a dangling camera, until I tried to take another shot only to turn off the video.  Sigh.

Another problem was sometimes getting camera gear caught up in dive hoses.   Still happens...

Eventually I added a flash, and that completely changed the diving experience.  Once I had two handles to hold, I was pretty much constrained the whole dive to holding the camera.  No more dangling from the wrist.

But as long as I could just let go of the camera and ignore it, I wasn't affecting my diving skills.   Once I started taking shots though, my buoyancy skills, or lack thereof, became painfully obvious. Using the camera taught me (force me to learn) better buoyancy skills.

On the other hand, my wife was shooting a lionfish on her 3rd dive aboard a liveaboard in Fiji when she slowly sank down not realizing it, and she ripped an eardrum.   Spend the rest of the week sitting on the boat,   Now she had a weak eardrum before, having ripped it at least twice in earlier years.  (And another 5 more times before she passed).   But without that camera in her hands, she would never have ripped it.  She had 30-50 dives in by then, and without a camera she had excellent buoyancy.

kelpdiver wrote:

PHXAZCRAIG wrote:

How does one do custom white balance on a Gopro?

after the fact with RAW. Find a patch of white sand, or shiny metal and use it for custom WB. You can try the card routine underwater, but it's usually awkward and stops being right if you change your depth or the clouds above do.

Without raw, all you can do is levels. Nearly hopeless at depth without artificial lighting. Raw is still a struggle if all of the sand is green.

You can do raw mode video and set WB after the fact?

With my D850, I do a WB about every 10 foot of depth change, at least.   No way to correct in post in my experience.  Spent 3 days trying on one dive trip before I realized the error of my ways and started getting it right in-camera.   Then I got frustrated below 50 feet when the WB wouldn't correct.  (Known issue.)

PHXAZCRAIG wrote:

When I first started diving, I had a camera from dive 1 pretty much. But it was a Canon point-n-shoot on a wrist strap, and when I wasn't taking a shot, I just let it go and left it dangling from my wrist. A very good thing for me as a new diver since I didn't have to pay any kind of attention to the camera when not taking a shot.

Exactly what we want to do.

I see some underwater cameras, sich as that Ricoh or Olympus, have a led lighting at front surrounding the lens. I guess this is more of a marketing: Or can it really work?

kelpdiver wrote:

But I'll say that in the most recent generations, the Gopro does a good job of this on its own, and I don't think the backscatter filters are really necessary any more.

When you say the backscatter GoPro Filters aren't really necessary, is that a generalized statement, or specific to certain depths / surface weather conditions? I would agree that on a bright sunshine, shallow reef dive in the Florida Keys, you likely don't need the filter, but I would think that they'd still be beneficial on deeper wreck dives due to the loss of light at depth.

Keith