Taking the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (N7100) underwater

[Progen]

So here are the rare few of the many shots I'd taken with the phone this morning at about 11 metres. I used an Underwater Kinetics Light Cannon eLED to illuminate the subjects. Needless to say, most of the shots were out of focus since visibility wasn't that great but some kind of did the phone proud. Operating system was Cyanogenmod 4.3.1 and I used the stock Android camera.

 

[charlesml3]

Mediocre photos from a mediocre camera on a device that's ill-suited for diving.

For the life of me, I cannot understand why anyone would want to take a phone down and use it as a dive camera. The cameras in all of these phones are very handicapped. On top of that, all of the other things it does are useless there. You're not going to take a call, send a text, or update your Facebook at 80 feet. If it does happen to flood, you've lost all of that.

Just get an inexpensive Powershot and a Canon housing. It'll take much better pictures because after all, it's a proper camera.

 

[Progen]

For the time being, I prefer throwing money into courses rather than photography equipment so I was happy with those few shots with what I had. And it was also to prove that the humble camera in the phone can do just as good or even better photos than some of those low end dedicated underwater cameras.

 

[charlesml3]

OK, but you spent a lot of money on a housing for a mediocre camera just to prove it could take photos that were just as bad as another mediocre camera. So yea, you proved that a lousy camera takes lousy underwater photos.

You still have an expensive, unwieldy device down there that's ill-suited for photos. It can't be upgraded with an external strobe, or a dome, or a macro lens. These photos are as good as they're ever going to get.

I'm with you on putting your money towards courses and experience for now. Get to the point where you're a competent, calm, and experienced diver before you add photography into the mix.

 

[danvolker]

Mediocre photos from a mediocre camera on a device that's ill-suited for diving.

For the life of me, I cannot understand why anyone would want to take a phone down and use it as a dive camera. The cameras in all of these phones are very handicapped. On top of that, all of the other things it does are useless there. You're not going to take a call, send a text, or update your Facebook at 80 feet. If it does happen to flood, you've lost all of that.

Just get an inexpensive Powershot and a Canon housing. It'll take much better pictures because after all, it's a proper camera.

Not sure I agree with this assessment. First, there are MANY divers that just want a simple Point and Shoot...rather than a big pro system like you may have--or like I have.
And the biggest difference imaginable, is going to be some real skills in knowing how to compose the shot( how close to be--what is the background---how to keep still when shooting, etc) , as well as getting a decent lighting that is diffused and without hotspots on the shot...and this can be done with the brackets these phones can sit on, with very decent lights for P&S type cameras. If the OP gets the skills just mentioned, my guess is the OP will be able to take some very cool shots that friends and family will be thrilled with....AND....a huge bonus that the OP has--that I don't---If he wants to Facebook a cool shot on the surface interval prior to going on the 2nd dive( off a charter boat) , with the android phone this is simple and rapid....with my Canon 5 D mark 2 in Aquatic Housing, it is a big ordeal.....drying off the housing, getting the camera out...having to take the lens off with the salt air around, in order to get the camera out of the housing....then the whole issue of transferring the images to a laptop or a phone, so that you could facebook them....

I DO like the idea of being able to Facebook cool shots, quickly and easily....So do a lot of people....this is what Instagrams are all about

Taking pictures does not have to be a solemn and serious business...it can be fun, and I think this is a hot idea.

 

[charlesml3]

OK. Well if you think the shots he's getting are "thrilling" then please, go forth and do.

I'm still maintaining that these devices have horribly compromised optics, pitiful flashes and miniscule sensors that are much, much more suited for teenager selfies and photos of food.

-Charles

 

[danvolker]

OK. Well if you think the shots he's getting are "thrilling" then please, go forth and do.

I'm still maintaining that these devices have horribly compromised optics, pitiful flashes and miniscule sensors that are much, much more suited for teenager selfies and photos of food.

-Charles

Visit SeaShell Camera Case - As for lighting which you are clearly correct is very important....don't miss Seashell SS-light - SeaShell Camera Case

My Galaxy Note 3 is 13 megapixels, and I think Htc has one that is 43 megapixels....The Seashell housing has a wide angle lens...

The Note 3 shoots 4K video for christ's sake!!! Underwater clips of turtles or macro would be easy and awesome.
If we compare the electronics of the Note 3, the S4, or some of the other good phones....I'd be inclined to stack them up as superior to many point and shoots on the market for under $700....Now I got my Note 3 for $200....where could you find a P&S to compete with this, in a Seashell housing, with arm and lights, and with wide angle lens....the thing is..the diver ALREADY has the investment in the high end phone...for a few hundred dollars more, they7 will get a lot more back for underwater.

