What is the best cheap underwater camera setup? Today, underwater photography is more accessible than ever before, with several affordable waterproof cameras, GoPros, soft housings, and even waterproof phone cases available on the market. Unsurprisingly, the best underwater camera rigs are also the most expensive. But there are many affordable options which still produce high-quality images. In this article, I will go through some of the cheapest options that allow you to take good underwater photos.
In underwater photography, the camera and waterproof housing are not the only pieces of equipment that matter. So, below, I will not just focus on cheap waterproof cameras, but also include information on how you can take professional-looking photographs with a cheap underwater camera through the use of lighting equipment and other accessories.
The setups in this article will save you thousands of dollars compared to high-end underwater gear. Underwater photography is never dirt-cheap, but the equipment I’ll cover here strikes a good balance of price and performance. All the kits below cost about $1200 or less, including lighting equipment.
I do want to be clear about a couple things in this article. First is that, unfortunately, these setups will not quite compare with more expensive and higher quality options. The idea is to get as close as possible while keeping costs low. My second important point is that if you are seriously considering underwater photography, and think you may advance in the next few years, it may be more strategic to bite the bullet and go for an expensive rig right away. You know your ambitions better than I do.
The cameras in this article combined with artificial light can take great photos. All images in this article were taken with cameras mentioned here. As you can see by the images, these cameras can take very good photos, but the biggest limitation is their smaller sensor size.
Photography is all about making the most out of what you’ve got, and that is what this article focuses on. This is how, even with a cheap setup, you can take amazing underwater photos.
Table of Contents
The Importance of Artificial Light Underwater
Light is quickly lost underwater, with the color red being the first to go. As a result, underwater scenes are usually dark and blue, especially as you swim deeper. Underwater photographers use artificial lighting, either strobes (flashes) or video lights (constant illumination) to bring back the light and vibrant colors lost at depth.
Most underwater lighting setups are compatible with inexpensive cameras, and that’s the secret to getting high-quality underwater pictures even if your camera itself is pretty cheap. Good light makes your photos go from recreational to professional. For most underwater photography, I’d pick a cheap camera with good lights compared to a high-end camera in a $2000 housing without lights.
What to Look for in an Underwater Camera
With many waterproof cameras, you can buy them, walk straight into the water, and start shooting photos. But simple waterproofness is not the only thing that matters in an underwater camera. If you want the best results, you should figure out the answer to the following questions:
- Does the camera you’re considering shoot RAW photos?
- Can you focus closely with a macro mode?
- Does it have an on-camera flash?
- Is there a housing for this camera?
- Does it allow you to set your own settings manually?
Here is why each of these questions is so important.
1. Does It Shoot RAW Photos?
Having the ability to shoot RAW photos underwater (as opposed to JPEG only) is vital for the serious underwater photographer. White balance takes a serious hit underwater. The photos are always too blue looking if not edited properly. Shooting RAW allows you to correct colors much more effectively than editing a JPEG.
2. Can It Focus Closely?
A nice thing about some waterproof cameras is that they can focus closely on small subjects, and even have a zoom so that you’re not always shooting ultra-wide or fisheye photos. An alternative is a camera such as a GoPro, which is wide-angle only.
Depending on the subjects you intend to photograph, this may be important or completely irrelevant. For little critters like the sea slug below, you’ll need a camera with macro capabilities. Luckily, a lot of underwater point-and-shoot cameras have a macro mode and a bit of zoom.
3. Does It Have On-Camera Flash?
On-camera flash is notoriously harsh and gives deer-in-the-headlights style light – not usually a great look. Yet I still consider on-camera flash one of the most important considerations for a cheap underwater camera. That’s because you’ll use the built-in flash as a trigger for external strobes.
As I mentioned earlier, external strobes and lights are how you can capture high-quality underwater photos with a cheap camera. Strobes (AKA flashes) freeze movement underwater and bring back lots of colors, as well as brightening the image and improving your image quality.
But how do you trigger an underwater strobe to fire when you take a photo? You must use a fiber optic cable, which transmits light from the on-camera flash to the strobe. This makes it to automatically fire upon detecting the light from the on-camera flash (more on that in a minute). More expensive rigs do this electronically, but the cheap setups are restricted to non-electronic fiberoptic communication between the camera and strobe. That is why the on-camera flash is important.
4. Is There a Housing Available for the Camera?
Even for a camera that is waterproof, you may need an additional underwater housing to increase the camera’s depth limit and allow flashes with fiber-optic cables. When your camera is in a housing with fiber-optic ports, the fiber-optic cable, flash arms, and strobe can all be attached to the camera in one unit.
