Action/Underwater Cameras

[Mermaid_Salacia]

Hey all.

I'm looking at investing in an actioncam to film my underwater adventures. I'm looking for something that is affordable but don't want to waste money either. There are plenty of "cheap" options on ebay but that doesn't mean they are reliable.

What sort of cameras do y'all have?

[MermanOliver]

I own an old (several years old) Gopro Hero3 black, which came with the dive housing (rated for 60m, if I'm not mistaken) instead of the standard housing of the 3+ and 4, which is also waterproof, but hasn't that depth rating.

The following points just apply to the model 3, as it is the only one I am experienced with. Most of the points are vastly improved in the later models! Some even come with an integrated touchscreen now, which is missing on the older models.
Pro:
- Dive housing rated for SCUBA depth (60m, about 200ft, if I calculated correctly)
- Quite compact
- LOTS of accesories
- Ability to shoot without automatic white balance, good for post-processing
Con:
- Short battery life on the model 3 (about 1 to 1,5 hours), vastly improved on 3+ and 4
- Price
- Model 3 has no display (but frankly the view angle of the lens is so wide that it is sufficient to aim over the top edge, so I don't really miss it, especially underwater)
- Recent strange developments in the smartphone app (uninstalled the app for those reasons)

In total I am quite satisfied with that camera. The battery life is not really that dramatic, as I mostly use it for diving and the air is the limiting factor, not the battery. I keep a charged spare battery in my gear and swap it when I swap SCUBA tanks. The lack of a viewfinder is strange at first, but one gets used to it. Image quality is good, although the later models do much, much better in low light (i.e. underwater). A special White balance for underwater, which some cameras offer, is not important for me, as I do color correction in post production.

[Mermaid Alea]

Last Christmas I asked for a GoPro. My family got me an 'HD' Action Cam Digital Video by Sharper Image. I was excited and didn't care that it was a knockoff. It was a while before I would get to test it out in the water. I did some research on the camera before using it and found out that for some reason it is not compatible with SanDisk cards - something their manual never mentions! Evidently people have bought this camera, put a SanDisk card in, and the camera wouldn't work at all. I think I ended up getting a Samsung card for it at Bestbuy.

Anyways, finally I took the camera to a spring and got some footage. Most of the footage was unusable. The camera has no zoom feature or setting, yet all of my film was very zoomed in. I searched and searched the settings over and over again but I eventually concluded that the camera is just like that by default. You have to get very far away from the camera to be in full view which is of course important when you are in a tail because you want the fluke in the video. Also, I find it hilarious that it has HD in the name. It certainly is not HD or at least not HD compared to HD on a GoPro. I will have to take it out again and see if I can get any decent footage with it, but honestly it is super frustrating. My green tail's color is very de-saturated in the footage I am getting with this camera as well. The colors just don't look vibrant enough but I suppose you could fix that in a video editor program.

I appreciate that my family got me a waterproof camera and I am determined to make it work, but honestly I think it would be way more worth getting a GoPro. While GoPros may be more expensive, a knockoff version can give you many stupid problems that a GoPro won't.

I really like watching MicBergsma's videos covering GoPros:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTs-d2DgyuJVRICivxe2Ktg
He has great tips for filming underwater and he reviews different GoPro models.

I wish you luck in finding something that works well!

[Mer Coralia]

I have a Fujifilm 80XP. It's waterproof up to 50ft and shockproof from a standing distance. I received it as a gift from the bf; a newer version would be released so just waited for that perfect price drop. I intended it for snorkeling (and its perfect for mermaiding).

It gives good quality photos if you can get it to focus and good video. I primarily videotape then shoot photos during video which doesn't give the best photos. I tend to kill the battery though because the record button is right to the on/off switch. So battery life ranges. I've used it for an entire beach day. Straight snorkeling, about two hours? I've gotten some cute sharks with it.

You can zoom and control ISO a little. It's 16mp? So basically like a phone camera. It does have fun color filters; where it just focuses on one primary. It does have a nice screen, especially when you're snorkeling in murky waters. I also can't see so I do bring it close.

It's a compact camera. It's super cute. I love it.

