Underwater Camera

[sjmbruce]

I'm looking for a decent,  easy to use camera for underwater pictures while snorkeling.  Preferably in the $100-$150ish range.  Any suggestions?

[pierces]

This is not my area by any means but a quick search on Amazon brought up a fair selection of inexpensive options.

Amazon.com : underwater camera

 

If this is your first foray into underwater photography/video, an inexpensive unit like you mentioned may be a good idea. If you decide this is a repeatable activity, you can always upgrade later.

 

Dave

[bigrednole]

I have had several and here is my take on each.

 

Insta360 Twin R Edition: PoS. First time in the water and it was a dead camera. Company does not even back it. Lost everything I had recorded to that point along with the camera.

 

Olympus Tough TG-4: This was a great underwater camera for video and pictures. It is only like 12MP and that is the same on the newer models. I am not sure how much that may affect overall quality, but it was fairly easy to use.

 

GoPro Hero 7 Black: Used for the first time on our cruise over Thanksgiving. Excellent for video but I did not take photos with it. As new to using it, I did not realize how difficult auto white balance is. Better to select the white balance and fix the coloration issues in a video editor.

 

To stay in that $100 range, the Akaso and likes are probably your best options. You get a small action camera that does all the tricks. Get an underwater housing for it to be sure it is protected. They are all over Amazon. I also recommend at least 1 extra batter if not more. They only last about 20-30 minutes.

[donaldsc]

On 2/6/2022 at 5:47 AM, bigrednole said:

I have had several and here is my take on each.

 

Insta360 Twin R Edition: PoS. First time in the water and it was a dead camera. Company does not even back it. Lost everything I had recorded to that point along with the camera.

 

Olympus Tough TG-4: This was a great underwater camera for video and pictures. It is only like 12MP and that is the same on the newer models. I am not sure how much that may affect overall quality, but it was fairly easy to use.

 

GoPro Hero 7 Black: Used for the first time on our cruise over Thanksgiving. Excellent for video but I did not take photos with it. As new to using it, I did not realize how difficult auto white balance is. Better to select the white balance and fix the coloration issues in a video editor.

 

To stay in that $100 range, the Akaso and likes are probably your best options. You get a small action camera that does all the tricks. Get an underwater housing for it to be sure it is protected. They are all over Amazon. I also recommend at least 1 extra batter if not more. They only last about 20-30 minutes.

 

Just a quick note on the Olympus TG cameras - THEY DO NOT FLOAT if you let go of them.  Make sure that you buy a positive buoyancy strap and/or a wrist strap or your camera will end up on the bottom of the ocean.

 

DON

[TravlingGato]

SJMBRUCE. I'd be very leery of underwater cameras priced around or less than $100.00. While we snorkelers don't dive deep, we want a camera that is waterproof and can handle water pressure, 25-33 ft is fine for us starters; that's well beyond most snorkel dives, but a safety margin for the camera. We also want good optics, a lens system that can handle underwater and above surface images clearly in various lighting conditions. After my first plunge with a pricey waterproof case around a pricey SLR (all the whistles and many bells), I figured that there had to be something easier to handle for snorkeling. So, a point-and shoot with flexible shooting options on land that had sufficient water resistance could serve dual purposes. Over the years, I acquired 2 point & shoot - underwater cameras, an Olympus and a Nikon. Friends get excellent photos (surface and underwater) with Canon and Panasonic/Lumix.  Don't buy just for your first trip, but for use in the future; save $$$ in the long run.  Whatever camera you get,  be sure to get an underwater wrist strap that fits the camera and your wrist. A neck strap underwater is dangerous. ,,,, Enjoy swimming with the fishes and turtles,

[eileeshb]

On my most recent trip I used a generic version of a go-pro on a snorkel excursion. My lung capacity sucks so I don’t dive down and found the only decent photos from that camera were of people and 1 fish that came right up to me. 
Below are the 2 pictures completely un-edited. I’ve now decided I need something with a bit of zoom capability if I want to actually capture decent pictures of the fish and coral in the future.

[whataboutport]

On 3/16/2022 at 12:24 PM, eileeshb said:

On my most recent trip I used a generic version of a go-pro on a snorkel excursion. My lung capacity sucks so I don’t dive down and found the only decent photos from that camera were of people and 1 fish that came right up to me. 
Below are the 2 pictures completely un-edited. I’ve now decided I need something with a bit of zoom capability if I want to actually capture decent pictures of the fish and coral in the future.

 

I have an older Go Pro and everything always comes out so bad. I remember even the commercials for the very first Go Pro the videos looked amazing. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Your pics look better than mine. The only ones that came out good were in Hawaii in 5' of crystal clear water.