to buy a go pro or a reliable cover for an iphone 14?

[Giljiroza]

Firstly, I don't dive regularly, but wish to capture diving moments in good resolution. I have an iphone 14 pro max, but I've never owned my own go pro. Now I wish to either buy a reliable cover which goes up to 40 metres diving, or a go pro which I know will produce quality images.
which do you suggest that I buy? I've heard mixed reviews on reliability, for example - the screen reacting defectively when under some pressure, or questions such as "would you risk ruining your phone?" So, any recommendations welcomeee

 

[Hoag]

Here is the question that I would ask you.
If something goes wrong and you were to lose EVERYTHING on whatever you chose, which would create more of an inconvenience, losing a GoPro, or losing your iPhone?

Can you afford to have something as small as a hair compromise the integrity of your o-ring seal and flood your iPhone casing causing a total failure and loss of everything on it? Or can you more easily get over the same thing happening on a GoPro? What about if you accidentally drop it into the abyss?

Although rare, accidents DO happen no matter how meticulous you are. I enjoy photography, both above and below the surface, but I personally do not take any camera underwater that I am not willing to accept a total loss of.

Ultimately, you will have to decide what works best for you, but if I were the one making the choice that you pose, the iPhone would stay nice & dry in the hotel room (or LOB cabin) and the GoPro comes on the dive with me.

 

[tursiops]

I would never consider a GoPro (or the various clones, what my wife calls FauxPros) unless my primary and almost sole interest is videos of reef scenes; that is what they are best at. Otherwise, the Olympus TG-6 is the sweet spot for still shots and macros. Note, you put your OLD iPhone in a housing, not your current one!

 

[Divin'Papaw]

An iPhone is not an inexpensive gadget. I would never take my primary iPhone (13 Pro) underwater. My older phone that I no longer use perhaps.

I have intentionally not gotten into underwater photography and videography in a big way. It is a deep, expensive hole that I have no interest rappelling into. However, I did want the ability to capture quick, easy video/screen grabs of stuff I see primarily to share with family and a few friends. I went with the GoPro because it is drop-dead simple, inexpensive, and perfectly does what I need it to do. I have a GoPro Hero 8. No plans to upgrade until I lose this one or it dies. Again, because it does the simple things I need it to do and if I lose it, it won't bring tears of regret.

 

[Shabaday]

I use my old 11 pro max in the housing not my new phone

 

[Pearlman]

Neither. Try the new DJI Osmo Action3 at $100 cheaper with triple batteries and charger thrown in with the adventure combo pack and also 40% longer lasting on a single battery. No red filter required as well with UCC so another $100 saved…

 

[tursiops]

DJI Osmo Action3

Only good to 16m. Is there a housing available?

 

[Pearlman]

Only good to 16m. Is there a housing available?

Yes but out of stock everywhere! I have 3 weeks to go for my next dive trip and desperately searching …. The non DJI housings leak as per user reviews, so one has to be careful to get the original one only.

 

[Gareth J]

If you take something into the water in a housing that is designed to protect it from the water, you can guarantee that at some point you will have a flood. Can you afford to flood your iPhone?

It is not a case of if you have a flood, it is when you have a flood!

I take a camera. I flooded one last year. I was very very pissed off , initially I though an O-ring had failed (the housing is quite old now), but inevitably, it was user error.
Luckily I had three spare cameras and a second housing.
HOWEVER, I used it as an excuse to upgrade to a current model and housing.

 

[Green Frog]

I’m looking at the Sea Life 3.0. I’ve finally retired my stable of Nikonos (1,2,3 & 5) with all manner of accessories. It has the advantage of being completely sealed and not needing servicing. I only plan on “been there” shots, nothing as fancy as I did “back in the day”. Also fine for a tourist snapshot camera. Good to 60 m IIRC. MSRP about $600.