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

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

Excellent idea! As much as one would like to record your own experiences, you may be able to approach others on the dive to share their photos.

Truly, you need to work on trim and buoyancy, to make sure you don't damage the reef or frighten the animals, and you also need to be very aware of your gas usage. It would be very easy for a new diver to so concentrate on his / her pictures that s/he fails to notice the gas level is critical.

No one can tell you how many dives you need, but you should have good control (not bouncing on anything) and make a good guess of what you will see on your gas gauge prior to looking at it. That means you developed the feel for usage.

By the time you learn all that, there will be new model cameras out so you can get fresh opinions!

Hi Barry, I'm also a new diver. I was so excited about diving that I bought a GoPro to catalog my dives right away. I don't think it was a big mistake, but I should have been focusing on my buoyancy instead of trying to get shots of things. I found it hard to keep a steady hand with mediocre buoyancy.

I would suggest focusing on buoyancy first. You're probably going to struggle with disappointing photos/video if you start right off the bat.

Now, if you're like me and want to record EVERY second of diving, the GoPro has a head strap you can use. You just need to sew a chin strap onto it so the whole thing doesn't come off while diving. This has really taken my mind off of the photos/video and I can focus on the dive instead. I don't get great shots with this, but I just like recording my dives.

Bill

It depends on what sort of photographer you expect to be. If you're going to carry a $5000 DSLR rig with video and multiple strobes to shoot award winning Ohh Ahh pictures, then it's best to wait. You've got a lot of other things to worry about, as others have mentioned.

If, on the other hand, you're like me and carry a little one-hand-sized point and shoot rig and literally do just that (point and shoot, maybe it will come out...) then it's probably not a problem right away. I carried a camera from our first OW dive on. Got a few pictures that were worth keeping, threw away a lot more. But I focused on my diving, not my photos.

Then there is this option:

Liquid Image Scuba Series HD 720P 12MP Camera Mask with Mid-Size Skirt

My son has one and likes it. He just turns it on and forgets it. The only down side is that it doesn't have a built-in light but takes good pics and video in good light.

IMHO...Shooting photos or video is a lot of fun but can easily distract a diver. The distraction(s) can easily start an untended chain of events.
I know this from the mistakes that I made using an underwater camera.

Get your buoyancy and trim down first. It would be helpful to take the Photo/Video specialty also.
Most importantly, dive, dive and dive some more.
When you are comfortable in the water with all your gear and can maintain your buoyancy it will be time to consider a camera.

Anyway, the cameras keep getting better, smaller and packing more value...no telling what they'll look like in another season or two.

A lot of people will tell you yes without equivocation. I will say, with all due respect, "unless they've dived with you they have no idea what they're talking about."

If you're comfortable with your trim and buoyancy, there's no reason a newb shouldn't have a camera. I take a point and shoot sealife 1200 on every dive. I don't get pro quality pics and I didn't pay a pro-quality price, but I will have something to remember any dive I want to remember. And I will have something to share, either videos or pics, with friends and family. I've been carrying my camera since about dive #6 or something like that.

I simply won't run into a reef. And I have yet to lose a buddy though I will say be very cautious about buddy separation and make sure your buddy knows you're stopping to take a picture before you stop.

It's really a matter of your own comfort and skill. Without diving with you, know one else can tell you what the right choice is for you.

All new divers are eager to capture their dives with photos, but there is so much to learn about diving first. I have seen noobs run into corals, the sand, and other divers. Their buoyancy is not fine tuned enough to get close to the reef. I have personally been knocked into fire coral by a diver who could not control himself. I was very glad to be wearing my wetsuit. Once you have learned more skills and have more experience, consider taking an underwater photography course. Thanks for posting the question.

Bratface:

Their buoyancy is not fine tuned enough to get close to the reef.

Click to expand...

While certainly true with many noobs, this is not always the case. From one noobie to another, I would tell the OP that the answer really depends on your abilities and comfort level. I'm only at 9 dives so far, but I take a camera and strobe with me every time because I feel comfortable enough with my buoyancy to do so. My wife, on the other hand, struggles with her buoyancy, and having her dive with a camera would be out of the question (we have the same number of dives).

The important thing is to properly assess your own skills. For example, even though I'm comfortable with my buoyancy control, it's not perfect, which is one reason why I opted for a compact camera rather than go the SLR route. My compact rig is still pretty huge after taking into account the aluminum housing, arms, tray, and strobe, but I can manage that. Not so sure I can handle an SLR-sized rig at this point. So I figure I'll dive with the compact and continue to work on my skills while saving up for the SLR to which I will eventually migrate when my diving skills (and wallet) allows. So just make sure you know your own limits.

On my first dives after OW cert I carried one of those yellow rubber UW cameras; can't even remember the name. You put those rolls of plastic stuff in it where the pictures went. I splashed on my first "real" dive, and there was a spotted eagle ray right in front of me (Cozumel)! I was all over the place, up, down, and sideways. Not only did I descend unintentionally about 20', I totally missed a shot of the ray, because I was too awestruck just looking at the ray.

Moral: Just go diving. Forget the camera now. You will be task loaded to the max until about 50 "real" dives, IMHO. Concentrate on buoyancy and situational awareness. Meditate on your breathing. Relax. Look at cool stuff. Seriously ... the fishies will be there later, and you'll be ready to preserve them on solid state digital media for all posterity.