SeaLife IPhone Case

[GLiebmann]

Hello,

I have a question about the SeaLife IPhone case. I live in Hawaii and want to start taking video and photos and I think this case would be my best option. Not looking for professional pictures just want to document my dives with my daughter. My question is if the Phone case alone should be okay or do I really need to spend another $400 on the Seadragon light? I am usually in 30-40 feet with pretty good visibility. Will the light make that big of a difference? Seems like a lot of money. Maybe something I can upgrade later or will I be terribly disappointed with just the case? Just looking for some opinions. Thanks!

 

[frogbmth]

The housing works well, you will get much better results with a Light but you could simply get a cheaper light, you can get powerful underwater video lights for 1/4 to 1/3 the price of a seadragon light.

 

[Telvar]

I use it with an android phone. Same housing. In waters with great visibility, you dont need a light at all. I did three dives to 60' or so on curacao (90' vis) and needed no lights at all. I did take a little backup light for nooks and crannies but didnt need it. Back home in murky Dutch waters you definitely often need a light. The available lights should be awesome but my budget has limits. I use a big torch to light the subject and that works as well.

 

[Hoag]

Housings can leak. It is unfortunate, but it is a fact. No matter how meticulous you are, accidents happen. Having said that, you have to ask yourself, if your housing leaks, are you prepared to lose your iPhone and potentially everything on it? That is a question that only you can answer since each of us has a different risk tolerance, but it is something to take into consideration.

What I use as a general rule of thumb is that I never take a camera underwater that I am not willing to throw in the garbage if my housing floods.

I am not saying that it will happen, only that it might happen, and if it does, are you prepared with a "Plan B" for your iPhone?

 

[Marie13]

I’d only use a phone housing with an older phone that wasn’t my current phone. Do you really want to risk the phone you run your entire life with?

 

[Telvar]

I use my previous phone (galaxy s8+) although i think i would be comfortable using my regular phone. System seems very secure with (over)active seal monitoring.

 

[Shabaday]

I absolutely love the housing. Great pics and using the red filter you don't need a light IF the water is very clear. I do have SeaDragon lights and that has helped for deeper dives and close subjects. I also use a separate iPhone that I purchased just for this and there is no cellular on that phone...think iPad....I can still upload all the pics to the cloud and share them via messaging. The pics are not worthy of publishing mostly due to my lousy photo taking skills....if you would like DM your phone number and I can text you some pics for you to decide

 

[Telvar]

Example of 2 pics from last week. Galaxy s8+ with the sportdiver. Not perfect from a technical perspective, but good pics. Depth between 45-60 ft, no lights.

 

[Shabaday]

Here is a point and shoot with it

 

[NitroxSam]

Nice pics.