Budget camera for low light environments

[Cavetecdiver]

Hi,

Is there any better alternative than gopro for low light environments such as caves, wrecks, and dark quarrys? It would be nice if it can shoot decent photo as well.
I have good canister light 6000lm 16° and can consider changing it to pure video light one at some point.

I saw several threads that gopro is the best option for that price level but its not neccesary true as i saw some cameras performs better, less grainy in low light. For example I have found this one which looks a bit better:
Review: Yi 4K Action Camera

I am keen to know another brands more available in europe.

I was considering also buying meikon housing to my canon 600d with tokina lens but i wouldnt able to find reliable informatiom how to put both together with adapters etc. I wouldn like to risk buyng smth which wont work. I saw also some threads about "wet" wide angle adapters which scarred me. Thats why I think staying with action cam or compact camera is less risky.

Could you advise any alternative? Any sample videos or photos from wrecks, caves, quarrys or other low light envs appreciated.

Thank you

 

[Cavetecdiver]

And in case I decide to get gopro which one is best for low light conditions? I saw a couple of comparisions where hero 4 silver is much better than black in low light. But I also saw that gopro 5 has a lot of improvements in software algorithms + stabilisation. Which one would you get for caves, 4 silver or 5 black? Can one describe what is the root cause of differences? I saw that sensor is the same.

 

[EvilOtter]

All Hero 5, 4 and 3+ models as well as the Hero 3 black use a 1/2.3" sensor, so I don't think you will see an appreciable difference in low light performance. Obviously, the newer models offer higher resolutions for video and stills and the 5 offers HDR and RAW for stills.

That said, you will probably get the most bang for you buck by investing in a pair of 2000+ lumen video lights. The narrow focus of your canister light will not be useful with the 120 degree FOV of the GoPro. A 60 degree spread on both lights will ensure that the frame is fully lit and without hotspots.