Review Oceanic iPhone Dive Housing

[kimh]

My point stands. Too many bug fixes.

Your point stands, for people who don’t understand the software biz, yes.

 

[tursiops]

Your point stands, for people who don’t understand the software biz, yes.

Some of us think the "software biz" thinks it can get away with being egotistical and uncaring about the consumers. Moving to a subscription model, for example, is a money grab and pisses off the customers. Yes, we understand the "software biz," and we reject it.

 

[Green Frog]

I guess I’ll just have to agree to disagree with the pro i Phone-in-a-case crowd, but I’ll make just one more comment... when you try to get one tool to do several things at once, it seldom does any of them well, and almost never does any one thing as well as a purpose built use devoted tool. YMMV!

 

[tangfish]

Back to the housing… does anyone know if the photos and videos it takes can be offloaded in their native file formats? It would be great if for example a user could get the apple pro raw files and do their own editing. Or are the files “locked” within the Oceanic ecosystem and can only be exported/shared in whatever quality and format Oceanic allows and keeps behind the paywall?

I have to say I am extremely disappointed after watching the review video that OP posted. I have this dive housing ready to try in the Maldives this coming weekend and now I’m on the fence about whether to even bring it. Thank you OP for posting the review, we needed some real life experience of the product.

 

[kimh]

Yes, we understand the "software biz," and we reject it.

Good luck with that.

 

[kimh]

does anyone know if the photos and videos it takes can be offloaded in their native file formats?

“Record Media Files in RAW and Compressed Formats”
“The Oceanic+ Dive Housing offers professionals the ability to capture media files in both RAW and compressed formats, ensuring optimal evaluation and control of images. This feature caters to the needs of experienced divers who require high-quality, unprocessed files for post-dive analysis and editing. By recording in RAW format, divers can retain all the original data captured by the camera sensor, enabling them to make precise adjustments and enhancements during the post-processing stage. Compressed formats, on the other hand, provide a convenient option for divers who prefer smaller file sizes without compromising overall image quality. With the Oceanic+ Dive Housing, divers have the flexibility to choose between these formats, empowering them to achieve their desired visual outcomes.”

Oceanic+ Dive Housing - Oceanic Worldwide

Now you can use your iPhone as both an underwater camera and fully-functional dive computer!

www.oceanicworldwide.com

It will be interesting to see if/when Oceanic adds support for (Apple’s new) ProRes log video recording on iPhone 15 Pro models. I’d think that log will be especially useful for heavier color grading in underwater footage. Now that DaVinci Resolve is free for its basic version, there are even more color grading possibilities.

Unsurprisingly, underwater LUTs are available. I didn’t find any resources specific to iPhone 15 log profile though. Maybe I was looking for LUTs in all the wrong places.

 

[kimh]

We’ve arrived at a point where with careful choices, you can shoot B-roll on an iPhone, and cut it into a Hollywood feature.

 

[Wibble]

We have one arriving at the shop in the next few days.

They are less expensive. I was told they are rated for just as deep as the Oceanic. And, apparently, it allows you to operate the touch screen, so you can do whatever you want with the phone, not just what one app allows.

I’m told that they are popular with cave divers who will stick it under a bungee on their deco cylinder that they stash near the cave entrance at the start of a dive. When they come back, pull out the Divevolk with their phone in it and watch a movie while doing deco.



I have been writing software for a living for about 40 years now. There is an old adage in my field:

”Nobody will remember if it was late. Nobody will forget if it’s crap.”

This is (currently) crap. And not surprising, considering the Apple Watch version of the app has had so many bugs reported.

Pic taken on the Empire Heritage in Malin Head, NW Ireland, at 65m/215ft on an iPhone in a DiveVolk housing. They work!

 

[kimh]

All things being equal I guess I'd prefer the DiveVolk concept, which preserves general iPhone functionality. I haven't used either, but I can also see the positive side of a dedicated hard case like Oceanic's. I think it's ridiculous to dismiss a new product like the Oceanic because of some expected bugs in the first couple months. And at the software update pace we're seeing, no one who hasn't used it quite recently even knows how it really works.

 

[tangfish]

“Record Media Files in RAW and Compressed Formats”
“The Oceanic+ Dive Housing offers professionals the ability to capture media files in both RAW and compressed formats, ensuring optimal evaluation and control of images. This feature caters to the needs of experienced divers who require high-quality, unprocessed files for post-dive analysis and editing. By recording in RAW format, divers can retain all the original data captured by the camera sensor, enabling them to make precise adjustments and enhancements during the post-processing stage. Compressed formats, on the other hand, provide a convenient option for divers who prefer smaller file sizes without compromising overall image quality. With the Oceanic+ Dive Housing, divers have the flexibility to choose between these formats, empowering them to achieve their desired visual outcomes.”

Oceanic+ Dive Housing - Oceanic Worldwide

Now you can use your iPhone as both an underwater camera and fully-functional dive computer!

www.oceanicworldwide.com

It will be interesting to see if/when Oceanic adds support for (Apple’s new) ProRes log video recording on iPhone 15 Pro models. I’d think that log will be especially useful for heavier color grading in underwater footage. Now that DaVinci Resolve is free for its basic version, there are even more color grading possibilities.

Unsurprisingly, underwater LUTs are available. I didn’t find any resources specific to iPhone 15 log profile though. Maybe I was looking for LUTs in all the wrong places.

Wow great reply, thank you for this information.

I agree the Oceanic housing could become quite good if they can fix the software. As much as many of us were pining for the housing to be released, now we’re disappointed that it’s been released with bugs that, from the sounds of it (like app crashing mid-dive with no way to relaunch), make it nearly unusable. I don’t see how they can fix the softness around the edges, even with a dome adaptor of some sort, it may be what it currently is for the long term. Still, if it is a housing that can let me shoot reliably in apple raw format I’d be happy. I don’t need or want any of the dive computer elements of it- I actually think those distract from and delay the development of the photo specific aims of the product. Too bad there’s not a separate app for the housing than the Apple Watch Ultra with its dive computer focus.