I did it. Finally. Took the plunge and went for a specific underwater camera setup.
To skip back a few steps, and for a bit of background, I love photography. My on the surface setup has taken me a fair while to build up, but I now have a full frame mirrorless body with a selection of f/2.8 zoom lenses. I love it. But taking this setup underwater has a few problems. Firstly, cost. The housing alone is around HKD 35,000 at time of writing, which is around the same as the camera body itself. That’s not to mention the ports that would also be required for the various lenses I would use. Secondly, the risk. There is no chance of flooding above the water! I fully appreciate that housings are so good these days, flooding is generally a non-issue, but I still have the fear factor taking all that gear underwater. Third, the hassle. Lugging all the gear is a big and heavy job. Part of me just can’t be bothered with all that. And finally, my general opportunities to shoot. I dive primarily in HK and, of course, there are incredible images to be made here. The vast majority are macro, and there are some compelling offers out there to take incredible macro shots at a fraction of the price, risk, and hassle.
So with the above in mind, I pulled the trigger on the basic Olympus TG-6 setup. Why this? Well, I’ve previously been using two main cameras for my underwater photos; an iPhone 11 in a Sealife SportDiver housing, and a DJI Action. Both produce fantastic results in the correct environment. Both are incredibly easy to use, and they are reasonably priced. So why move to a specific setup? Firstly, light! Photography is all about light, as you well know. Without light, there are no pictures. And underwater, light is hard to come by, even in the very best visibility. I’ve been persevering with video lights for still photography, and the results can be fantastic. However, I very often feel the need for a strobe to provide that huge burst of light, and also to allow the high shutter speed to freeze the action. Secondly, control. Whilst there are ways to manually focus the iPhone, it isn’t something to easily adapt into your shooting workflow. You lose the ability for touchscreen interactions once the phone is inside the housing and, no matter how good an app you use, you can’t avoid the fact that iPhones are designed for touchscreen interaction. So to be able to have the normal “half press to focus” ability back is awesome.
As they say, “the proof of the pudding is in the eating” so I’ll be doing as many test dives as I can with the new set up, in between teaching of course. I’ll post some follow up to let you know how I’m getting on.