Ironborn
Contributor
I chose an Intova DUB as my first underwater camera – indeed, my first camera purchase of any kind, unless one counts cell phone cameras. Since I was new to photography, both underwater and topside, and still relatively new to diving in general, I wanted something small and simple at a modest price. I had initially considered buying a model of the more popular GoPro series, but I had read mixed reviews about the quality of the still images that they produce, and the prices seemed high for what many users described as mediocre still images. I looked into the cheaper Chinese imitation SJCAM, but some of what I read about it suggested that “you get what you pay for.”
I instead found the Intova DUB on LeisurePro's website for $100 and bought one at their store in New York (where I live). The 32G memory card was about $35. I bought the red filter for about $40 and maintenance supplies (silicone grease and desiccant packs) at B&H Photography in New York.
The manufacturer advertises a battery life of 120 minutes, which is consistent with my experience. One full charge usually lasted me through a typical two-tank trip of two dives that lasted about one hour each. I was able to stretch it out to three dives a day by turning it off and only turning it on when I needed to shoot as the power got low. It takes approximately four hours to charge the battery fully.
I wanted a small camera that would be easy to carry. This camera, even inside the housing that comes with it, is very small; it fits inside one of my hands easily (although I have big hands). One could comfortably store it in a BCD pocket as well. It is positively buoyant, which I consider a plus; one can let it hang from the lanyard on one's wrist without it sinking to bang against the reef. The camera is so small that its positive buoyancy should not have any significant impact on one's overall buoyancy.
The plastic housing seems robust enough. I have logged about 20 dives with it, at a maximum depth of 102 feet, and I have not had any floods or leaks thus far. It has even banged against a few boat hulls as I was exiting the water and does not seem to have suffered any damage. The only housing problem that I have had so far is that there are occasionally condensation spots in upward-facing images at shallow depths, e.g. shots of a surfacing sea turtle that I took during a safety stop. This condensation appears only at shallow depths on hot, sunny days, despite my use of desiccant packs. Another concern about the housing is that it did not come with any spare o-rings; I contacted the manufacturer in order to learn where I could buy spare o-rings, and they indicated that they were not available at that time. I found it odd that they even sell a brand-name, manta-shaped o-ring remover, but not any spare o-rings.
The settings are quite simple and easy to use, which was fine for me as a beginner but would probably make this camera unsuitable for experienced photographers, except perhaps as a backup. Among other things, the aperture does not change at all, and there is no way to adjust the shutter speed manually (but the auto mode can change it). The lack of an adjustable aperture has made it difficult to focus on small subjects (e.g. flamingo tongue cowries). The inability to control shutter speed and the relatively slow shutter speeds that the auto mode tends to select often result in motion blur in images of faster-moving subjects and in conditions with strong current (e.g. Cozumel). One can manually adjust the ISO setting.
I have been taking most of my photos in auto mode, and most of those shots have turned out surprisingly well, considering the camera's limitations and my lack of experience. The only consistent problem that I have had is with subjects hiding in holes or under ledges, such as lobsters or moray eels. The auto mode tends to overcompensate for the darkness in those holes or under those ledges by increasing the ISO to unnecessarily high levels, which introduces backscatter into those images. The solution to this problem is to set the ISO manually when shooting in such semi-dark places.
There is no internal flash, and if there is a way to sync strobes to the shutter, I have not figured it out yet. I have thus been shooting entirely with natural light and a red filter, as I think that I will save my money to put towards strobes to sync with a more sophisticated camera when I am ready to upgrade.
With that said, the quality of many of the images that it produces with just natural light and a red filter has often impressed me and greatly exceeded the low expectations that I had when I bought it. Below is a link to my Instagram account, where you can see images that I took with it and judge for yourselves.
Paul (@paul_images) • Instagram photos and videos
When I bought this camera, I did not know if I would want to pursue underwater photography in the longer term. My generally positive experiences with it have sparked my interest in this new (for me) facet of diving and even in topside photography; I now have a new “hobby within a hobby.” It has been a great way for me to capture memorable wildlife sightings and seascapes and to practice basic photographic skills, such as composition and “don't scare the fish away.” By the same token, my positive experiences with it motivated me to learn more about the field, which have now revealed to me how significant its limitations are. It will probably not be long before I outgrow it, and the lack of replacement o-rings for the housing makes me wonder how long I can maintain it anyway. This camera is still a great choice as a modestly priced first underwater camera for a newer diver and may provide better value for the money than the other, comparable options that I considered.
