Is GoPro the best for underwater video, or are there other options?

[hroark2112]

I'm going to Bonaire and want video. My wife likes to point & shoot all day underwater, I want to just turn on a video camera and wander, then look at it later. What else is out there besides GoPro?

 

[undrwater]

If you are looking for basic, you might look into the Intova Sport Pro. There are other similar designs. I'd google "small HD underwater video camera".

 

[divingpyrate]

hard to beat the capabilities of the gopro for point and shoot

Why is the rum always gone

 

[Shasta_man]

The best, NO. Best point and shoot with little effort, yes. Realize that you'll get decent to good video in the sun down to ~25-30 feet, then you'll start losing colors. Fixing that requires some more stuff and more money. Also note that just leaving it on while you wander is probably going to result in video that is only interesting to you. It takes a lot of effort to make videos that people want to watch. There are tips like don't pan around, it takes about 6 seconds to recognize an image so you need a still shot of the same thing for like 10 seconds, etc, etc. It seems like you looked at some object for a long time but checking the footage it looks like a glance and you barely see what it is before you're on to the next thing. Better video requires better cameras and housing which starts into the thousands. This is diving so it has to cost a lot.

 

[Interceptor121]

Is there anything better than the gopro to go wander and look at it later? Not really
Is going around wandering without taking notice of your shots a productive way to have something good to watch later? Not really
In essence all the effort you won't put in framing shots and doing the work upfront will translate in you having to watch your entire dives again trying to save something. It will be a huge effort if you do it all the time. For a specific situation such as single dive with sharks or similar it can be worth it for 10+ dives in a week it will require 1+ hour for each dive to the point you may give up and don't bother

POV cameras are very good to document something specific but you need to frame the shots if you want to tell a story, nothing to do with gopro is just the way it is but if you are prepare to rewatch all your dives it can be fun

 

[dfx]

I like Contour cameras.

 

[Tigerman]

Is there anything better than the gopro to go wander and look at it later? Not really
Is going around wandering without taking notice of your shots a productive way to have something good to watch later? Not really
In essence all the effort you won't put in framing shots and doing the work upfront will translate in you having to watch your entire dives again trying to save something. It will be a huge effort if you do it all the time. For a specific situation such as single dive with sharks or similar it can be worth it for 10+ dives in a week it will require 1+ hour for each dive to the point you may give up and don't bother

POV cameras are very good to document something specific but you need to frame the shots if you want to tell a story, nothing to do with gopro is just the way it is but if you are prepare to rewatch all your dives it can be fun

10 dives in a week? What kinda slacker are you? The week have 7 days. Each day has MINIMUM 2, preferrably 3 dives even on day boats. We dont go on dive vacations to watch the pool, do we?

On the rest.. Yeah, thats pretty spot on.

 

[hroark2112]

I like Contour cameras.

Those look pretty sharp. They're out of stock on the strap mount right now. Looks like a good option!

 

[Shasta_man]

As Interceptor mentioned, playback is only realtime.

 

[diversteve]

Sony also makes one. Action Cam | Mountable Full HD Action Camcorder | Sony USA

Although the GoPro Black is better technically than either it or the Contour2. Might not be as important for:

turn on a video camera and wander, then look at it later.

Anyone know if the HDMI port is also waterproof on the Contour Roam2? That could be real useful for adding a small external housed monitor.

An almost as simple but more expensive option might be the latest Canon low-end camcorder in their housing.
http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consu...mcorders/vixia_hf_m500#SuppliesAndAccessories
http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/camcorders/consumer_camcorders/wp_v4_waterproof_case
Both are on Amazon for $850 total. Obviously not as convenient in terms of clip it on and go. Also it has a big LCD so you can frame what you're shooting, something both the Sony/Contour options lack. Depth rating is only 130' on the housing.

Given that the WP-V4 is showing mostly back-ordered online (and it's Spring) I suspect we're soon to see the release of the Canon HF M600 and WP-V5 housing.