Which is a better expenditure: GoPro or Scuba Tank?

[Professor Nemo]

Which is a better expenditure: GoPro or Scuba Tank?



I need some advice from experienced divers concerning what to put on my Christmas list for Santa this year. I have a budget of $300-400 dollars and have narrowed down my choice to either a GoPro Hero4 Silver or one HP Steel 100 scuba tank. Please note I have all of the other major and minor equipment I should need for the foreseeable future except for tanks. However, I have reservations about both items which I was hoping this community could help me address. They are:

GoPro

I am first off concerned that purchasing a camera to take diving with me will mean that I will become more focused on accurately documenting everything I see while underwater at the expense of actually experiencing the pleasure of diving. The camera becomes an avatar for what I should be seeing and if that happens I feel like the point of diving, to actually experience something unique, is lost. If that were to be the case then I would quickly lose interest in taking the camera with me, which obviates having one. Or, I take the camera with me and simply learn to ignore it as much as possible, relegating it to a position of lesser importance to my own enjoyment. (I know that people will say that I can simply resell the GoPro if I find it to be a distraction when diving but I wouldn’t be able to do that because it was 1) a gift from my family and thus has sentimental value and, 2) because I am a bit of a hoarder who has experienced seller’s regret too many times to wish to repeat that experience).



My other concern with the purchase of the GoPro is that I know that part of me is considering this simply because my family has mentioned that I need a camera so that I can record my dives and in turn show them to said family. While I have no problem doing this, I also recognize that asking for a device for this reason would negate the pleasure my family intended in asking me to pick out something that I wanted. This might be ultimately inconsequential though since being able to show my family what I get to experience could in turn create a new type of pleasure/satisfaction which would pay back in turn the kindness and generosity they have shown me. I will point out that they were the ones who went together and purchased my diving equipment for me so I am also aware of the need for gratitude. Before anyone says it, no member of my family has the slightest interest in taking up diving (primarily due to age/fitness) and think I am “touched” for doing it myself so the argument that the camera/videos will get them interested in diving is a moot point. They are simply too afraid of the water.



Third, and many divers I am sure can provide feedback on this, is that I have never recorded a dive in video form before and don’t know if I would enjoy it. I will tell you from experience that I don’t particularly care for video or photographic recordings of other events, momentous or otherwise, so my immediate reaction is to say that I would have the same antipathy to recording my dives. If I am wrong about this or if you have experienced similar feelings please share.



Tank

As for the tank, I could purchase one Faber steel 100 dive tank, new, instead of the GoPro. Let me preempt some questions by stating that I prefer steel tanks due to their buoyancy characteristics and also because the charters I deal with all use ST100s as part of their standard dive packages. Using a ST100 of my own for other dives means that I can keep track of one weight ratio setup instead of multiple ones, that I can be comfortable with one setup, don’t need to account for changes in tank size when diving, and don’t have to worry about taking my own tanks when the dive I have purchased includes tanks as part of the price (yet I still have the option to bring my own if I charter with a boat that charges extra for tanks). I know that one tank has limited use. However, I will have a birthday in roughly five months and could use those funds to purchase a second tank. I really don’t think that I will need more than two tanks for the foreseeable future. Now, I have read several threads about the pros and cons of owning a tank so I will try and address them here.

Location/travel: I am roughly 100 miles, 1 and a half hours, from Wilmington where I dive. I am also poor, being a graduate student, so I don’t have a great deal of discretionary income that would allow me to dive regularly since each charter rungs anywhere between $65-125 dollars per day. However, I am only about an hour away from a freshwater lake that is specifically designed for divers and which only charges $20 dollars per day and I can dive as much as I wish. I also have access to a Prius which is factored into travel cost. Now, I prefer to dive in saltwater/oceans but I could more easily make the trip to this freshwater lake and this would allow me to hone my skills as a diver while on a budget. I know it is not perfect since buoyance differentials change due to water density but I could still practice my basic and advanced skills. (I eventually want to become Solo Diver certified). As it stands now I can do maybe 5-10 dives a year. With the tanks I could conceivably do 20-30.

Storage is not an issue and I am sure that I could take care of tanks-have them regularly inspected, etc. There is a dive store which will refill my tanks about 30 mins. from my home so that also will not be an issue.



Please share your thoughts, recommendations, and concerns.

Thanks,

Josh

 

[Tug]

I'd go with a tank hands down. I found when I first started diving that as soon as I got my own tanks, I dove much more frequently. I'd also recommend checking craigslist and try to find a few used tanks, that way you can get in a few dives each outing and not have to worry about fills.

 

[runsongas]

look for a used hp100 on craigslist, i got mine for about 150 each that way. consider a gitup git2 camera instead of the gopro. that should stretch your budget so you won't have to choose.

 

[tbone1004]

not really reading the whole post, so take that with a grain of salt.

buy the gopro now so you can enjoy and remember your dives, and buy the tanks later, if you want the gopro. Sounds like you're kind of meh on that.

single tanks are not a good investment imho, they are much better purchased in pairs. New price on tanks are a complete waste of money imho. You can purchase steel tanks used for $200-$250 each and they last forever. Fabers being even less of a good investment for salt water diving because their coating is terrible. Hot dip galvanized are basically a requirement in my book for salt water diving. Steel 100's may be what your familiar with, but are they the best choice for you? Are they long enough, too long, etc? They are too short for me to sit comfortably so I prefer HP120's.
5 - Steel 100 Scuba Tanks
A pair of these will be a much better investment than a single new Faber. Offer them $200 since you're buying a pair and see if they take it.

 

[Mouth Breather]

2nd vote for tank, and you should find some deals on CL this time of year (but be careful of crap). What you save in rental of a tank will eventually get you the camera. Or maybe you'll find one while diving

 

[lamarpaulski]

Get the tank and basic SCUBA gear and build up experience in the water so maybe next Summer you will be a steady diver and then your Gopro videos won't be super shaky.

Also, you will be less task-loaded at this early stage in diving and much safer too.

 

[tbone1004]

@Professor Nemo have you tried to get with the scuba department at ECU? I'm not sure how Clint has it set up, but you might be able to use university gear if you're a graduate student.... check out the ECU scuba club there as well as they are very active. Big scuba program at that university that can give you a LOT of experience, and they have some sweet dive gear due to the massive budget from the underwater archaeology department

 

[lowviz]

Which is a better expenditure: GoPro or Scuba Tank? ...//...
Please share your thoughts, recommendations, and concerns. ...

If you are starting out, I suggest that you spend your hard earned money on that which is least likely to obsolesce. That would be the tank.

Nice choice, BTW.

 

[Altamira]

The answer to your question may have to do with how much diving you do or plan to do on a monthly/yearly basis. For the occasional diver, you have to factor in not only the cost to buy a tank, but to maintain it compared to your expected rental costs which include the air. Likewise, if you are an occasional diver, the GoPro can be used on land as well, so you might get more utility out of that. However, you also have to factor in the fact that new and better cameras come on the market what seems like every 15 minutes. If you are diving a lot, the tank, especially if you can find a used one in good condition would be a no brainer for me. They are not subjected to the same forces of technological advances as cameras.

 

[DMDavid]

Buy the tank and you'll still have it 15 or 20 years from now, I tend to go through a GoPro at least every two years due to their poor QC. You can also buy an older GoPro on Ebay for next to nothing if you really feel that you need to record your adventures, just remember that most of your videos will only be of interest to yourself and pretty much no one else.