to buy a go pro or a reliable cover for an iphone 14?

[rmorgan]

@rmorgan I love those shots. Where were you in Fiji when you got the shots of the Manta and the Grey reef sharks?

Thanks very much, Stemi! The grey reef sharks were in Nigali, off of Gau Island, and the reef manta cleaning station was off Wakaya Island. We were on the NAI'A, which is an outstanding Fiji liveaboard (and pretty much the only Fiji liveaboard).

 

[ifanchu]

I have used a DiveVolk Seatouch 4 housing on maybe 20 dives. It is a passive (non-bluetooth, no electronics) product with a membrane which affords complete touchscreen capability. I've wanted to be able to use a phone underwater, especially after having mediocre results with a Vaquita (battery life, terrible minimum focus distance, pathetic macro attempt, and now, of course, bankruptcy) and, years ago, a GoPro. I did try a Sea Life iPhone housing, but it had many negatives: bluetooth required, exceedingly fiddly to prepare it for use, intrusion alarm has a mind of its own). I ordered and returned a DiveVolk without getting it wet because the membrane was hard to get my mind around. Matthias Lebo's good reviews on YouTube, and dissatisfaction with the Sea Life, led me back to the DiveVolk, which is inexpensive @ $199. I've found no reports of a membrane failure, and given the water resistance of the newer iPhones, think that if there was some intrusion, I'd have a decent chance of getting to the surface in an orderly fashion. If not--insurance, if you're using a primary phone. For an occasional user like our OP, the absence of any serious learning curve, batteries to be charged, pump to be remembered, etc., combined with the superior imaging abilities of the iPhones (especially those which shoot raw images), the DiveVolk is worth considering. Linking a couple of images here. Macro ; Panorama

@rmorgan these photos are incredible, great job!

I also have a Seatouch 4 and I’m wondering if you could share your video light setup for it?

I got a lot of backscatters when mounting 2 video lights to the tray, maybe I need to use a longer arm for the light?

Thanks!

 

[rmorgan]

Thank you, ifanchu. I put the housing on a tray--not the Divevolk tray, an Amazon one which opens a little wider than the Divevolk (this allows the phone to be removed without taking the housing off the tray). I tried various light configurations, but mostly used a big video light (sola 15k) on one arm and something smaller, maybe 3800, on the other, on both sides two shortish arms (8"?). However, this made for a pretty hefty rig. We're headed out for a few weeks and I plan to try a more streamlined kit--no tray, a cold-shoe ball mount with a Kraken focusing light or small video light so that I can have a focusing/illumination light for macro-ish things, and no lights and red filter for anything not close up, since the phones do such a great job of reconciling low light. For backscatter, I follow the usual rules--pull the light/s back behind the lens, aim the light/s straight ahead, stay away from bottom-kickers, accept that backscatter happens.

 

[JMS11]

Here is the question that I would ask you.
If something goes wrong and you were to lose EVERYTHING on whatever you chose, which would create more of an inconvenience, losing a GoPro, or losing your iPhone?

Can you afford to have something as small as a hair compromise the integrity of your o-ring seal and flood your iPhone casing causing a total failure and loss of everything on it? Or can you more easily get over the same thing happening on a GoPro? What about if you accidentally drop it into the abyss?

Although rare, accidents DO happen no matter how meticulous you are. I enjoy photography, both above and below the surface, but I personally do not take any camera underwater that I am not willing to accept a total loss of.

Ultimately, you will have to decide what works best for you, but if I were the one making the choice that you pose, the iPhone would stay nice & dry in the hotel room (or LOB cabin) and the GoPro comes on the dive with me.

This was the logic that drove my decision to purchase a GoPro 11 with the GoPro housing. Losing the GoPro would be easier to deal with than losing the phone.

 

[Jcp2]

You can get an iPhone that is three generations older than the current one for less than a GoPro and have better camera and video, as well as the option to use it as a phone.

 

[Green Frog]

I didn’t even think about using an old iPhone as a camera only… it sounds OK now, but I guess my mind just didn’t work that way. I still see a phone in a case as … phone in a case rather than as a camera, even though I’ve used whichever of my iPhones I had at the time to take a ton of pictures on land!

I was also fairly underwhelmed with the GoPro for my application. I wanted a still camera that could also do short videos, not the other way around. My niece and her husband used one, but it just didn’t “move me”. That’s perhaps more of a reflection on me than on the GoPro.

I’ve gotten used to the snapshot camera mode, so it came down to the SeaLife Micro 3.0 for me. I can carry it everywhere I go on land, and by making one adjustment use it underwater as well.

I’m happy not to have to worry about changing film, caring for o-rings, etc, etc. I probably won’t get pictures to make Cathy Church jealous, but for low stress, “been there” type pictures, I feel pretty good. Nassau, here I come!

 

[mattfish]

I take my iPhone 13 Pro with me in a sea touch 4 max. It works great. I use it with a couple video lights and can get everything from macro out to super wide angle. The only issue I’ve ever had is the autofocus in murky water. But that’s true of lots of cameras, not just the iPhone.

 

[Russjstewart]

think very carefully about everything you use your iPhone for, I was recently able to help a women who was locked out of her Tesla because her iPhone was flat. Very much a first world problem.

 

[m_BK]

I`m still comparing my GoPro 11 with the IP 13pro in the Divevolk housing. At the moment - I`m very happy with the IP on detailed shots (But have to use ProRes) and with the GP on widescreen shots (I`m only doing video) - But the differences are small. I always smile when people write they just use there old backup phones for underwater... The only reason to have a new IP is the camera - why step back to some bad quality - underwater images should always be the best available quality. An I phone is a item for use, not a jewelery.

 

[GDHLEWIS]

Just had this conundrum yesterday, was close to buying a phone housing for my S22.
1. Came across a decent deal for a Gopro 11
2. Would have had to ship the phone housing from the States to the Middle East adding cost and import tax
3. Didnt sit well risking the phone on a dive trip
4. Gopro is easier for the child to snorkel with