Take pictures/video while scuba diving?

[x98bjv]

Hi there -

 

I'll be going on the Carnival Victory in June and will be a newly-certified open water diver. I love taking pictures and video on vacation so I can look back and remember how wonderful our trip was. I want to buy a new point and shoot (my current point and shoot is old/crappy and I have a Nikon DSLR) and underwater housing for this cruise because we'll be stopping and diving at 6 different ports. I'm afraid I'll regret not having a good underwater camera to capture a few moments of each dive, but my husband is telling me to "live in the moment" and that I'll miss out because my face will be behind a camera for a good part of the dive. What is YOUR opinion?

[rednose83]

I answered in your other thread.

[Capt_BJ]

as a newly certified diver I suggest you get a bit of experience b4 you add a distraction to your diving. I had probably 100 dives b4 I started carrying a camera and the early days I was STILL happy I had an attentive buddy (spousal unit) who stopped me from getting in trouble on more than one occasion.... too deep, too long, watch out for the 5 foot morey eel coming up between your legs {no, I'm NOT kidding}

 

Many times you can hire a photog' to video your dive ..... consider that route for now.

[bruce-r]

but my husband is telling me to "live in the moment" and that I'll miss out because my face will be behind a camera for a good part of the dive. What is YOUR opinion?

Your DH has a valid point, especially for a beginning diver. Diving with a camera is a distraction and doing the dive "thru the view finder" does really narrow your focus, I know that for a fact. You do miss seeing other stuff when you are messing with a camera trying to get the exposure just right. Also, your buoyancy control isn't a second nature when you first begin. That means running into the reef or other divers is quite a possibility that is only multiplied when you dive with a camera.

 

as a newly certified diver I suggest you get a bit of experience b4 you add a distraction to your diving. <---agree

Many times you can hire a photog' to video your dive ..... consider that route for now.

 

When you are ready for a camera, for point & shoot UW, Canon would be my first choice. They offer affordable housings for many of their cameras.

[x98bjv]

Okay, so I guess hubby wins this argument. :P I was hoping for advice from experienced divers - thanks for being honest!

[bruce-r]

Just be sure to make your next camera purchase with availability of house in mind.

 

Links for the future:

http://www.digideep.com

http://www.digitaldiver.net/

http://www.steves-digicams.com/

[jcm996]

I would also say to wait until you have more experience. But for a great underwater camera try

 

http://www.sealife-cameras.com/cameras/dc1000.html

 

The case is nice size and I am able to take pictures easily with 7mm gloves on. It has color compinsation settings special for diving or snorkeling.

 

Out of the enclosure the camera is tiny can fit it in the pocket of my jeans for on land.

 

I recently got one and have only used it on 3-4 dives so far, (season is over here) but have been very impressed on how easy it is to set up and use.

[Bellfree Bat]

Yup, your hubby gave you good advice. I am a relatively new diver and my husband has been diving for 25 yrs. I enjoy the dive and he takes all the pics! Here's a link with his pics with diving in Costa Maya and COzumel from December to warm you up.

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/digitalbats/Dec2009#

 

FYI: He uses a Panasonic Lumix with dive housing.

[gliner]

I took a camera with me on my first open water dive and have had one with me ever since.

 

I started out with film, but transitioned to digital.

 

I would suggest one of these cameras as they are affordable and are very reliable.

 

http://www.intova.net/intovaic600.html

[jcm996]

One other thing to think about, is what are your diving conditions going to be most of the time. If you live in an area where 20-30 feet max then just a housing will do.

 

But if you are going to be doing 40-100 foot dives or low visability (some people this means 50 feet others 5 feet) you will need an external flash so make sure the camera and housing can work with an external flash in that case.

 

Also one thing that is very hard to determine is how hot does the camera get when on. Because as it heats up your enclosure has a chance of the len fogging up. You will need moisture munchers and most encloseures do take this into consideration. But my local divemaster actually had a camera overheat in an enclosure to the point the camera fried itself (this is 5 or more years ago and technology is much better now)

 

It took me a few weeks before deciding, I looked at a few different camera systems. Alot of it for me came down to size and specs. I wanted a small camera so I could use it land or sea. So I sacraficed zoom on land for this, since I cannot change to a telophoto lens. But it is small enough to slip in a pocket so I might not stand out as a tourist as bad as if I had a camera with a big lens.

