Beginner with Questions

[Bratface]

I agree with doctor mike, about multitasking and buoyancy. I looked into a housing for my Nikon and was unpleasantly surprised at the price. I also have had my Hero 3+ flood while filming an octopus. I would be very upset if I lost my Nikon the same way. I now have a Hero 4 and was excited to see the video posted by doctormike. I'll also be looking into that class.

 

[Mike Deeter]

My wife and I spent 3 months traveling South East Asia last year and I was a little disappointed in the GoPro video. I was thinking a DSLR would be what I need for our trip to Fiji, maybe I should rethink that and work on my GoPro skills. So much to consider...

 

[doctormike]

My wife and I spent 3 months traveling South East Asia last year and I was a little disappointed in the GoPro video. I was thinking a DSLR would be what I need for our trip to Fiji, maybe I should rethink that and work on my GoPro skills. So much to consider...

Yup, but that's another thing. Traveling with a DSLR is not easy - between the housing, the dome, the lens, the lights (or strobes), the arms, and the chargers, I end up JUST barely able to fit it into a very heavy and marginally airline acceptable rolling bag.

Don't get me wrong. I love my rig and I schlep it everywhere. But that's because I primarily take stills, and there really isn't as good an alternative for that.

 

[Dieter Kudler]

Hard to make the right decision - depending on where in Fiji you will be going - we are in Beqa Lagoon - we have big sharks and wonderful soft coral gardens. While the GoPro would be perfect for the shark dive, the DSLR would be the ideal tool for coral dives ..... - maybe you want to take both?

 

[Juergen_187]

My opinion is that you get something much better than a Gopro for your budget. My wife uses the Gopro3, and it's just a toy without the fun you would expect from a toy: sudden defects (no flooding), short battery run time - when you use that miserable display you'll have only 30 minutes, watching your footage on that display is just painful and takes ages for loading, not to mention the filming limitations, you can't zoom, you can't stabilize, you can't get good low-light results....a long list. You already use it, so you know all that, but comparing to a decent video system you really get aware of the Gopro's shortcomings.

I've been using a Sony CX-760 camcorder in a Aquatica HD wave housing with a Keldan Luna 4 lamp for 3 years. Not a perfect system, but pretty good. All combined I paid around 4000 Euros, close to your budget. I'm sure there are some other good video systems in that category for your budget.