I am soon to be 80. My U/W kit weighs 27 pounds out of the water and about 2.5-3 in the water. I dive and shoot a lot. Just completed 55 dives in Belize in 2 months. I am really thinking about retiring the large kit and going only Gopro. It would make travel and diving much easier, though the photography will be less satisfying.
Please comment. What are the triggers to hang up the large kit?
Look for my posts on Facebook to see what I shoot. Under my name... Neal Langerman.
tomad
Loc: North Carolina
I'd say do it until you aren't able or until you no longer enjoy it. As long as you do mostly boat diving the weight of your kit is less important as it weighs little once in the water. I was a diving photographer for 20 years but had to give it up in my late 40's due to worsening asthma. If not for that I would still be doing it today at 72. Underwater photography took me all over the world to exotic places and I still miss it!
kymarto
Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy
I have done u/w videography for documentaries and had a Nikonos RS and a good housing for Nikon F3 in the day. Recently have played with a GoPro underwater. The GoPro is great in the respect that it is tiny, and can get you in places that a bigger rig cannot. It can be very good for videography because of the stabilization, and the ability to switch angle of view on the fly is great. My experience is that will not get the quality that your photos exhibit. Lighting becomes an issue, though if you go continuous with LEDs you can probably do OK. But since you cannot access the touchscreen in a housing, you will not have manual exposure control or exposure compensation. My other observation is that there is pretty severe image softness in the corners.
I would suggest that if you can, you drop $400 on a Hero 10 and case, and see what you can do. Get a $50 GoPro subscription that guarantees two camera replacements as long as you have a dead camera to return, and discounts on cameras and accessories that more than make up the cost.
Attaching one GoPro shot from a swim in Maui
Another option would be to go to a micro 4/3rds or even a point and shoot set up. Either would be smaller and lighter with still good quality and versatility. That said I just bought a GoPro. I can carry it all the time or at least when I’m not teaching Open Water.
Hugh
kymarto
Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy
IHH61 wrote:
Another option would be to go to a micro 4/3rds or even a point and shoot set up. Either would be smaller and lighter with still good quality and versatility. That said I just bought a GoPro. I can carry it all the time or at least when I’m not teaching Open Water.
Hugh
MFT is a good compromise between portability and image quality and control.
Neal, first, I just sent you a friend request on Facebook. Your photos are excellent.
I can't answer your question. At nearly 75, I wonder the same thing sometimes, although the day still seems far off. I'll keep doing what I am doing as long as I can, and I put in a lot of time in the pool and the gym to stay in shape. My biggest concession to the weight issue was finally retiring my huge, heavy Ikelite DS160s and replacing them with a pair of Inon Z330 Type 2s. I know people are getting good photos with their point and shoots and even GoPros, photos that look great on the screen, but not so great blown up big on a wall.
Good luck with whatever you decide, and keep blowing bubbles as long as you have breath.
Respectfully,
George Cathcart
Already have a H10 and a H7 both in Isota housings. Like the video quality. The JPGs need to be sharpened. I use Topaz Sharpen AI. I have a pair of video lights that help.
Plan to experiment with H10 only over next month.
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