Recommendation U/W video Cam for Wreck Diving

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Messages
7
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Location
Michigan
# of dives
100 - 199
I want to buy an U/W camera and light for wreck diving in the Great Lakes. I'm willing to invest $1000+ but I will certainly stretch this budget if justified by your recs. I am not new to photography or video only doing it u/w. My current video camera is old and I want to replace it. My purpose for cold water u/w vids is to show my friends and family who can't experience the wonderful wrecks in the Great Lakes. A picture is worth a thousand words but a video is worth a million!
 
what is the max depth you require for the housing? That makes a big difference in price.
Also, $1000 is not much, most housings cost more than that, especially those for camcorders that can record quality video at deeper depths.

I recommend you go to the main section of the Video Forum and read posts there... watch people's videos, and see for yourself some samples of video quality with various camcorders.

robin:D
 
Thanks for your response. Depth: 150 feet or less. I do some wreck penetration.
 
For around $1000, actually $1300. the best thing going is the Canon HF M30 with the Canon housing.

Otherwise, look at Equinox Housings, they're really great value and are workhorses. Their customer service is great too. Beyond that, you start getting into housings that are arguably better but a lot more expensive.
 
Thanks for your response. Depth: 150 feet or less. I do some wreck penetration.

the WP-V2 Waterproof Case is engineered, built and rated to work at depths to 130ft (40m) under water.

Equinox has a 250' depth rating. B&H Photo has some of their line for as little as $669 - most are $799-899 or more. Maybe see what deals you can get on compatible camcorders - they're pretty model specific due to placement of the controls.

A decent set of Lights will probably double your budget - or more so. Especially if the Great Lakes at depth are as dark as I envision. You're probably going to need a minimum of 500 lumens output to light anything up satisfactorily.
 
Thanks again for your advice. After doing some reading and searching based on your posts, it seem my budget is a little low. I was reluctant to say my budget is unlimited (which it's not) but let's suppose you had say $2500 to spend, would that change things? I really want a quality video camera, but I do not want something I will be not happy with in a year. I'm not afraid to put down the money to get what I want. Thanks again for you valuable insight.
 
now that you have upped your pricerange, you have many more options. :wink:

for your depth range, 150', I wouldn't recommend an Ikelite housing. I have seen that the push buttons get hard to operate deeper than 100'. It still works and is water tight up to that depth, but it doesn't work as well as you will want.

Equinox has a deeper depth rating, not sure it it has the same issues with buttons being stiff at depths over 100'. It would work in your price range, though.

as far as camcorders go... look at some of the Canon and Sony models. Many very good ones are priced in the range $750-1000. Be sure you get one with a low lux rating, wrecks are dark and you don't want a camcorder that can't focus well in low light.

if you are shooting penetration of the wrecks you are going to need a light of some sort. Lights can be very expensive, may blow your budget. But if you get a good camcorder with low lux rating, you may be able to shoot inside a wreck with illumination from other divers handheld lights. It won't look the same as a dedicated video lamp, but it will be much cheaper and may be what you want anyhow.
Also, I found that in editing, I was able to do some white balancing on dark shots inside a wreck. I liked the results. My video light was actually too bright at times, plus it made the silty interior look terrible. So I did much of my video with it turned off, used the other diver's handheld lights as my source or light coming in from doors, etc. Just my 2 cents.

robin:D
 
I've got an Equinox and have had it down to 135' I didn't notice any difference in the stiffness of the controls. Mine doesn't have any control buttons only arms.

If you can go $2500, I'd still recommend Equinox and use the rest of your budget for lights.

Remember, a housing is just a case and all that really matters is it doesn't leak and the controls work. Most of the new compact hd camcorders from Canon or Sony do a pretty good job. You can obsess over specs but a good set of lights and good diving for uw video practices will render most of the spec. differences among similar cameras moot.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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