Sealife Micro HD vs Gopro Hero 4

[mattdust]

I am about to get certified and go on my first dive trip (so excited!) and really want to film this experience but don't know which camera to pick. I have heard some frightening stories of flooded Gopros which kinda turn me off, the thing that keeps me preferring the Gopro is that when I am not diving I can still use it due to its extreme versatility (I enjoy vlogging). The Sealife on the other hand is permanently sealed and is a bit more professional for divers and also is a good land camera.
My local dive shop recommended the Sealife over the Gopro because they have also lost Gopros themselves. Ideally I would like the Gopro but don't want to buy one only to have it break on my first dive. I think that I would rather have a land camera that doubles a good water camera as apposed the the opposite.

 

[tursiops]

Learn to dive and get some experience first. Then, and only then, take a camera underwater.
How much experience will vary with the person, but you are NOT ready yet. You need to get your buoyancy and situational awareness well in hand before taking a camera along. This advice is for your safety and for the protection of the reef. Seriously.

 

[KevinNM]

It's true. Novice divers have enough to worry about without trying to also handle a camera. It is very easy to get distracted with something on your gear and when you look up you are either heading for the surface or heading for the bottom. I watch the guide in Hawaii chase and pull back down, three times, a guy with a video camera that probably cost more than my truck who kept totally losing his situational awareness and start to do an impression of a Polaris missile.

it is much easier to lose buoyancy control than you probably think, and the longer you take to notice it the faster you are going to be moving when you do notice it. The faster you are sinking or rising the harder it is to safely regain control.

if you really, really feel you absolutely need to film your initial underwater adventures use a fixed mount attached to your gear where you turn it on before you go in the water and turn it off when you get out. Don't look at it in the water, just let it record without you interacting with it at all. But I'd still urge you to hold off until you have some experience and understand what we are talking about.

 

[tursiops]

My local dive shop recommended the Sealife over the Gopro

This should make you suspicious....I'll bet they sell Sealife and not GoPro.
Secondly, you should be concerned that they are perfectly happy to sell you a camera when you are not even certified yet...even though it is a bad idea.
Frankly, I'd look for a different dive shop.

 

[jboneng]

This should make you suspicious....I'll bet they sell Sealife and not GoPro.
Secondly, you should be concerned that they are perfectly happy to sell you a camera when you are not even certified yet...even though it is a bad idea.
Frankly, I'd look for a different dive shop.

I don't see any reason for a shop to ask for a scuba cert when selling a Sealife/gopro/Other action cams, since there is a long list of activities, that is not scuba related, that those cameras is perfect for like snorkling, sailing, surfing, mountain climbing, mount it on the outside of a car for a road trip and so on.

A freshly minted OW diver will be task loaded even without a camera, so if you really want to film your underwater adventure, buy something you can clip om your mask, BCD or whatever, and forget about. start recording before you jump out in the water and stop recording when you are back up again. if you want sill images, pull those out from the video file with a video editing software.

Comparing Sealife with GoPro is apples and oranges, since they are designed for two different purposes, the Sealife is designed for underwater sill images and the GoPro is designed for general action shoot video.
That said the easiest system to "Clip on and forget" is the GoPro. When it comes to flooding, take care of the o-rings, lubricate and inspect them between dives and the GoPro will hold up well.

 

[tursiops]

I don't see any reason for a shop to ask for a scuba cert when selling a Sealife/gopro/Other action cams, since there is a long list of activities, that is not scuba related, that those cameras is perfect for like snorkling, sailing, surfing, mountain climbing, mount it on the outside of a car for a road trip and so on.

I obviously did not make my point clearly. The shop (SSI) is selling him a certification class, and wants to sell him a camera to use on his dive trip. That is a bad idea for the OP and for the environment. The shop is at fault....they (of course) can sell him a camera if he wants to buy one, but they should also make it clear to him that using it immediately underwater is a bad idea.

 

[tkaelin]

IMHO a newly certified diver should focus on diving and should not try to incorporate photography until one has more experience. If I am the DM on your trip and you told me you were newly certified and I had not yet had a chance to see your skill level, I would suggest you leave the camera on the boat.

 

[mattdust]

This should make you suspicious....I'll bet they sell Sealife and not GoPro.

No they sell both. Also I asked him what he recommended. My dive shop is very friendly and good, I think I can trust them.

I feel a little stupid about my apparently obvious and dangerous question. But I will follow the advice of everyone and not use a camera.

 

[tkaelin]

The question wasn't obvious or dangerous and no need to fell bad. When the time comes when you are comfortable diving and adding a camera I have heard good things about both cameras. I recently purchased the Sealife Micro HD and so far have been very happy with it. I have not tried a gopro so can't help you there. When you are ready, see if you can rent or borrower before buying as it is a significant investment when a light is added.

 

[RandomGuy1]

I just did my first dive trying to use a gopro and I am at dive 36. I like to think of myself as having pretty good buoyancy control / trim for my relative inexperience diving. Diving with the gopro on a hand held mount definitely hurt my situational awareness, not to the point that I lost my buoyancy control, but it made it much harder to be a good dive buddy. It is very easy to get focused on what you are trying to film and lose track of where your buddy is.