Should I wait on buying an underwater camera until I have more dive experience ?

[TMHeimer]

If you get one of those little yellow things like I have it probably doesn't matter. But I would agree to get some more dive experience before getting one of those things the real photogs use that is as big as an elephant. By the way, those little yellow things can be positively buoyant (having figured I lost it somehow only to find it tethered and hovering above my head).

 

[spectrum]

Should I wait on buying an underwater camera until I have more dive experience ?
I am a newb diver so I was thinking on concentrating on being a better diver before I start trying to take photos
underwater as well.
Thanks All,
Barry

Absolutely! You don't yet have the bandwidth or skills to do justice to photography and safety. You are avoiding a very common mistake.

Pete

 

[kdsmithjr]

Should I wait on buying an underwater camera until I have more dive experience ?
I am a newb diver so I was thinking on concentrating on being a better diver before I start trying to take photos
underwater as well.
Thanks All,
Barry

Several good answers here. I have about 40 years of shooting experience...above the water...and i learned to dive in spring of 2011. I have 94 dives to date and i have my advanced OW certification as well. I dive here in the philippines where a day of diving (two dives), including the boat and DM runs under $20, so i often dive 2 or more times a week.

I had your same questions. I have a nikon d 300 and a small kit. when i found out that a underwater housing for the body and lens would cost $1500 to $3,000, depending on lens. That put my underwater shooting on hold for at least the week it took to find alternatives. I now use what i call a "cheapo-cheapo" (it is compared to a nikon d300) canon g-12...their top point and shoot...and a canon housing. In the US you can probably get the whole outfit for $600 or so. It takes great shots and HD movies too. So the equipment to do at least semi serious work is available for less than the cost of your first born. Now to other things said...

If you jump in with a camera without having decent control of your bouyancy, you will quickly see that you can't really shoot if you can't stay still. If you shoot on land, that just said statement is commonsensical. Boyancy control is the underwater equivalent of being able to stand still in the water. Imagine trying to shoot anything, even something standing still....if you are constantly rising or sinking. Just figeting around to have some semblance of staying in place will generate microcurrents that will alert/scare your subject.

You need basic control of bouyancy to be able to shoot any stills. You will need better than average control to shoot close-ups because depth of field is so shallow (pardon the pun). You will need very good control to shoot macros because depth of field is almost non existent. And though you can shoot some movies with less than good bouyancy control, as you get closer and closer to your subject, poor bouyancy control will result in movies that make your audience seasick in your living room.

The good news is that...even without a course...you will acquire better and better bouyancy control just as a result of experience, Even better news is that SDI...an i assume the other certification agencies....have mini courses that just deal with bouyancy. They are not expensive, give you a dive or to with an insturctor with a single purpose...no fun, just work. And you can take what you learn in those two dives and sharpen skills on your own.

 

[Donald D]

Personally I would rephrase your question only due to the circumstance I fell into. I bought my underwater housing for my D200 for my first discover scuba dive. I bought it due to the deal that I was getting on a discontinued - new housing for the now discontinued camera. This was 5 years ago, and if I had waited till I was certified (this past Dec 2011), I would not have gotten such a deal on the housing. Over the past 5 years, I have built it up to a complete system with 2 strobes, 3 lenses, and 3 ports. If you could get such a deal and take your time building it up, then I would easily recommend moving forward on a purchase.

Now to the question of do I use my housing while diving - NO - I don't (not yet since I don't feel like I'm ready). I took it on my first discovery dive 5 years ago. I could not concentrate on the photos at all, and finally just watched my air, tried to stay calm, and took random shots without looking through the viewfinder. Two years later, I decide to take my son's TS 2 in an ikelite housing attached to my BC and only recorded video. When I felt like I needed to give my attention to my equipment and just dropped the video camera. When I felt more comfortable, I would grab it and keep recording. During one dive I had little footage to keep since I was concentrating on me more than anything else. By the next dive a few days later I was a lot more comfortable but still not in the zone to take pictures - just video.