I have actually seen some spectacular u/w videos by an Instructor at the Riviera Beach Force E...Jeff....Some octopus footage that would wow anyone...lots of stuff at the BHB Marine Park.

 

[victorzamora]

Megapixels are NOT the best indicator of the quality of a camera. If so, my Galaxy S4 has better optics than my dad's Nikon D40x and my buddy's D3100. That's CLEARLY not right. I'm not saying that can't take decent video/photo....but there's no way they compare to cameras devoted to the purpose. A GoPro will have MUCH better optics than any camera, regardless of what the megapixel count is. This will show through in the quality of the photos/video. I think that using a tablet/phone underwater would be great, but mostly for deco purposes or AOW "deep dive" narc examples.....not for photo/video. Also, it's not a $200 phone. It's a $700 phone with hundreds spent on the case. You may have only spent $200 buying it (plus tax, shipping, activation fee, convenience fee, etc), but if the case floods now you're out a cell phone AND it'll cost $700 to replace it. I'd bet the housing for it cost almost as much as a new GoPro.

However, those pics came out pretty well for a phone! What case are you using?

 

[corvettejoe]

For the time being, I prefer throwing money into courses rather than photography equipment so I was happy with those few shots with what I had. And it was also to prove that the humble camera in the phone can do just as good or even better photos than some of those low end dedicated underwater cameras.

I'd suggest getting a wider angle light or something less spotting. With some cleanup work, those aren't too bad for a camera phone.... underwater LOL
I've often eyeballed the housing they make for my phone, would be kind of fun to just snap a few shots of a dive to send off when I get topside, as usually my dive camera takes a few days for me to process all the photos.

Plus it's fun to post on FB "[pic of you diving] ...Sent from my phone." LOL... wait what?!?


To the comment above yours on the cheap canon/housing... seriously... they are CHEAP if you want to get into this.

Just search ebay for "Canon underwater housing"...$50 housings all day long.
Advice on that... find the cheapest housing in the best shape (o-rings are $5-10 direct from Canon if you need one, and crystal lube is cheap too)... then find the range of camera models that fit it and also buy the best model that fits it on ebay.

For instance, just a quick search, I found one housing that fits the canon SD870. It's a $250 housing... for $50! ...yes it's older, but its WAAYY more feature packed than the camera phone, has image stabalization (VERY VERY important for underwater use) and lots of other good stuff.
Camera is $10-20 all day long on ebay....its an older model.

IMO these combos blow away the crappy feature-less sea and sea, intova, etc cameras. Obviously the example used above is a much aged model and you can get much newer camera (a year or two old) for just as cheap...its all in finding the housing first in the $50ish price range give or take a little. Once you find a housing that holds a camera that meets your needs, THEN search out that camera on ebay.

Why get an older model? Because when it eventually floods (we have a saying for underwater photography...it's not IF it floods, it's WHEN it floods..) you can just pull the mem card out, throw the camera away, and get another one for your housing...for $10 LOL.

ALSO... check this out, its your best friend for point and shoot Canon's
CHDK Wiki
Many models you can unlock the RAW functionality (and anything else the processor in the camera can do, but was limited by model range) on these cameras by running hacked firmware.
I run it on my SD1100is and it works great. See my post in this same forum section (Orange Grove and Troy Springs dives), all the underwater shots were taken with it.


Also... when you grow tired of the quality of an older camera, you're out a whopping...$60 in this case? Use it for a couple years... upgrade to one many times better... all for another $$50-80 I've got quite a few of them myself. The old ones make GREAAATT cameras to hand your dive buddies while you man the better one yourself. When the dive day is over, you then have all these great photos of you that your friends had fun taking, all while not worrying about them losing the camera since its your older backup

 

[charlesml3]

My Galaxy Note 3 is 13 megapixels, and I think Htc has one that is 43 megapixels

Oh come on. The days of measuring the quality of a digital camera by megapixels ended 10 years ago. It's complete and utter BS and now the phone manufacturers are trying to revive it. It's still BS.

Turn your camera around and look at the lens of the camera. It's what, 2mm across at most? And the flash is even smaller. That tiny lens is then focusing on a miniscule sensor. It has a very, very limited ability to gather light. You're taking it into an environment that really couldn't be any worse for it. "Round peg in a square hole" isn't even descriptive enough.

The Note 3 shoots 4K video for christ's sake!!! Underwater clips of turtles or macro would be easy and awesome.

Not easy and not awesome. You will never get that tiny lens to gather enough light to make a decent video. I know you're a big fan and all, but it's a phone. It isn't a camera, and it isn't a video camera.