Under Water Cameras

[Shades]

Just looking for the wit and wisdom of the board on underwater cameras....the Canon Elf, Coolpix etc variety. Something smaller, simpler than my slr.
Do they work? Are they worth the extra $ for the water features?
Any help, advice etc. would be appreciated.
S

 

[GameBoy27]

How about a GoPro 4?

 

[enyaw]

All I have to say is "Don't try that shit at a public pool etc" or your ass will be grass LOL!!

 

[Shades]

nice image, but I was thinking more about fish on coral reefs
any other comments, thoughts on the quality etc. of the underwater point and shoots?

 

[pablice]

You can't go wrong with a gopro...only downside is the distorted gopro image look....although it has a ultra wide FOV.

nice image, but I was thinking more about fish on coral reefs
any other comments, thoughts on the quality etc. of the underwater point and shoots?

 

[nofrill]

If you are serious about underwater filming (stills or movies), DON'T buy any consumer grade cameras which are marketed as "waterproof". They may work OK for the first week or so, but once you open and close the compartment doors (for USB / charging cable, replacing battery or memory card etc) a few times, the seals are doomed to fail (and fail very quickly). Salt water of the sea or chlorinated water of the pool is not forgiving.

If you want longevity, buy a camera which has a separate proprietary (ie made just for this model) underwater housing (the rigid ones, not those useless plastic bags), like the GoPro action cam (though it does not take still pictures). You can apply silicone grease on the rubber ring to further enhance waterproofing.

Unfortunately this will be extra cost ($250-300+) on top of the camera itself. If you are interested, go to Henry's or Vistek websites and search "underwater housing" and see what housings are avaiable for specific models, then look at the camera themselves.