Diving camera help!

[ashtonmthomas]

Alright, I am stuck on choosing a camera to purchase for diving.

I am moving to the cayman islands soon and I'll be there at the end of October for a dive on the west wall. I am only OW certified. So my limit is 60 feet for now. I am getting my Advanced Open Water Certification soon as well so I would like a camera that is able to go down to at least 110 feet.

I was looking at the new GoPro cameras and I see that they will go down to 140 feet. Now my question with the GoPro is how good is the quality on recording and how good is the quality on snapping a picture? If I choose to go with the GoPro camera what is a must that I should purchase accessory wise?

If there is a better camera that you recommend could you please tell me the name and possibly a link to the description and why it is better?

I know that this is a lot to ask for but thank you in advance.

 

[RickyF]

The GoPro takes descent video, but I am not thrilled with the still shots. For what you pay it is a good video camera. You didn't say what your budget is or whether you are doing this for the memories or looking for magazine quality pictures. The Cannon G15 or G16 are good cameras for the money also if you are looking for descent still shots.

 

[victor]

With your experience level are you sure you want to add the extra task loading of a camera, It is not insignificant and with walls where there is effectivly no bottom it can get dangerous.

If you decide you want to go forward with a camera then decide what to shoot video or stills. The equipment for one does not really do the other justice.

Once that decision has been made then the forum will be able to give you better advice.

 

[supergaijin]

Decide what you want to focus on. GoPros take excellent video in the shallows and may be what you're after. They are not designed for still photography. The add-ons start to add up and it may be better to get a camera/video rig if you want better footage at depth. Below 60' you will need lights and GoPros aren't so great... but they're awesome in the shallows.

Something like the CANON S-100 can take both great photos and video... in the hands of someone who can utilise its features.

Depth is not really a problem with dedicated housings for cameras/videos but the price can be a factor.

My best photos are almost always taken above 20'.

 

[diversteve]

The GoPro is a fixed focus, fixed zoom video action camera. So for closeup work with an add-on diopter you basically have to stick the camera in the animals face - most won't be comfortable with that. It also won't drive any sort of flash so you'd need lights at 110' - doubling or tripling the cost of the GoPro. Since it has only 170^o or 110^o settings everything has a fisheye look to it also typically. You can grab stills from it but they won't be as good as those from a housed still camera since they're video frame grabs.

If you have a budget, look at one of the Intova's or the SeaLife's - some of them also do HD video.

If you don't have a budget limit a Sony RX100 - II (Not III) in a Nauticam or Ikelite housing is an option Plan on upwards of $2000 - the camera is the cheap part. It also shoots great video.

If you really don't have a budget, look at housing a Panasonic GH4. $1700 just for the camera body plus lenses and the housing will set you back double that. It shoots 4K video as well - you've probably seen some UHD tv's in stores with that now. Supposed to be the next big thing - of course they said that about 3D also..

If you really, really don't have a budget look at housing a DSLR. An acquaintance has two housed Canon's and he estimates he's just over $25K all in. And he doesn't have the best optics they sell.

Once you get to Cayman you might go see Cathy Church at Sunset House and see what she recommends - she's been shooting stills there for a very long time. Cathy Church's photography centre - U/W Cameras

Cayman water is really blue. So some sort of red compensating filter is recommended. Below 60' it will reduce the light too much so you'll need to remove it and fix the blue saturation in post-processing. Usually that's done with a combination of manual white balancing and possibly shooting a white reference point you can later color adjust to. On Grand Cayman the sand works pretty well - or a carried white slate. Actually on a bright day on the North Wall a red filter might work a little deeper than 60' also. It seemed like it was bright enough at 90' also but that's subjective. Your eyes and the camera see things differently.

 

[Bred22]

Gopro's are great to have as an almost everyday bit of kit I use mine above and below the water all the time. if you do have a bigger budget it might be a good idea to have one as a back up just to put in your BCD pocket because you know the time you go without it you will see a whale shark. This also means you could have your primary camera to shoot macro.

With buying the accessory since wouldn't recommend the head or hand mount as the video is way to shaky, and as said above you have to get really close to fish to get a good view and I don't recommend you sticking your head next to a trigger fish (sounds silly but people do). I have an after market extendable pole I got on a street market in Thailand for basically nothing and it works great.

what is your budget?
Do you have any photography experience with manual settings?
and what do you want to take pictures of?

 

[StevenS985]

I have a ikelite housing for a nikon d100 and camera