Choosing a Camera:

Choosing a camera is a difficult procedure. Factors such as cost (both purchase cost and operational cost), picture quality and features must all be balanced out with factors such as your skill as a photographer. Often the most expensive camera isn't the right choice - a good camera can't make up for a poor photographer.

The Bare Minimum:
For a camera to work under water you camera must have a few minimal features:

Waterproof to at least 20m/70'. Camera's waterproof to depths less then this are of little use in SCUBA
Flash or strobe. Once you reach 3-6m in depth (10-20') there will not be enough ambient light for non-flash photography
Sealed with o-rings. Besides being the only reliable way to keep out water, o-rings are one of the only seals which allow a camera to be reloadable. Camera's without o-rings may leak, and will either be non-reloadable, or difficult to reload.

Cost:
The cost of underwater camera systems varies greatly, but in general the more expensive the camera the better pictures it will take. Of course an expensive camera that is too complex for you to work is not better then a cheaper model you can work. The cheapest cameras are the so-called "semi-reloadable" lines of camera's such as the Snap Sights line of camera's. These cameras are waterproof down to ~25m (90'), have an on-board flash, and can be reloaded several times before they need to be replaced. Our crew has used these camera's extensively, and are very impressed with them. And the price is right - less then $50 with all taxes worked in.

The next step up from these camera's is the housed point-and-shoot family of camera's. These cameras consist of a land point-and-shoot type camera inside of a waterproof casing. These casings can be "universal" casing which fit many camera's, such as the CameraShield line of cameras, to film and digital point-and-shoots in custom housings, to specially designed underwater camera's such as the Sea & Sea's MX series of camera's. This is one of the most diverse families of camera's, and can range in price from under $100, to well over $1000. These types of camera's are the favorite of many SCUBA divers - they provide the quality pictures one would expect from a good camera, can often be outfitted with add-on's such as external strobes and macro lenses, and yet are affordably priced.

At the top end are underwater SLR cameras. These camera's are complex, featuring things like exchangeable lenses, multiple external TTL strobes, and control over aperture, shutter speed, and focus, and many other components. These camera's can include specialized underwater SLR's such as the Nikonos, or normal SLR cameras in special housings. These systems start at well over $1000, and when all accessories, lenses and strobes are purchased can easily go past $10 000 in cost! Truly a camera for the pro's.

Digital or Film:
Another common choice today is digital verses film cameras. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, and what is the ideal choice for one diver may not be the best for another.

Digital: Digital camera's have many advantages over film, especially for the beginner photographer. Nearly all digital camera's have a small screen which instantly shows you your picture - that way if it is a bad picture you can simply re-take it. This makes digital camera's ideal for learners, as divers can correct their mistakes as they make them. In addition, the screen shows the diver exactly how the picture will look when they take it, so composition is easier. Digital also has the advantage of increased capacity on a "roll of digital film" (up to several hundred pictures). In addition, many mid-range digital cameras have features only available on high-end film cameras. Operating cost is also reduced, as there is no development required. In addition, the photographer can choose to print only those pictures they like best. There are two major downsides to digital. One is start-up cost. In general a digital camera will cost two to three times the cost of an equivalent film camera. Secondly is that a quality film camera will take higher-resolution pictures, so those looking for professional results are more likely to be disappointed with picture quality from a digital.

Film: Film camera's have two predominant features. The first is cost; often a quality film setup (camera, strobe and waterproof housing) can be found for less then the price of a digital camera. Indeed, all of the lower-end, low cost cameras are film based. Secondly, high end film camera's still take higher resolution photo's then do digitals. The main downside of film is that it lacks the "instant review" of photo's, so a diver may not know an error was made until the film is developed. In addition, these camera's are often prone to parallax errors (more on this in the taking photo's section). Lastly, film cameras have higher operational costs. You have to pay for your film to be developed and printed, and you have to pay for the good and bad photos.

More information of digital and film cameras is provided in the film page.

