ScubaLab: Underwater Camera Systems

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By John Brumm

It’s been said that just about anybody can go down and capture great images with the underwater camera systems available today. Does that include a team of divers accustomed to testing traditional dive gear? A few weeks after putting out a call to manufacturers of photo equipment, we stood in the back room of ScubaLab’s shop surrounded by boxes of camera gear. Joining us were San Francisco-based underwater photographer Abi Smigel as well as Ty Sawyer, Scuba Diving’s editorial director and a well-known photographer. They unpacked cameras and housings, strobes and arms, and assembled eight photo systems. With those eight in hand, we met our test team — with photo expertise ranging from the most basic happy snapper to the near professional — at Body Glove’s dive boat Disappearance in Redondo Beach. For two days divers braved cold water and limited visibility in the kelp beds as they took these camera systems through their paces.

How We Tested

A camera rig is a much different animal than a reg or a BC, requiring a different test strategy. Rather than running all camera systems through a litany of exercises shared by the entire test team while collecting a pile of data points (as is done on most ScubaLab gear tests), this time we matched each camera to the appropriate test diver based on his or her underwater photo experience level. That way, the simplest system went to our least experienced photographer, the most complex system to our most experienced photographer and so on.

Most divers used each of their assigned camera setups for one full day of diving; those with more complex systems used them for two days. Between dives and during surface intervals, Sawyer and Smigel stood at the ready to answer questions, help adjust strobes, change batteries and offer technical assistance. Divers filled out worksheets and made notes, then wrote up reports on their experiences with their respective systems. These reports, along with more-technical data offered up by the pros, are found in the following reviews.

Choosing the Right System

Even today’s most basic cameras come packed with features, and the really sophisticated single-lens reflex cameras come with so many user-adjustable functions, you’ll likely never figure them all out before you need to upgrade. So we narrowed down the list to a few key specs that you’ll want to be aware of when looking to first purchase a camera, before moving on to the housing.

Key Tech Specs

Sensor — With sensors, size matters — not so much megapixels but actual, physical size. A basic 12 megapixel point-and-shoot will likely have a much smaller sensor size than a high-end pro SLR. The density of megapixel per square centimeter makes a great deal of difference: Less acreage means less opportunity to gather information.

Image Size — Big enough to blow up and put on your wall, or small enough to do the job without taking up much space on the Web.

Sensitivity — The bigger the number, the less light you’ll need to capture the image without a strobe.

Image File Formats — Pros want RAW because it has the most information to manipulate; JPEG is an industry standard, and they vary from fine (lots of information in the image) to basic (less information in the image).

Auto Focus — How the camera sees the subject, light and shadows. Then, how fast it can focus and make the subject sharp.

White Balance — Proper white balance makes your image look more like you see it with your eye.

Weight — So you know just how much extra you’ll be putting in your carry-on.

Monitor — The small image display on the back of the camera. How good it looks, and how big it is.

Zoom — A good underwater photographer should always ignore the zoom — your fins are your zoom lens. But it’ll be useful above water. Optical zoom is always better than digital zoom.

Video Mode — The quality of video you can expect. Not all camera systems have this as a feature.

Special Features — What makes the camera stand out in a crowd?

Meet the Test Divers

	Chuck Chanin is our photo newbie. A data analyst residing in Ventura, California, he’s been diving for 20 years and holds advanced and nitrox certifications. He doesn’t own an underwater camera and rates his photo expertise at 1 (out of 10) asking, “You mean you can take those things underwater?”
	Sheri Bauer lives in Kingman, Arizona, and works for Pepsi as a vending sales manager. She’s been diving for 18 years and is a dive instructor for L.A. County, PADI and NAUI. She currently owns a Canon Powershot SD 500 ELPH and likes taking pictures of little critters like nudibranchs and pipefish. She rates her level of photographic expertise at a 5, but “could definitely benefit some from a class or two.”
	Andrea Beck is a high school art teacher who lives in Culver City, California. She’s been diving for 10 years and holds certifications up to PADI Divemaster. Andrea rates her photo expertise at about a 5. She currently owns an Olympus 560 UZ with housing and strobe, and loves shooting wide-angle. Her dream camera system is the Canon G11 with strobe and housing because “[it] feels like a system that would satisfy me for a long time.”
	Clint Reynolds lives in Santa Barbara, California, and is a full-time college student as well as a PADI Instructor. He’s been diving for 15 years and owns an Olympus Stylus 770. He loves all styles of picture taking, but if forced to pick one would go with macro. He rates his photo expertise at a 6 “and steadily improving.” His dream photo setup includes a high-quality DSLR capable of high-def video, and a housing that is easy to operate and has neutral buoyancy. Throw in a high-quality strobe/video light, and he’d be in heaven.
	Vahagn Nahabedian is a consultant for oil and gas operations and exploration. He’s also a PADI and NAUI Instructor with 22 years of diving under his weight belt. His present camera systems include a Nikonos V and a Light & Motion Tetra Olympus 4040 that he uses to track down big-animal shots. He rates his photo expertise at an 8, and describes his dream camera system as “small, light, easy to carry, digital, wide-angle fixed lens with dual strobes, all for just a few bucks.”
	Jeff Lovin lives in Laguna Niguel, California. He works in computer and application support, and is also a PADI Assistant Instructor who’s been diving for 10 years. He rates his photo expertise at 8.5 and currently owns a Nikon D40 with an Ikelite housing and D50 strobe. His favorite photography style is wide-angle, shooting subjects like great whites, eagle rays and manta rays.
	Joe Drago resides in Simi Valley, California and is a property master, motion-picture diver and freelance camera operator for the television and motion picture industry. He’s also a PADI IDC Staff Instructor. He’s been diving for 18 years and currently owns a Nikon D200 inside a Sea&Sea housing with dual YS-250 strobes, and a Sony HVR-Z1U video camera inside a Light & Motion Bluefin HD housing with dual 30-watt HID Lights for his video work. He considers his photo acumen a 10, and his dream system would be a Canon 5D Mark II inside an Aquatica housing.