Go Pro or other camera for Scuba?

I'm looking for a fairly inexpensive ($500 or less) underwater camera to take along while I'm Scuba diving. I'm wondering about the Go Pro 3 or later. Does anyone have any experience with this and what would you recommend? What other accessories should I be considering?

I'm looking for a fairly inexpensive ($500 or less) underwater camera to take along while I'm Scuba diving. I'm wondering about the Go Pro 3 or later. Does anyone have any experience with this and what would you recommend? What other accessories should I be considering?

We used the GoPro Hero3+ on our last snorkeling (so no, not scuba diving). My biggest suggestion is if you do get this camera that you allow for a bit of a learning curve. We owned it for two months before our cruise and I had done lots of little tests and had a good idea of what I am shooting with a screen. However, once in the water my wife took the camera (because of my lack of experience of swimming in the ocean) and shot mostly sea grass rather than what she thought she was videoing.

The couple we were with had a nifty little camera that took excellent picture, but I am at a loss for what it was. With all that said, I love my GoPro and thought it was well worth the money.

Check out my YouTube in my signature to see what it looks like. Hope this helps and hope others come on to give their experiences and opinions as well.

Is the go pro thingy (I use dslrs and still can't choke down the cost for an underwater housing yet. :eek: ) rated to go that deep? A case or housing that is ok for snorkeling or water spots might not work well at 120 feet down. :eek:

I don't have one or used one but I have logged acouple hours researching on line. The new Gopro 4 Silver is the one I have been seeing as recommended. It is the first one with a built in rear display so it is waterproof. alot easier than point in the general direction and hope you get it centered.

John

We used the GoPro Hero3+ on our last snorkeling (so no, not scuba diving). My biggest suggestion is if you do get this camera that you allow for a bit of a learning curve. We owned it for two months before our cruise and I had done lots of little tests and had a good idea of what I am shooting with a screen. However, once in the water my wife took the camera (because of my lack of experience of swimming in the ocean) and shot mostly sea grass rather than what she thought she was videoing.

 

The couple we were with had a nifty little camera that took excellent picture, but I am at a loss for what it was. With all that said, I love my GoPro and thought it was well worth the money.

 

Check out my YouTube in my signature to see what it looks like. Hope this helps and hope others come on to give their experiences and opinions as well.

Thanks! This was helpful. While snorkeling, did you attach it to anything (like a chest harness/head harness) or just use it as a handheld?

Is the go pro thingy (I use dslrs and still can't choke down the cost for an underwater housing yet. :eek: ) rated to go that deep? A case or housing that is ok for snorkeling or water spots might not work well at 120 feet down. :eek:

I just double checked, and the Go Pro Hero4 is rated for 131 feet. There is also a separate housing that can be purchased which is rated at 197 feet. But I'm hoping we've got someone on the boards who can confirm if they were able to dive successfully with it. ;)

I don't have one or used one but I have logged acouple hours researching on line. The new Gopro 4 Silver is the one I have been seeing as recommended. It is the first one with a built in rear display so it is waterproof. alot easier than point in the general direction and hope you get it centered.

 

John

That's a good point that I hadn't considered, I was mainly thinking it would be attached to a harness or my BCD so there wouldn't be a way to view a rear display, but it would make the camera much more functional for other uses besides just during a dive.

Thanks for the great input! Hoping for more.

if you are only looking for video, the gopro4 black is the best hands down, google has alot of sites comparing the two and has video to see the difference

Goodluck

John

The COOLPIX S33 . it's waterproof and takes movies. Read the reviews on line. It took great pics for us, in (snorkeling) and out of the water. Only around $149.00 We have a GO-Pro also, but don't want to spend the $$$ for the waterproof cover. Good Luck!

Just checked on line- only waterproof down to 33 ft...sorry

remember the touch screen housing is not rated pass a certain footage due to the thinness of the backing . the right back must be placed on.

Just got back from Coz. Used two different versions of GoPro. The GoPro 4 dramatically outperformed the 3.

The 4 is hard to beat.

A mate of mine is a professional filmographer and I sometimes give him a hand have seen some great stuff out of Go Pros

Thanks everyone! I did decide to go with the GoPro Hero4, and have just started to learn how to use it outside the water, before taking it on some dives this summer and practicing with it before the cruise.

Appreciate all the input!

the lcd back pack for the touchscreen 10 feet, WP back pack 90meters.

the camera itself is not.

I've got the GoPro 3+ and it works very well for scuba. I also purchased a mask with a built in camera mount and it works quite well (the mask is decent too). If you buy something lower than the GoPro 4, it helps to bring along your phone/tablet with the downloaded GoPro App in order to aim the camera before starting your dive. I've done it both ways and the camera is pretty forgiving, but it's nice to see what you're going to shoot before you go underwater.

If it's a shallow dive, I bring along my Panasonic Lumix ts25 underwater point & shoot camera for still photos. That thing is amazing, but it only works in shallow water.

I have a GoPro Hero + LCD. It has a nice LCD display on the back, which takes the guess work out of what the camera is pointed at. It's rated to 131 feet.