Optics:
Another consideration when buying a camera is the quality of the optics. The most expensive digital camera will take crap pictures if it has a cheap lens. Likewise, a cheap film camera with a good lens can take fabulous pictures. When looking at high-end systems there are several factors you need to take into consideration - we won't cover those here. But for point-and-shoot type cameras there are three major factors you need to look for:

Aperture: The aperture of a lens has a huge impact on how your pictures look. Describing aperture is difficult - basically it represents the portion of light which enters the lens that actually contacts the film. The larger the aperture the more light gets through. But it's not as simple as that - first of all aperture is described as a ration of f divided by a number. So an f/2 lens has a larger aperture then an f/15 lens. Since underwater photography is low-light photography a larger aperture is desirable, but the largest aperture is not necessarily the best choice. This is because the aperture also effects the depth of field. Depth of field is the range in which objects will be in focus. The larger the depth of field, the more objects will be in focus. Unfortunately for the diver the range of filed increases as aperture decreases - so an f/15 lens has a higher depth of field then does an f/2. So we need a balance - for most point-and-shoots an aperture of about 9 works well.

Lens Size: The size (diameter) of the lens is also important. The larger the lens the more light it can take in. Since there isn't a lot of light underwater a larger lens can make a real difference in the final quality of the image. Unfortunately the cost of lenses increases exponentially as the size of the lens increases - or in other words a lens twice as big will cost 4 or 5 times as much. In addition, larger lenses are more prone to various defects (chromatic aberration and others). So if you're going for a big lens make sure it isn't a cheap one. In general you want to avoid extremely small lenses (anything less then 20mm is not going to work well), but if paying for a large lens make sure it is of good quality.

Focal Length: The focal length of a lens is also important. Focal length refers to the minimal distance a lens can focus at. In general there are two types of lens that you can use; macro and "normal". Normal lenses generally need to be at least 0.66m (2') away from the subject to focus properly. These types of lenses are great for getting photo's of larger fish and pieces of coral, but forget about getting a close-up of a small fish. Macro camera's are specifically designed to take close-up photo's, and often can focus on objects as little as 2cm (1") away. The downside to macro camera's is that all they can focus on is things really in close, so forget about getting a picture of your buddy swimming beside a turtle. Some higher-end camera's can work in both modes - if you can afford it this is your best bet. Some underwater camera's have lenses you can snap in place to convert them into a macro camera. But for those of you on a limited budget you need to choose what types of photo's you want, and then select the camera appropriately.

Flashes/Strobes:
Water absorbs light quickly at depth, so unless you are not going deeper then 3m/10' you'll need a flash. Most camera's have an on-camera flash. Although this flash will provide the light you need it will create backscatter (see Light Characteristics Section). Backscatter occurs when light from your flash hits suspended particles in the water. These reflect the light back to the camera, and often looks like snow. In severe cases backscatter is all you may see. Throughout this guide we provide tips on how to minimize backscatter.

One way to get around backscatter is to use an external strobe. These strobes can be placed off to the side of the camera, so any backscatter that occurs is reflected back to the strobe, rather then to you camera. Not all cameras can support strobes, but if you can afford it a strobe is a worthy investment. Indeed, I would recommend you buy a strobe before any other add-on for your camera.

Casing:
Depending on what type of camera you are buying you may have a choice between one or more cases for the camera. For lower-end systems you usually only have one choice, but if you are looking for a housing for a camera you already own you may have several choices:

Rated Depth: Generally speaking the housings) made by camera companies for their own camera (i.e. Canon or Olympus housings) are rated for lower depths then housings made by other companies such as Ikelite. However, in general housings rated to greater depths are more expensive. Choose a housing which i suitable for your diving - there is no point in buying a case rated to 100m/330' if you rarely dive deeper then 25m/80'.
Access to camera features. Some housings will only give you access to the shutter button of your camera, whereas others may give you access to all buttons on your camera. Generally speaking the more buttons you have access to the better, but keep in mind that each button on your camera housing is a potential point of leakage, and that every button added to your casing will make the casing that much more expensive.
Ability to add an external strobe. As mentioned above, adding an external strobe can greatly enhance you photographs. If possible, pick a case which can manage an external probe. If you camera has TTL-metering capabilities try and find a housing and strobe which supports this feature.
Ease of use. A casing with small buttons may be difficult to use underwater - especially if you dive in cold water where thick gloves are a must.
Transparent casing. A casing made partially, or completely, of transparent plastic is idea as it allows you to see if any leakage is present.


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