Which is a better expenditure: GoPro or Scuba Tank?

[Lorenzoid]

I know what you mean about the GoPro. My wife and I finally bought one despite feeling that we would be tempted to dive to get good video rather than just dive for enjoyment. We ended up stuffing it in a pocket during our dives and just taking it out now and then if there really is something worth shooting. If someone wants to know what a dive site looks like, chances are there is already a video of it on YouTube--and my amateur video wouldn't add anything. If I ever get into real photography I will buy a real camera.

I'd get the tank.

 

[Damselfish]

One tank isn't very useful if you usually want to do 2 dives, unless of course you dive someplace with fills available. But if you see a way of getting a second sometime soon like you said and it will increase the amount you will dive, that seems worthwhile. When talking steel, it's certainly worth waiting and keeping an eye out for the right used tanks.

Plenty of people seem to enjoy their GoPros. But you don't sound that enthusiastic about the idea yourself right now for some good reasons, so not sure it makes sense. (And if you're mostly diving a freshwater lake, that is fine for practice but how much is there to take video of? Your family may think seeing your dives on video sounds like a neat idea but get bored of that idea pretty quickly.) Also, camera expenses tend to not stop with just the camera. If you don't get into it, it's something of a waste. If you do get into it, you're likely to find yourself wanting accessories (lights, handles, filters, a screen, better housing, extra memory cards and batteries, whatever. Or a new one if something bad happens to it...) Maybe you could borrow one from someone for a dive sometime and see what you think, and then have a video to show people. Or just get someone to video you, your family might actually get more of a kick seeing you in the video than whatever else is there. I'd make sure you actually like it first, and get the latest and greatest when you're out of school if you're interested.

 

[gcarter]

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

Tanks.

No debate.

 

[Doby45]

Just picked up two flawless HP100s for $350, galvanized to boot.

 

[ljpm]

How much does it cost to rent a tank of air? X
How much does it cost to fill your own tank? Y

How much does a Vis inspection cost in your area? V
How much does a Hydro test cost in your area? H

n = number of dives.

one year with own tank will cost (you can also add in amortized cost of tank but in this case is a gift)
V + H/5 + nY

one year renting tanks will cost
nX

Fill in the numbers. If you are only doing 10 dives a year its probably better to rent. If you are diving 50-100 dives a year then buy.

 

[Professor Nemo]

Thanks, everyone, for the advice. The consensus seems to lean toward getting tanks. They are not as exciting as the GoPro but more practical in the long run and they get me in the water.

 

[Diver0001]

Every time you go diving you will take the tank. Can the same be said of the camera?

I have an underwater video camera and I've used it outside of training a few times. My buddy has one that we have yet to use. To me it's kind of a cute thing but once you record a few hours of video the charm starts to wear off. Unless you're doing something really different you probably won't take it with you very often. At least that's my experience but keep in mind that I do not belong to the snapchat generation.

R..

 

[lowviz]

Thanks, everyone, for the advice. The concensus seems to lean toward getting tanks. There not as exciting ...//...

Maybe not now, but your kid's kid's will most likely come to value them...

Not as exciting? Your own pumped tank will take you where you want to go and when you want to go. It will be there for you and you alone. Your own personal sidearm. Local diving. It hurts at first, then...

 

[Nikole]

Gopro!!! I have the session 4 and they do not make a filter for it, but they do make one for the 5. The quality without a filter on my 4 session sux. Looks so green!!! It's already waterproof down to 33ft straight out of the box, which isn'ts deep enough for scuba diving, so then you'll need to purchase a housing that will keep it waterproof past the 33ft. I ordered one from Amazon (not a Gopro brand because they didn't make one for the 4) and I've gone to 60ft with no probs. Another thing I wanna mention about the Gopro session 4 is that around 17ft the button gets stuck.. So if you're like me on your dives and want to record, stop, record when you see something interesting, and stop, you can't, cuz I dunno the pressure pushes in the button and you can't turn the camera off. Also the housing will still get water in it and it can fog up.

If you get a tank I've always been told to get a steel one, it's gonna be more expensive he the selling point is that they last longer. They are alot heavier too.

I don't have a computer yet but I think I'm gonna get the suunto novo $275 on leisure pro website. And hopefully next fall they do the trade-in offer again

 

[Nikole]

I take my Gopro on all my dives (I've done 17) but I'm just an open water diver. When I get more serious an go deeper I'm going to need something else, like a head mount, or something just to keep my hands free. But if you get a Gopro, you won't only be paying for just the camera, you have to take into consideration the accessories you'll need (Filter, GoPole, etc..)