[Toxotes]

I have a GoPro Hero4 Session, which I used on my trip to the Hawaiian Islands (Oahu, Kauai, Big Island and Maui).
The camera does not have a zoom function, but since it has a wide angle and a quite good resolution there should be enough reserve to focus on a certain area in the post-production.
I am currently editing my recordings and some of them I will surely post on Youtube.

This is a simple collection of the underwater recordings I made with the GoPro:
https://youtu.be/upUk7xWOAnw
It is rather difficult to hold it stable while floating or snorkeling in the ocean, because it is so lightweight and small.

[MermanOliver]

[...]It is rather difficult to hold it stable while floating or snorkeling in the ocean, because it is so lightweight and small.

I agree, the next important thing to the camera is the mounting. There you should go either for a so-called "grenade grip", which is essentially some kind of thick foam-coated pipe with a camera mount on one side and a wrist loop on the other, or for a frame-like mount that you can grab with both hands (looks remotely like the cameras you see in movies from the 20's to 50's).

The pipe-grip can be made floating (a.k.a. "The Bobber", but there are several other types available), so if you let go of your camera it floats to the surface. It is quite flexible and offers still a goot and firm grip. Hint: When filming, push your camera against your chin for stabilization. It's a simple tip, but it works amazingly well (got it from a Youtube video, need to look up the link again. Will post it if it's of interest).

The frame-like grip has the advantage of being the most stable while still being hand-held and offering lots of attachment points for lights and other stuff. The disadvantage is that it's quite bulky compared to the simple grip and may hinder swimming in a tail.

I own both and can post pictures, if it's of interest.

[Toxotes]

Very good points, MermanOliver!
I used a "floating grip" mount like you mentioned, a cheap one from Rollei, and I held it out in front of me. The next time I will try to push the camera to my chin to stabilize it.

[Mermaid_Salacia]

Last Christmas I asked for a GoPro. My family got me an 'HD' Action Cam Digital Video by Sharper Image. I was excited and didn't care that it was a knockoff. It was a while before I would get to test it out in the water. I did some research on the camera before using it and found out that for some reason it is not compatible with SanDisk cards - something their manual never mentions! Evidently people have bought this camera, put a SanDisk card in, and the camera wouldn't work at all. I think I ended up getting a Samsung card for it at Bestbuy.

Anyways, finally I took the camera to a spring and got some footage. Most of the footage was unusable. The camera has no zoom feature or setting, yet all of my film was very zoomed in. I searched and searched the settings over and over again but I eventually concluded that the camera is just like that by default. You have to get very far away from the camera to be in full view which is of course important when you are in a tail because you want the fluke in the video. Also, I find it hilarious that it has HD in the name. It certainly is not HD or at least not HD compared to HD on a GoPro. I will have to take it out again and see if I can get any decent footage with it, but honestly it is super frustrating. My green tail's color is very de-saturated in the footage I am getting with this camera as well. The colors just don't look vibrant enough but I suppose you could fix that in a video editor program.

I appreciate that my family got me a waterproof camera and I am determined to make it work, but honestly I think it would be way more worth getting a GoPro. While GoPros may be more expensive, a knockoff version can give you many stupid problems that a GoPro won't.

I really like watching MicBergsma's videos covering GoPros:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTs-d2DgyuJVRICivxe2Ktg
He has great tips for filming underwater and he reviews different GoPro models.

I wish you luck in finding something that works well!

Thank you for the honest reply. I had looked at these so glad I didn't go down that route. It may be worth while just saving up the money then. Thanks again

[Mermaid_Salacia]

I have a Fujifilm 80XP. It's waterproof up to 50ft and shockproof from a standing distance. I received it as a gift from the bf; a newer version would be released so just waited for that perfect price drop. I intended it for snorkeling (and its perfect for mermaiding).

It gives good quality photos if you can get it to focus and good video. I primarily videotape then shoot photos during video which doesn't give the best photos. I tend to kill the battery though because the record button is right to the on/off switch. So battery life ranges. I've used it for an entire beach day. Straight snorkeling, about two hours? I've gotten some cute sharks with it.

You can zoom and control ISO a little. It's 16mp? So basically like a phone camera. It does have fun color filters; where it just focuses on one primary. It does have a nice screen, especially when you're snorkeling in murky waters. I also can't see so I do bring it close.

It's a compact camera. It's super cute. I love it.

Fujifilm do do good cameras. Thank you for suggesting it as an alternative.