Cameras

Underwater photography is a slippery slope. It’s easy to start with a GoPro and end up with a $25,000 rig that will take professional pictures. We don’t sell high end gear. We are an Olympus Dealer and have a TG6 and housing you can try. We also have some Sea & Sea strobes that pair with it that cost more than the camera and housing. (Slippery slope). We basically have two camera setups we recommend depending on your budget. We also have a phone housing that is surprisingly nice.

DiveVolk is our choice of smartphone housings. It is fabulous. We have the basic version, the Ocean Kit and the Filter Kit in stock most of the time. All work with almost any smartphone when paired with the appropriate phone tray. Larger than a GoPro, it takes advantage of the excellent camera on your phone. It has a touch screen back that is really nice and doesn’t develop the bugginess that other phone housings with proprietary apps tend to develop after 50 dives.

The Olympus TG7 and Housing combo is a great value at around $900. This is a solid point and shoot camera that takes really nice pics. This is what Ed usually takes on international dive trips. It has programmable settings you can use to dial it in for Macro or Wide Angle. A lot of divers take really nice pics with this camera. We recommend the purchase of a 316 SS Spitring and xDeep Small Boltsnap with this setup. This is more secure than a lanyard.

The Olympus om-d e-m10 mark iv is widely regarded as the current “Best Buy” for underwater photographers who want more than a point and shoot camera. It has interchangeable lenses, a micro 4/3s sensor, and is capable of professional quality images. The Octo Underwater Housing is stylish and easy to use. This is our recommendation for a camera system you can grow into and expand as your skills and interests develop. This setup is about $1,900.