Which camera is best?

[LENDERYOU]

Hey guys,
Im intersted in buying a camera with underwater capabilities however im some what of a noob with stuff like this. I know of the GoPro cameras available but i didnt know if theirs an alternative?
Any advice would be appreciated.
cheers
ben

 

[Ronnie]

I looked at this recently. I haven't bought one yet, but my conclusion is that the GoPro really is the best.

If I wasn't so skint I'd go for the Silver edition. It's nearly as good as the black, and about 33% cheaper. If you shop around you can find them for £200.

 

[Apneaddict]

If you just want 1080p video, an older GoPro hero will do the job, not one of the new fancy ones.

The new ones take better stills and have 60fps which is great for slo-mo, but the regular gopro is a
LOT of camera for less than $175

 

[irishlostboy]

the older gopro, unless you buy an aftermarket outer lens, are worthless to the freediver type. the convex lens makes all the shots fuzzy. I recently pitched for an aftermarket outer lens for my old gopro, and it is rubbish. could just be my installation job though. it currently leaks like a leaky thing.

There are any number of very viable alternatives to gopro for the novice who does not want to spend a lot of money. I use the Redleaf RD32/II. It gives me 720p at 60fps (or 1080p at 30fps if you prefer. i rather higher framerate and bitrate of the 720p option) It cost about a hundred quid. you can find them on ebay, or deal extreme, or any number of other sites. look up techmoan on youtube. he does a load of reviews of the cheap Chinese knock-off cameras, which are more than good enough for the average novice.
to view quality of what I get out of my 100 euro RD32/II check out some of my vids. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sz92JSrwxDA"]Dog (Fish) Day Afternoon - YouTube[/ame]

I am not posting up to knock gopro. they are the market leaders for a reason. but I would rather see novices have fun and spend less money until they know what the want in a camera. hope this helps.

and if any moderator is reading this; it might be an idea to have a sticky where people can put mini reviews of the cameras they use, so this question can have a definitive thread?

 

[Apneaddict]

I put an oculus flat lens ($20) on my older gopro and it has been flawless and crystal clear on 1080p video.

 

[Kuya]

What is the battery life like on these cameras? I looked into getting a GoPro a while ago and the short battery life put me off. I would want something that could run for at least 2 hours.

 

[0psi]

The new(ish) Sony action cam looks pretty good.

It has an optical stabiliser which is a big bonus over the Gopro and it's a bit cheaper. It's packaged a little nicer than the Gopro as well if you want to shoot POV.

 

[monkeyhatfork]

the gopro hd2 takes far better stills than the new hd3black but the black is the best video camera quality ive used but if u dont have a computer that can handle all the new higher def settings above 1080 then makes more sense to get the hd2 for cheaper

 

[Eurico]

I put an oculus flat lens ($20) on my older gopro and it has been flawless and crystal clear on 1080p video.

Apneaddict

That lens that you put on your gopro, does it makes dark corners? What definition do you use r4 r5??
Where did you order / or what brand is it?

Safe dives & see you underwater!

 

[Apneaddict]

I got mine through eBay, but they are available on amazon and many other online retailers.

I believe this is their page:
https://m.facebook.com/OculusGear

You can search here for oculus for reviews and YouTube for a video of how to install it (simple using a small eyeglass screwdriver).

It has no dark corners in 1080p on R5 video, which is what I use all the time. I think it might have some in other resolutions / settings.

My order shipped with 2 complete setups (lenses and screws, so you can split the order with someone else of you know someone in the same position as you.

I did this before the official GoPro underwater housing was available but have no incentive to change things up at this point. It's effective and also hydrodynamic, compared to the larger dive housing.

This video was taken with the camera / lens combo:

 

[Eurico]

Thanks for the quick post!

I think that it’s a better (read cheaper :t) solution instead the full housing!!!
Thanks!

Dive safe!

 

[bobdonny]

Any advise for me?

I have the option of a silver plus for 229£ or a black for 228£....
New silver with smaller case and improved battery or older black with much better quality remote.... Both brand new with same warranty.

Whatcha think?

 

[Ronnie]

The Redleaf RD32II is looking good:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=redleaf+rd32ii&sm=1

 

[bobdonny]

Ended up getting the black in a amazon black friday deal.

 

[Asraf Zaman]

Thanks everybody for providing important info about cameras. I am using IC14.

Regards!

 

[Ronnie]

This?:

What do you think of it? How well does it perform? How and where do you mount it?

Review please

 

[ReefTroll]

I picked up an original GoPro HD Hero, bought it from a friend, and added a proper GoPro dive housing and the video is totally flawless.

 

[Primescuba]

The professional HERO3 Silver Edition captures professional quality video at 1080p-30, 720p-60, 960p-48 and WVGA-120 resolutions and frame rates.

 

[CristinnaP]

I can suggest a CANON 5D, MK III , 17-40mm lens, SOLA 1200lights FWIW. That's what I bought from Dipndive.com when I dove a few months ago, along with a crazy gang , at Great Blue Hole.
Am very proud of what came up.

 

[Jonny250]

I can suggest a CANON 5D, MK III , 17-40mm lens, SOLA 1200lights FWIW. That's what I bought from Dipndive.com when I dove a few months ago, along with a crazy gang , at Great Blue Hole.
Am very proud of what came up.

yes, very nice but a few pennies. i have the 5d II. i bet the III is pretty good...