 

Sorry to add more to you list of finding the right camera. But you should look at how you want to use it and what features work best for you.

[Roatanfans]

As a new diver forget about trying to take pictures- just enjoy the dive. Bouyancy is a skill that you should be very good at before attempting to add a camera. Cameras can be a huge distraction unless you are comfortable diving- it is also really easy to fall behind a dive group while taking pictures. When you are ready several resorts will rent cameras so you may want to try that and see how you like it. Underwater photography is much harder than on land, but it is addicting!

[loveboater99]

See if the dive shop uses a videographer/photographer. Alot of places do, it's usually pretty affordable when compared to buying a camera and developing film. Plus I'm always disappointed with disposable snorkle cams. Enjoy your dive and let them take the pictures with you in them. If not, practice in a pool or something.

We dove for the 1st time in St. Thomas and bought a video there. I don't think I wouldve done a good job, too concentrated on my breathing, keeping my mask clear and not landing on the coral.

The video and photos were awesome! Here's the video guys website.

www.divehdv.com

[x98bjv]

See if the dive shop uses a videographer/photographer. Alot of places do, it's usually pretty affordable when compared to buying a camera and developing film. Plus I'm always disappointed with disposable snorkle cams. Enjoy your dive and let them take the pictures with you in them. If not, practice in a pool or something.

We dove for the 1st time in St. Thomas and bought a video there. I don't think I wouldve done a good job, too concentrated on my breathing, keeping my mask clear and not landing on the coral.

The video and photos were awesome! Here's the video guys website.

www.divehdv.com

 

Awesome! Thanks for the tip - I just emailed them to find out options/costs.

[dtchem1]

As JCM said, be sure you can get a flash if diving more than 15-20 feet. I took off my flash in Roatan to make things easier and was soooooo disapointed with the pictures. Now I'll just have to go back and try agin.

[cruisin 07]

I'm a novice diver, less than 50 dives. I purchased a Sealife Reefmaster Mini with only 5 dives and couldn't be happier. It's was so small that bouyancy wasn't as issue. After my first trip I purchased a strobe for it for my second trip. Practice so I new all the functions and how to operate it before diving. So glad I had it. Nothing like bringing backs pics to share. It had a flash and video. Leason learned - if taking a video have it longer than 20 secs.

[eponym]

check out liquid image gear.

 

Hi there -

 

I'll be going on the Carnival Victory in June and will be a newly-certified open water diver. I love taking pictures and video on vacation so I can look back and remember how wonderful our trip was. I want to buy a new point and shoot (my current point and shoot is old/crappy and I have a Nikon DSLR) and underwater housing for this cruise because we'll be stopping and diving at 6 different ports. I'm afraid I'll regret not having a good underwater camera to capture a few moments of each dive, but my husband is telling me to "live in the moment" and that I'll miss out because my face will be behind a camera for a good part of the dive. What is YOUR opinion?

[TTown Traveler]

I am also an avid hobby photographer. I love taking tons of vacation pictures and love to go back and look through them!

 

I started out with a disposable underwater camera for snorkeling. The pictures were not great, but good enough for a beginner. When we first went scuba diving I found a disposable that was rated to 200 feet. (You have to look for these, as most are just for snorkeling depths. Make sure it is rated to go deep enough for the dives you will be making.) Keep in mind though that you are not going to get those magazine quality shots with a disposable camera… But, as a beginner at scuba & underwater photography I was quite happy with it. My husband and I each had one so we could get shots of each other.

