Underwater Camera Housings

If you were going to buy a new video camera and underwater housing which one would it be?

Public Comments

1. It would very much depend upon how you planned to use it and your budget. You can get 'waterproof' housings for most well known brands of camera with depth ratings from 1-2m right up to Professional dive housings rated at 100m+. The higher end cases will easily cost twice as much as the camera. The problem with the cheaper, and hence shallower depth, housings is that the depth is given as a static value, i.e. just sat in the water, if however you knock the camera against something hard you can still flood it as the seals aren't that good. I wouldn't recommend any housing rated at less than 10m even for snorkeling.
2. Nick T is right on. If you are talking about underwater in lakes or the ocean, keep in mind that the light gets drastically reduced starting at about 20 feet... so you need to plan on low light - or underwater video lights. Low light means large lenses and imaging chips... so a minimum of a Sony HDR-FX1000, Canon XHA1 or Panasonic AG-HVX200. Above these will be fine, too. Go to bhphotovideo for camcorder and housing pricing.
3. i have a gopro hero motorsports camera. it costs about $170 and includes an underwater case good for 100 feet. i tested t by literally throwing it in my friends' pools, and i mean throwing it. no problem still works great. it also comes with a suction cup for mounting on a car, motorcycle, helmet, etc. it's very small, too. fits in your pocket NO problem. video quality is pretty good, too. it's not HD but still very good. battery lasts for 2 hours on rechargeable nimh batteries, and 3 hours on lithium batteries. takes an sd card for 2 gb, and you can download firmware off their web site for a larger sdhc card. i love this thing, i use it for off roading, but yes it is waterproof, just don't forget to put it in the case before it goes in the pool!
4. A JVC