You may be seeing a trend in this article that I highly recommend a setup which is strobe-compatible! If you’re on a budget, you don’t need to buy the housing or strobes immediately, but the option is important so that you have an upgrade path in the future.
It is also reassuring to have a housing for your camera because it reduces the risk of flooding to almost zero. Waterproof cameras are only waterproof until they are not.
5. Do You Have Manual Control Over Camera Settings?
For a serious photographer who wants to take still images, it’s valuable to have control over your own camera settings. Ideally, the camera would have both a manual mode and an aperture priority mode.
When you can choose your own settings, you have more control over how your photos turn out. It also makes it easier to shoot with artificial light, because a strobe often isn’t on the same wavelength as the camera’s auto mode, resulting in blown-out, overexposed shots.
The Ultimate Cheap Underwater Camera Setup: Olympus TG-6 and Strobe(s)
The waterproof camera rig that will take the best photos which costs under $1,200 is the Olympus TG-6 rigged with with a Sea and Sea YS-03 strobe. The strobe is attached to the camera via a tray on the bottom of the camera, an arm, and fiber-optics cable. Although the camera is already waterproof, a housing is required to connect the fiber-optics cable.
The Olympus TG-6 checks all the boxes and is priced at $499. Even without an artificial lighting setup, this camera by itself is extremely powerful for its price. Similarly, some of the predecessors of the TG-6 are also excellent cameras which can be paired with a strobe.
Tim McClure, who has been stretching the limits of what the TG-6 is capable of, was willing to share his photos and expertise for this article. If you like his work, please do not hesitate to view his website.
McClure’s photos in this article were all taken with the Olympus TG-6, equipped with two Sea & Sea YS-110a strobes (discontinued). Clearly, impressive results are attainable with the Tg-6, though a big weakness (that affects all other cameras in this article too) is that you cannot shoot on manual. The most control you have over choosing your settings is aperture control with exposure compensation. However, exposure compensation is enough for the camera to work reasonably well with strobes.
Checklist of important considerations:
- Does it shoot RAW photos? Yes
- Does it have an on-camera flash? Yes
- Does it allow you to set your own settings? Limited to aperture priority and exposure compensation
- Can you take close-up photos? Yes
- Is an underwater housing available? Yes
Specifications
- Price: $499
- Sensor: 1/2.3″-Type CMOS
- Image quality: 12 megapixel (3000×4000)
- Video resolution: UHD 4k (3840×2160)
- Lens: equivalent focal length 25 to 100mm f2.0-4.9
- Depth rating: 45ft (15m)
Recommended accessories:
- Sea and Sea YS-03 strobe and housing (can be bought in a bundle with housing, tray-table, arm, and fiber-optics cable for easy compatibility)
- Red filter
- Backscatter M52 Wide-Angle Air Lens for Olympus PT Series Underwater Housings
GoPro Hero 10 Black
The GoPro Hero 10 – and GoPros overall – are great at what they do! Especially newer GoPros take excellent video, and solid still images, too.
GoPros do fall short of other cameras on this list in a couple ways. First off, if you really plan on taking photos as opposed to video, I discourage you from investing in a Gopro. They are made for video, are really good at it, but other options are superior for still photography.
Secondly, GoPros capture a wide-angle scene and not much else. Small subjects are generally off the table – GoPros are actually fixed focus and can’t focus on something close. This can be a major headache if you want to focus on small underwater subjects! You’ll need to bring along a macro lens add-on attachment if you want to capture small subjects, and those need to be attached on the surface.
Perhaps most importantly for high-quality photos, there is no on-camera flash on a GoPro, so rigging strobes will not be an option. However, you can use constant video lights, and the brightest video lights can be a passable substitute for underwater strobes.
If your focus is shooting video, GoPros are great. Otherwise, I’d look at one of the other options in this article first.
Checklist of important considerations:
- Does it shoot RAW photos? Yes
- Does it have an on-camera flash? No
- Does it allow you to set your own settings? Yes, but aperture is fixed
- Can you take close-up photos? No, without external accessory
- Is an underwater housing available? Yes
Specifications
- Price (Hero 10): $499
- Image quality: 23 megapixel
- Video resolution: 5312 x 2988p
- Sensor: 1/2.3″-Type CMOS
- Lens: equivalent focal length 16.5mm f2.8
- Depth rating: 33ft (10m)
Recommended accessories:
- Protective housing
- Video lights, often bundled with arms to attach to gopro
- Red filter
Sealife Micro 3.0
The Sealife Micro 3.0 camera is a fixed focal camera optimized for shooting wide-angle video underwater. They are made to be easy to use and very waterproof, shooting 4K video footage and 16 megapixel photos.
