I love my little waterproof/submersible Fujifilm Finepix XP130 -- so handy!
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Clovishound
Senior Member
We've got it good now with small, light, waterproof cameras. I remember back in the late 90s, early 2000s, I needed to shoot some underwater video in one of the local rivers. I couldn't afford a video camera and an underwater housing, and a set of U/W lights. I could, however, afford a small (at the time) 8mm digital tape video camera. I picked up some 6" PVC pipe, and some fittings and made a housing. It was just a little too big for 4" PVC. The housing was enormous, and I had to weight it down with it's own weight belt to make it neutral buoyancy. You started the camera on the boat, put it in the housing and hit the water. You had a lot of extraneous footage to edit out, but it worked. I took two large dive lights, and made a mount bar and some diffusers to get even light coverage.
Now, a couple hundred dollar Go Pro will get you HD video as deep as I want to dive. And the whole thing will fit in the palm of your hand, minus the lights.
I still have the video of the 4 thousand year old Native American canoe a buddy and I found in a local river. Plus I had a blast thinking through the process of making the housing.
Now, a couple hundred dollar Go Pro will get you HD video as deep as I want to dive. And the whole thing will fit in the palm of your hand, minus the lights.
I still have the video of the 4 thousand year old Native American canoe a buddy and I found in a local river. Plus I had a blast thinking through the process of making the housing.
I did a lot of SCUBA when I was younger and couldn't afford a Nikonos. There really weren't any affordable alternatives that I can remember; it seemed like there were a couple of brands of top-end underwater cameras or some submersible disposables (aimed more at backyard swimming pool use). I did spend some money on a submersible 35mm film camera that briefly occupied the middle ground (about $100 back in the late 1980s). Unfortunately it was junk and flooded both times I used it.
I haven't actually put my XP130 under the water yet, though it's capable of it. I just love the fact that I can take it anywhere with no worries. I don't have a mobile phone, but I have an iPod Touch (same form factor and same built-in camera as the iPhone 6). I just plain don't like the ergos when using it as a camera. Using it one-handed really feels risky around the water. The little XP130 just checks all the boxes for me. I enjoy it.
I haven't actually put my XP130 under the water yet, though it's capable of it. I just love the fact that I can take it anywhere with no worries. I don't have a mobile phone, but I have an iPod Touch (same form factor and same built-in camera as the iPhone 6). I just plain don't like the ergos when using it as a camera. Using it one-handed really feels risky around the water. The little XP130 just checks all the boxes for me. I enjoy it.
Clovishound
Senior Member
They used to make a bag housing for cameras back in the day. Ewa Marine. They weren't too expensive, and were only good to a limited depth, but I suspect most folks wouldn't be taking pictures much below 25 or 30 feet anyway. I rarely broke 30 ft during thousands of dives. Of course, I was a river diver, ocean diving is a little different.
I remember the EWA Marine stuff. I think there was another company that made even more affordable soft bags.
I did come close to buying an older, used Nikonos --there were always plenty of them available at all price levels-- but realized that to complete the system (add a flash unit or two) the cost was probably still out of my range. And I didn't dive enough or in enough interesting places to make it worthwhile.
I live inland in northern NY and my diving was almost exclusively in nearby Lake George and some other local lakes, as well as a river or two. I got my dive card back in the days of YMCA certifications (Bronze and, later, Advanced Open Water) and I never dove once in the saltwater!
I did come close to buying an older, used Nikonos --there were always plenty of them available at all price levels-- but realized that to complete the system (add a flash unit or two) the cost was probably still out of my range. And I didn't dive enough or in enough interesting places to make it worthwhile.
I live inland in northern NY and my diving was almost exclusively in nearby Lake George and some other local lakes, as well as a river or two. I got my dive card back in the days of YMCA certifications (Bronze and, later, Advanced Open Water) and I never dove once in the saltwater!
Clovishound
Senior Member
I was only qualified open water. I dove pretty heavily in the local rivers for well over 20 years. Racked up several thousand dives. I was mainly looking for artifacts. Collecting them from state waters is legal here with a license. I also did a lot of volunteer work in underwater archaeology. It was great fun. I still get a little of the itch to get back in the water, but I'm getting a little old to be playing tag with the gators and boats. The boats scare me more than the gators.
Found some cool stuff over the years. The canoe being one of the top ones.