I instead found the Intova DUB on LeisurePro's website for $100 and bought one at their store in New York (where I live). The 32G memory card was about $35. I bought the red filter for about $40 and maintenance supplies (silicone grease and desiccant packs) at B&H Photography in New York.
The manufacturer advertises a battery life of 120 minutes, which is consistent with my experience. One full charge usually lasted me through a typical two-tank trip of two dives that lasted about one hour each. I was able to stretch it out to three dives a day by turning it off and only turning it on when I needed to shoot as the power got low. It takes approximately four hours to charge the battery fully.
I wanted a small camera that would be easy to carry. This camera, even inside the housing that comes with it, is very small; it fits inside one of my hands easily (although I have big hands). One could comfortably store it in a BCD pocket as well. It is positively buoyant, which I consider a plus; one can let it hang from the lanyard on one's wrist without it sinking to bang against the reef. The camera is so small that its positive buoyancy should not have any significant impact on one's overall buoyancy.
The plastic housing seems robust enough. I have logged about 20 dives with it, at a maximum depth of 102 feet, and I have not had any floods or leaks thus far. It has even banged against a few boat hulls as I was exiting the water and does not seem to have suffered any damage. The only housing problem that I have had so far is that there are occasionally condensation spots in upward-facing images at shallow depths, e.g. shots of a surfacing sea turtle that I took during a safety stop. This condensation appears only at shallow depths on hot, sunny days, despite my use of desiccant packs. Another concern about the housing is that it did not come with any spare o-rings; I contacted the manufacturer in order to learn where I could buy spare o-rings, and they indicated that they were not available at that time. I found it odd that they even sell a brand-name, manta-shaped o-ring remover, but not any spare o-rings.
The settings are quite simple and easy to use, which was fine for me as a beginner but would probably make this camera unsuitable for experienced photographers, except perhaps as a backup. Among other things, the aperture does not change at all, and there is no way to adjust the shutter speed manually (but the auto mode can change it). The lack of an adjustable aperture has made it difficult to focus on small subjects (e.g. flamingo tongue cowries). The inability to control shutter speed and the relatively slow shutter speeds that the auto mode tends to select often result in motion blur in images of faster-moving subjects and in conditions with strong current (e.g. Cozumel). One can manually adjust the ISO setting.
I have been taking most of my photos in auto mode, and most of those shots have turned out surprisingly well, considering the camera's limitations and my lack of experience. The only consistent problem that I have had is with subjects hiding in holes or under ledges, such as lobsters or moray eels. The auto mode tends to overcompensate for the darkness in those holes or under those ledges by increasing the ISO to unnecessarily high levels, which introduces backscatter into those images. The solution to this problem is to set the ISO manually when shooting in such semi-dark places.
There is no internal flash, and if there is a way to sync strobes to the shutter, I have not figured it out yet. I have thus been shooting entirely with natural light and a red filter, as I think that I will save my money to put towards strobes to sync with a more sophisticated camera when I am ready to upgrade.
With that said, the quality of many of the images that it produces with just natural light and a red filter has often impressed me and greatly exceeded the low expectations that I had when I bought it. Below is a link to my Instagram account, where you can see images that I took with it and judge for yourselves.
Paul (@paul_images) • Instagram photos and videos
When I bought this camera, I did not know if I would want to pursue underwater photography in the longer term. My generally positive experiences with it have sparked my interest in this new (for me) facet of diving and even in topside photography; I now have a new “hobby within a hobby.” It has been a great way for me to capture memorable wildlife sightings and seascapes and to practice basic photographic skills, such as composition and “don't scare the fish away.” By the same token, my positive experiences with it motivated me to learn more about the field, which have now revealed to me how significant its limitations are. It will probably not be long before I outgrow it, and the lack of replacement o-rings for the housing makes me wonder how long I can maintain it anyway. This camera is still a great choice as a modestly priced first underwater camera for a newer diver and may provide better value for the money than the other, comparable options that I considered.
