Underwater Photo/Video for £300?

[OriginalFDM]

We are off to the Maldives in January and looking for a camera for underwater video and still images. Budget is not huge at £300 but happy to buy used.

Was looking at the GoPro Hero 7 Black - can we do better in the budget?

We will only be snorkelling so something that can be used without any additional cases/housing would be preferable.

We went last year and bought a Fuji underwater camera - the quality was fairly poor and you couldn’t see the screen well at all underwater which made knowing what you were shooting very difficult.

Any tips much appreciated!

[jr502]

I've got a DJI osmo action, works great. <£300, no case to 11m under water.

[OriginalFDM]

jr502 said:

I've got a DJI osmo action, works great. <£300, no case to 11m under water.

Thanks. Would you recommend a mount or strap or some kind for underwater use or hand hold it?

[jr502]

OriginalFDM said:

Thanks. Would you recommend a mount or strap or some kind for underwater use or hand hold it?

I would get one of those floating handles, footage is definitely steadier with a handle. The in built stabilisation is very good, but with action cameras being so small, hand-holding will always be noticeable. I've got one of these;

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01KNTP6CE/ref=cm_sw_e...

You can store things in the handle, so if you want you can reduce the buoyancy a bit, but still allow it to float if dropped. There's a wrist lanyard that tightens, so you can let go without losing it.

[OriginalFDM]

Thanks that looks just the ticket. Presumably whether I get the DJI or GoPro they all use the same sort of mount for these types of accessories ?

[jr502]

OriginalFDM said:

Thanks that looks just the ticket. Presumably whether I get the DJI or GoPro they all use the same sort of mount for these types of accessories ?

Yep.

[ninja-lewis]

If looking at >£250 for a Gopro Hero 7 Black then have a look at the trade up programme on the Gopro website:

Gopro Hero 8 Black for £279.99 after £100 off by trading in any old digital camera (as long as original retail value was >$100). If you don't have a suitable camera to sacrifice, just pick up an old one off eBay/CEX for a couple of quid.