Similarly to GoPros, they are designed best for videography. They lack manual camera settings and have fixed focus. The Sealife Micro 3.0 also lacks any on-camera flash, meaning artificial light additions are limited to video lights.
I put the The Sealife Micro 3.0 camera in the same boat as GoPros. If you are mainly taking videos, it is a good option, though they are not built for still photography. An advantage the Sealife Micro 3.0 has compared to GoPros is that it’s designed specifically for underwater usage. As such, the Sealife Micro 3.0 has a deeper depth rating, and a longer battery life than the Gopro..
Checklist of important considerations:
- Does it shoot RAW photos? Yes
- Does it have an on-camera flash? No
- Does it allow you to set your own settings? Limited to ISO and exposure compensation
- Can you take close-up photos? No
- Is an underwater housing available? No
Specifications
- Price: $599
- Image quality: 16 megapixel
- Video resolution: 4K
- Sensor: 1/2.3″ Sony CMOS
- Lens: equivalent focal length 20mm
- Depth rating: 200ft (60m)
Recommended accessories:
- SeaLife Sea Dragon 2000F UW Photo-Video-Dive Light (or other video light)
- Micro Wideangle Dome lens, attaches for wider field of view
- Super macro close up lens for micro series, allows for close ups
- Red filter
Waterproof Cases for Underwater Photography
There is a sketchy way to take your DSLR or mirrorless camera underwater without paying thousands of dollars for a full-blown underwater housing: a waterproof case. Cases like these are not camera specific, which makes them cheaper, but it also means that accessing controls is awkward. Buttons can only be pressed by reaching into a little finger pouch that gives you a bit more dexterity.
Another limitation of cases like these is that they do not have a very good depth rating. They are also sealed like a dry bag, which hardly inspires confidence. I would be very anxious taking my camera underwater in one of these bags.
For very shallow work, they may be suitable, but I would never take one deeper than a few feet from the surface.
1. DiCAPac Cases
These cases are very impressive for their price. If you are bold enough to take your expensive camera into the water with one of these bags, it is a cheap and easy way to immediately begin taking quality photos underwater.
There are differently sized DiCAPac cases for differently sized cameras. The glass lens port ensures clear images. It is advertised that a finger sleeve allows full functionality of the camera, although in practice, dexterity is limited and not all camera buttons are reachable.
It has a depth rating of 16ft, but I strongly recommend staying near the surface.
2. Ewa-Marine Housings
Ewa-Marine specializes in flexible underwater housings. They offer housings for compact cameras as well as for dslrs and mirrorless cameras. Similar to the DiCAPac, they are a bag-style housing. It’s a bit awkward, but at least it inexpensively takes your favorite camera underwater.
Some of Ewa-Marine’s housings have a deeper depth rating than the DiCAPac housings, though they also are also more expensive. Another difference from the DiCAPac housings is that they include space for a flash to attach to the hotshoe. This is a big advantage because it allows you to use some flash underwater.
3. Divevolk SeaTouch 4 Max:
Buying a waterproof phone case for your smartphone is an inexpensive way to start shooting underwater fast. Newer technology on the Divevolk Max4 even allows you use the touchscreen underwater. Their housings let you add on red filters to correct for the loss of red light, and other accessories like video lights and conversion lenses expand your options.
There are many other waterproof cases available other than Divevolk cases which are cheaper, though I like Divevolk’s compatibility with accessories. At about $200, and with a depth rating of 60 meters / 197 feet, this is probably the cheapest way to get high-quality underwater photos – so long as you get some of their video lights, and you’re not worried about risking your phone! (Consider buying a cheap used smartphone on eBay instead of using your dedicated phone, in case something goes wrong.)
Conclusion
As you can see, there are several ways you can do underwater photography on the cheap. For still images, I recommend the Olympus TG-6 or a similar setup which allows strobes to be connected. But you can save money by using your existing phone or GoPro with an underwater case that allows video lights to be added on.
When you’re first buying gear for your underwater photography setup, you don’t need to buy all the pieces at once. You can start with the camera, then a housing, and then video lights or a strobe. I do recommend you think ahead, so that if you decide to go the strobe route, you have a camera which will be compatible.
At the end of the day, whether you are using a dedicated underwater camera rig or a smartphone in a waterproof case, you are capturing a whole new world filled with artistic opportunity. I hope this article helped you find an underwater camera that expands your horizons while staying within your budget.