And now only 3 weeks ago (or so) I got a chance to do 7 dives in Hawaii after finally getting certified OW in Dec 2011. I still brought my son's video camera attached to my BC and not my D200 in the Sea and Sea housing. Again, you watch the video and you can tell when I'm comfortable and you can also tell when I let go of the camera so I can commit 100% of my attention to me or my surrounds at the time. I don't take photos yet since I don't feel like I'm ready and I shoot the video from a hand out position as in right hand holds the camera, the camera is far enough from me to see while it records but no close enough for me to just ignore everything else around me, and my left hand is usually kept near my computer constantly so I can get use to checking it.

Right now I have 11 dives under my belt and my D200 and housing has only seen the water when I snorkel with it. After my AOW course, photo speciality course, and more dives under my belt - I hope to finally take the D200 down but I'm not rushing it.

 

[Ben Prusinski]

As a new diver myself, I agree with the other posters to gain more dives under your belt first before tackling underwater photography. I have the same desire to learn UW photography and UW video as well. However, I am going to wait until I've done another 50 dives first and have solid basics and buoyancy control.

 

[RonFrank]

I started shooting around dive 15 with a Cannon S70 PnS in a Canon housing. My buoyancy was reasonable, and diving in the Keys on shallow reefs (50' or less) made learning to dive and shoot easier. I think shooting helped with my buoyancy as I quickly learned poor buoyancy = bad photography. That was good motivation for me. My Avatar was shot on my first trip to FL with less than 25 dives.

I think everyone has to take it at their own speed. I've seen divers handle themselves very well after just a few dives. Unfortunately most take a minimum of 25 dives before they start feeling comfortable. I think most divers can handle a PnS where you just put it on the wrist and can forget about it if necessary. For a DSLR I had around 50 dives before I took on something that large and complex.

Whatever you do never let the camera overtake your self awareness. One should be fully in control of buoyancy and aware of the environment regardless of a camera, or scooter, or GW Shark!

 

[Cosmographer]

I think shooting helped with my buoyancy as I quickly learned poor buoyancy = bad photography.

I think this is a very good point. When you're trying to take a picture, you notice your lack of buoyancy control more than when you are just swimming around. Even extremely minor movement that you normally would not notice becomes glaringly obvious as you look through the viewfinder or LCD. I've found that when I'm taking a picture, I need to be perfectly still - even ascending or descending by an inch makes a big difference. Being able to see your own level of control (via your subject's movement in the viewfinder) with such precision really helps you to fine tune your buoyancy control, in my experience. But again, everyone's starting level of comfort with buoyancy is different, and you really need to make your own determination.

Below is a pic from my 9th dive (including the 4 open water certification dives). While it doesn't hold a candle to the more experienced photogs here, I'm including it as an example of what kind of photos you might take as a new diver (ymmv). While snapshot quality photos like this won't win any awards, they are good enough for me to want to bring my camera with me on every dive.

 

[Doc]

All good above.

Another factor... it can take many, many dives before a diver actually begins to see what is really there.

You can't know what you don't know.

Wait.

 

[mx201er]

I agree with everyone else, it is more important to pay attention to buoyancy and everything else going on during your dive. With that being said, look into a go pro or similar headcam! Strap it to yourself and forget about it, it will record your dive without you having to pay attention to it.

I just got one last week! I took it snowboarding and it works great, haven't taken it diving yet due to the hardness of the water this time of year. I'll try it in the pool soon.

 

[t-mac]

I agree with all of the "non-categorical" answers here. You are the only one who can answer this. Yes, bouyancy is critical, but once you get it down, you are ready to start adding tasks. Move ahead gradually. Start with a "cheap" point and shoot outfit first (nothing here is really cheap). It will be small and easy to handle and is not as much of a commitment if you decide you don't like diving or photography. Use the camera only when you are absolutely comfortable with the dive first. Start with a shallow reef. Don't take it with you on that first deep wreck dive or any "new" type of environment. Just like everything in diving, use your common sense and add only one new variable at a time. Bring just the camera and housing the first time. Then add a strobe after a couple more dives. Then get a housing for your SLR, etc. Then you'll begin to think all your other gear was cheap. Good luck to you and your bank account!