What camera do you use?

[Haleye97]

I used disposable underwater cameras for my dives in Maui. I can see what people mean when they say the color gets filtered out! It's blue and gray! So what kind or camera do you use an about how much does it cost? I saw someone with a GoPro and my Dive Instructor commented on how great he thinks they are.

 

[tplyons]

While a GoPro is a great video camera for recording your dives (and re-living them later) I find they lack in the photography department.

Personally, I dive with a Canon G-15 in a WP-DC48 housing, with an Inon S-2000 strobe. This setup is right around $1500 including the tray and sync cable.

To get the color back in, you'll either need to adjust your white balance (meaning this should be an option on your camera), use an external strobe, or a combination of the two. Light naturally gets filtered out by water, and your camera can't add it back in. Only way to do that is with an external light source like a strobe.

 

[diversteve]

The GoPro is a video camera that also shoots high resolution stills. But it has a fixed focus, wide angle lens so not very good for close-ups. It also won't drive a strobe for any sort of flash/night photography. You can add a tray and video lights to it if all you want is video or the occasional still snapshot. For video, several of the GoPro aftermarket housing makers also offer a red filter which color corrects from about 15-60' feet. It will work for stills also but does cut down on the available light slightly. Below that you'll need lights or everything will be too blue. Even in Maui.

If you're interested in a GoPro, there's a forum specifically for them here: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/gopro-video/

 

[dfx]

GoPro is a nice little camera, but I find it overrated. Lots of fancy shmancy features that are of little use most of the time, and too many limitations for too much money.

I use a Canon S90 (got it cheap on Black Friday) for stills and a Contour Roam for video. Nothing professional but good enough for my purposes and I didn't spend a fortune on it. I made a DIY bundle out of the two and also attached some lights to the whole thing.

 

[Doubler]

You can also adjust white balance in post production with software, Lightroom, Aperture, Photoshop, iPhoto to name a few.

 

[tplyons]

If you're using a lossy format, like jpeg, it won't net the same results as shooting RAW.

IMO, the ability to shoot in RAW formats are crucial to underwater photography.

 

[doctormike]

If you're using a lossy format, like jpeg, it won't net the same results as shooting RAW.

IMO, the ability to shoot in RAW formats are crucial to underwater photography.

 

[dfx]

If you're using a lossy format, like jpeg, it won't net the same results as shooting RAW.

IMO, the ability to shoot in RAW formats are crucial to underwater photography.

That depends. If the camera already handles the white balance nicely (e.g. either through an UW preset, AWB or manual WB) then there's usually not much to gain from doing it in post.

 

[Tigerman]

I used disposable underwater cameras for my dives in Maui. I can see what people mean when they say the color gets filtered out! It's blue and gray! So what kind or camera do you use an about how much does it cost? I saw someone with a GoPro and my Dive Instructor commented on how great he thinks they are.

I wouldnt use a gopro as a photo camera. The gopro is good at what it is, an action video cam..
What I use is a Canon EOS 7D, which by the time you add housing and lenses is bloody expensive.

View attachment 161957

Yeah, Id love to see your sources on those ratios...

That depends. If the camera already handles the white balance nicely (e.g. either through an UW preset, AWB or manual WB) then there's usually not much to gain from doing it in post.

Not from a WB perspective maybe, but there is quite a major difference in the information contained within a raw file or other non-lossy format than there is in a jpg - which of course also affect the size of the files..

 

[dfx]

Not from a WB perspective maybe, but there is quite a major difference in the information contained within a raw file or other non-lossy format than there is in a jpg - which of course also affect the size of the files..

That applies to all photography, not just UW photography. If you're interested in squeezing the last bit of quality out of your camera, then by all means, shoot in RAW. But it's not the holy grail of UW photography.