Where to rent an underwater camera in Cozumel?

[azscubadude]

The GoPro is the way I am going. They just released a dive housing for it, and several people make them as well (needs a flat lens to work). I am just mounting mine on a 9"-43" adjustable pole with a handle and lanyard. I can stay off the reef and get everything I want from a distance, and it weighs only like 2 lbs lol.

On my last trip in April a lot of people were using the GoPro and quite a few that shouldn't have been (very inexperienced divers more worried about a video than diving skills (not just talking buoyancy), some were just down right dangerous.

Anyway.. to my point. I saw quite a few people with the same kind of set up you are talking about Brules (adjustable pole) but for some reason the poles weren't getting used, or they used them once and then they got left in the room or on the boat. Not sure why but they just didn't seem to be working out.

Also, the head strap looked to be useless because they could never get the angle of the camera going in the same direction as what they were looking at. I saw quite a few that were pointed almost straight up to the surface because the head strap interfered with the mask.. and what looked good on land did not work well underwater.

Two things that did seem to work out were a clip on a retractable lanyard

Search Results for retractor gear keeper

that would keep it snug to your BC until needed and then just pull it out 18 to 24 inches to get the shot.. let it go and it retracted back. The other was a small tray and bright dive light (like a Sola 800 or 1200). I've got a Sola 600 that I use as a focus light on my housing setup and it works very well. They are pricey but very good lights.

The only comments on the actual use of the GoPro that I heard from experienced diver/photogs is that it is very hard to keep steady because it is so small and so light.

The nice thing about the GoPro (obviously) is their size. Not much to lug around and you can stash them anywhere, including in a BC pocket. Gets LOTS and lots of SDHC cards and spare battery(s).. people were burning through them like crazy, especially if you don't take a laptop to transfer footage to, the cards load up real fast shooting HD video over a week of diving.

BestBuy sale on SDHC cards, 16gig class 10 card for $20.00..

Just thought I would mention what I saw and heard.

 

[scubawife]

Definitely secure your housing to your BCD, no matter what kind of camera you have. I've seen more cameras lost to the depths because of cheapo wrist straps coming off, or not having any kind of lanyard or strap. I've been using something similar to this one for years. Magna-Clip with Coil Lanyard & Brass Clip Don't bother with anything that has plastic clips. You want metal. I like this style because I clip it to a ring on my BCD, and I can either have the coil around my wrist or I can unclip the wrist coil and just have the housing secured to my BC.

Last trip to Cozumel, 2 people lost their GoPro's. One using the head strap and other using a wrist strap.

 

[cvchief]

I've been using something similar to this one for years. Magna-Clip with Coil Lanyard & Brass Clip .

That is exactly what I use. Just make sure no salt crust or grain of sand prevents the clip from closing.

Also don't carry it above the water depending on the magnets. My nephew learned that lesson and I learned how to replace the cracked door on his canon UW case.

 

[Sideways]

Hope you find something Ginger If you check out Backscatter, see if the set up they rent has a external strobe. Internal Flashes are pretty much worthless unless your subject is a foot or less away because of backscatter.

For the folks who seem to single out Photographers as being reef destructive I'd have to say I've seen more non photographers do damage than photographers

 

[DandyDon]

Internal Flashes are pretty much worthless unless your subject is a foot or less away because of backscatter.

My bud shot a pic with the strobe off - really dark! No flash at all. Ran it thru Irfanview and it was amazing what came out.

 

[Sideways]

My bud shot a pic with the strobe off - really dark! No flash at all. Ran it thru Irfanview and it was amazing what came out.

You're right Don, I should have clarified. Using the internal flash can present you with the backscatter issue. With NO flash you can still get decent shots, especially if shot in RAW and manually white balanced in programs like Photoshop or Lightroom. Or ran through other programs like you mention.

 

[scubadoNC]

We were down in Cozumel in Oct. 2011. Going down from 6/24 thru 6/30 (next week).

I really wanted to buy an underwater camera but didn't know a lot about them and didn't have time to get up to speed enough to be comfortable spending the money.

However, would REALLY like to rent one while I'm down there. I find a very old board message that recommended Armando with an email of photocozumel@ecozumel.net. Anybody know if this is still a good place to rent? Can you tell me where you have gone? I am staying at Iberostar. Thanks, Ginger

Ginger, I had the same issue diving in the bahamas. We didn't want to spend thousands of dollars on a camera and little experience with underwater photog, we couldn't find a rental. I researched online and took a chance on this camera Intova CP9 Intova CP9 Compact Waterproof Digital Camera: Amazon.com: Sports & Outdoors

Figured I couldn't go wrong even with the mixed reviews for the price and it did OK... not $1000 camera shots for sure, but we were happy with the pics that turned out well. We did still shots and not video because of battery use. Also we had to use a photo editor to clean up the pics, but the camera was very easy to use. I threaded it to my BCD to prevent loosing it... The cord was long enough to allow great movement. It was also again super easy to use, our DM in the bahamas even removed it while we were diving and took pics of John and I.

Amazon i think has the camera now of $60... we paid $85... For us it was worth the risk. Hope this helps.

 

[DandyDon]

Ginger, I had the same issue diving in the bahamas. We didn't want to spend thousands of dollars on a camera and little experience with underwater photog, we couldn't find a rental. I researched online and took a chance on this camera Intova CP9 Intova CP9 Compact Waterproof Digital Camera: Amazon.com: Sports & Outdoors

Figured I couldn't go wrong even with the mixed reviews for the price and it did OK... not $1000 camera shots for sure, but we were happy with the pics that turned out well. We did still shots and not video because of battery use. Also we had to use a photo editor to clean up the pics, but the camera was very easy to use. I threaded it to my BCD to prevent loosing it... The cord was long enough to allow great movement. It was also again super easy to use, our DM in the bahamas even removed it while we were diving and took pics of John and I.

Amazon i think has the camera now of $60... we paid $85... For us it was worth the risk. Hope this helps.

That's probably a good starter camera. I hate things that run on AAA batteries, but you can get off some fun shots before it quits. Very nice price...!

The pics will be underlighted at any depth, but a free program like from Irfanview can do wonders with those.

 

[Cha Cha Cha]

That's probably a good starter camera. I hate things that run on AAA batteries, but you can get off some fun shots before it quits. Very nice price...!

The pics will be underlighted at any depth, but a free program like from Irfanview can do wonders with those.

Another option for divers who want to have pictures or videos is to hire a photographer or videographer on the Island. There are several on the island who would gladly do that for you. For divers inexperienced with cameras underwater, you get great results, no need to invest in expensive equipment and you can concentrate on enjoying your dive.

 

[scubadoNC]

Another option for divers who want to have pictures or videos is to hire a photographer or videographer on the Island. There are several on the island who would gladly do that for you. For divers inexperienced with cameras underwater, you get great results, no need to invest in expensive equipment and you can concentrate on enjoying your dive.

That is a great idea.. Do you have contact information for those?