Underwater Digital Cameras

 Having a digital underwater camera can add a totally new dimension to your diving. I find that having the camera makes me more observant to marine life and it is amazing what you see when you are trying to find that great shot to remind you of the dive later.

Taking underwater photos can be a real joy. But what underwater camera should you buy?

Firstly a really good web site that details just about all digital cameras and all housing that are made for each model is www.digideep.com.  So my first suggestion is to take a look around that site and see what cameras actually have a housing, as not all do. I know a few people who bought a nice camera only to find that there was no housing available for it.

Whilst on digideep.com you can also take a look at the galleries and the photo competition they have on a monthly basis and then take a look at what cameras were used to get the picture.  All the pictures tend to have a write up as to where it was taken and what equipment was used.

You will be amazed that most are not taken with big expensive Digital SLR’s inside expensive housings.

If you are looking at a digital SLR then there are quite a few now under the £500 mark with 10 million pixels or more.  However, the housings are still relatively expensive and probably close to £1000 or more for the housings.

But if you are really serious then the digital SLR is the route to take.  It is much more flexible than a compact and the housings can be rated to 80m+ so a must if you are going deep to take that prize winning deep wreck photo.

Compact cameras are wide and varied in their range and many have a housing that are specific to each make and model.  When considering an underwater camera shutter lag is important.  This is the time it takes for the camera to take the picture once you have pushed the button.  SLR’s tend not to suffer from this too much but some compacts do suffer quite badly.

There is nothing wore than getting that perfect shot ready only to have to wait a second or two for the camera to focus and release the shutter to take the picture.  The results are either blurry images or the fish has just swam out of view, catching the end of his tail in the corner of the frame.

There are a few purpose made cameras that have an integral housing that you can buy. 

These can be seen on the Jessops site (see the link above) then to water proof cameras.  These are designed for underwater use and are encased in a housing already.  Very sturdy and they get good write ups in the dive magazines.  But being purpose built they are a little more expensive. 

The advantage is that they are less likely to flood as you are not putting them into a separate housing and they normally have a deeper depth rating.  Jessops stock the Sea and Sea and Sealife brands. They will work on land but tend to be a bit bulkier than a separate digital compact with a separate housing.

I have just bought a Canon 450D from Jessops and found them the most helpful and indeed the cheapest store both on-line and when I visited.

If you want a camera to stick in your pocket and also be able to put into a housing for diving then look at buying them as a package. But you might also get the best deal by buying them separately.  Sometimes the package deals are a little more expensive as the camera might be reduced in cost but then the housing is a little more expensive to compensate.  Again, take a look at the digideep website to see who does the housings for the camera you want to buy.

Nikon Coolpix tend to be very popular as do the Sony compacts  - all available through Jessops with the discount voucher “Hititrunning10” to get 10% off. Picture quality and shutter lag are very good.

From what I have seen of the Canon compacts they tend to have quite a long shutter lag, so you push the button and it takes a while to focus and take the picture, by which time your hand has shaken and the fish swam off.

The Fuji’s are good in terms of quality of picture and shutter lag and they do a combined offer of camera and housing.  Fuji compacts also tend to have a very nice big LCD screen on the back making it easier to view underwater.

I would aim at 6 million pixels or more if you intend to print the pictures or want to do some editing of the images later.  Most compacts these days are at least 6 million pixels or more.

In terms of strobes, these can definitely make the photos that much better as they put back the light lost as you go deeper.  And putting back the light tends to put back the true colour, again lost as you dive below 10 metres.  Red being the first colour lost.  You could counter this by adding  a red filter to the camera lens or do what I do and add the colour back in using software like Photoshop or Photoshop Elements.

Strobes can be expensive.  A starter strobe will set you back close to £150 with arm to attach to the camera housing.  A really nice TTL strobe will cost £300 upwards.  So if you intend to do a lot of 30m diving or more or want to take pictures on a night dive then consider a strobe.  Otherwise try without and add the detail back in with software.  You can always add a strobe later.

If you do go to the Jessops site then there are some special discount codes that will give you even more discount.

DISCOUNT CODES FOR USE ON JESSOPS WEBSITE - (online only, not in store)