 

I wanted to upgrade before our upcoming cruise (in two weeks ~ yay!) I looked into a housing for my SLR camera vs. upgrading to the newest SeaLife. The housings are very expensive (the Ikelite is the cheapest option that is rated to go deeper than 30 feet, and it would be about $2000 with the external flash.) They are also very big. The SeaLife is about $900, and much more compact. I called several dive shops hoping to be able to see & hold an Ikelite ~ I didn’t want to make that kind of investment without being sure I would be able to handle the camera! They are only available by special order, and none of the dive shops here had any in shop. However, I did find a dive master at one dive shop who was very helpful. She told me that it is not the cost of the camera that makes for good pictures ~ it is knowing your camera and how to change the settings to get the best shots. Using it on the Auto setting will NOT result in getting those fantastic shots like you see in magazines or on the internet. You have to change the shutter speed & aperture to really get quality shots. Also, you have to be really close ~ within a couple of feet. You need to be thoroughly comfortable with the camera before you ever take it underwater. Practice with it at home until you know it well. You will miss so much if you spend most of your dive time trying to remember how to adjust it & take the pictures.

 

Also, PADI has an underwater photography class. It is just a one day class. It goes through everything from how to set the camera to how to position yourself in the water for the best shots.

 

My advice would be to start with a disposable that is rated for scuba depths. This is your first dive and you will have enough to think about without worrying about camera settings. A simple point and shoot will allow you to enjoy the diving experience while you get comfortable with it, as well as have some great memory photos. Once you have some dive experience you can look into the PADI class & some better equipment.

[scubaran]

Hi,

 

I agree with getting your ducks in order with comfort in the water, bouyancy, situational awareness, air usage, etc. then look at cameras. But I'll go further and say you REALLY need to get comfortable with your camera and all the pieces attached. I have a Canon Powershot D990IS with Canon's underwater enclosure with a mounted strobe and flashlight. I really took the time to make surface shots in varying conditions to understand how all the options of the camera can be used. This way when I'm under the water I can operate the camera without having to think about how to change f-stops, turn the flash on/off, ISO and white balance (if you can't operate your camera in the dark, it won't be any easier at 80ft. in a current, surrounded by sharp reefs). Practice, practice, practice and then get wet. It's the difference between underwater snapshots and photographs.

 

Randall

[ScubaCruiser54]

This is a good thread.

 

You are getting a lot of solid advice. As a new diver, you will have some issues with bouyancy, equipment framiliarization, paying attention to where your buddy has gone, where is the dive group and divemaster as well as what weighting you need for you without a camera and with a camera.

 

You will need to be alert to what is going on around you as a diver. You need to put a few dives behind you and and slowly get into the camera game. I have a lot of dives under the belt, and anytime I have added some other aspect to my diving routine (including photography), it takes a bit of truly paying attention to the new "adventure" as well as making sure that you are still performing the "rote" tasks as you should be doing. For example, getting in and out of the water is changed. You have to deal with the camera, housing, lights, etc. If you are diving with intermediate and experienced divers, they are probably not going to want to be held up with their dives by a novice diver struggling with a camera. I know some will say that everyone will understand your enthusiasm, but that is not necessarily true.

 

You need to develop breathing control and get relaxed in diving in order to maximize your air time. Divers chasing fish to take their photos soon run out of air. If you are struggling with your camera, you will be nervous and consume more air. Well I digress.

 

I started with snorkeling plastic encased film cameras. They take mediocre underwater photos. I then found the snorkeling plastic encased cameras with "flash" which improved the quality of colors in the pictures. I then found a 35MM film camera with a strobe and housing... I believe it is a SeaLife35. It made for even better shots as the strobe was a lot more powerful than the throw aways. I then graduated to an Olympus digital with a built in flash, It came in a small housing for about $400.00, but I was disappointed with the built in flash as it was not strong enough at depth. I am now trying to adapt my SeaLife Strobes to the Olympus.

 

I just don't have the guts to put my Nikon D300 in a housing and play in the salt water with it. My next venture will be with a videocamera and housing. My dive buddy has one and he has about 25 years diving experience and he takes some amazing video, but he will be quick to tell you that a diver with a camera is not a diver to "swim with the crowd" if you are trying to get truly great shots under the sea.

 

Get a bit more experience before you start shooting underwater. If you are determined to do it anyway, try to find a dive shop that rents underwater cameras and strobes and try theirs out before you commit a few thousand dollars to a camera and housing.

 

Have a good time.

[ScubaCruiser54]

http://www.underwaterphotography.com/