One of the most frequently asked question by divers starting out in underwater photography is what causes distorted and blurry pictures underwater? Most divers will end up taking hundreds of photographs on a dive trip only to find a handful of usable, clear, sharp photographs,  with the rest being  inexplicably fuzzy and blurry. Here are some useful tips on the causes of out-of-focus pictures underwater which may help point & shoot camera users to get their photographs in sharper focus.

Not enough light
One of the primary reasons for blurry pictures underwater is insufficient light. Poor light makes it difficult for your camera to focus on the subject; it additionally sets your camera to take photos at a slower shutter speed to allow more light to reach the sensor. The slower shutter speed plays havoc underwater when all of your subjects including yourself are moving, and you need to remain stiller than normal. This is the reason why most UW Photographers invest in a good external strobe, or a pair of external strobes to compensate for the loss of light. The inbuilt flashes on most point & shoot cameras are not powerful enough to illuminate subjects at a distance underwater properly, however if you don’t have external strobes, make sure your built in flash is set to forced fire or shoot in shallower waters.

Featured above the Sealife SL109 DC1000 Digital MAXX Camera, with the SL961 Digital Pro Flash available at Leisurepro.com

Suspended Water Particles
Often your camera’s autofocus is programmed to lock on to the closest subject it ‘sees’, and will lock on to floating particles or water debris, causing your camera to ‘hunt’ continuously for your subject.  Upon inspection of these photographs, if you see the white particles known as backscatter in focus but your intended subject blurry, you are facing a problem with backscatter. Using manual focus to correct this is not possible using a point and shoot, so one has to attempt to shoot subjects on contrasting backgrounds, get up close to your subject, or use an external strobe mounted on the side to illuminate your subject and not the particles.

Shutter Lag
Although most modern point and shoot cameras, have decent shutter lag times, often you’ll get a camera that has a significant delay from the time you depress the shutter till the time the picture is actually taken; this is known a shutter lag. Cameras with shutter lag require the diver to stay still for a moment longer after depressing the shutter release button. This is often hard to do when you are taking a picture of a moving fish, where you need to anticipate the position the fish will be in and press the button; additionally you will need to remain incredibly still otherwise you’ll end up ruining all your photographs.  Cameras with long shutter lags are no good for underwater photography, especially since everything is moving.

Camera Preset Mode
Several photographers don’t even realize that their camera’s have separate modes for Macro and Landscape photography. The Macro mode, which usually is indicated by a flower icon on most cameras, adjusts the cameras lens to take pictures with very little distance between the lens and the subject (refer to your camera manual to find out how much distance). If this mode is turned on, the camera may not take good landscapes, or distant pictures, as it is constantly hunting for a Macro subject that is nearest the lens.  The same applies for the landscape mode (indicated by a picture of a hill) which if turned on, attempts to focus at infinity or distant objects and not objects nearby. If the landscape mode of your camera is turned on and you are inches away from say a shrimp, you will probably get a blurry picture as your camera which should’ve been in Macro mode is busy trying to focus from infinity.

photos from flickr by Star5112, mrjorgen

One of the most frequently asked question by divers starting out in underwater photography is what causes distorted and blurry pictures underwater? Most divers will end up taking hundreds of photographs on a dive trip only to find a handful of usable, clear, sharp photographs,  with the rest being  inexplicably fuzzy and blurry. Here are some useful tips on the causes of out-of-focus pictures underwater PART 2 which may help point & shoot camera users to get their photographs in sharper focus.

Camera Zoom
When taking pictures underwater with a point and shoot, avoid using your cameras zoom as much as possible, and try getting closer to your subject instead at a wide angle (zoom fully retracted). The more you zoom, the more sensitive your camera is to movement, causing even the minutest of motions to result in blurry images. Imagine your zoom lens as looking through a telescope at a star, even a slight movement translates into a large shift, or shake.

Shutter speed is too slow
To get a correct exposure your camera could be selecting a shutter speed that is too slow to freeze the action or allow for a little camera movement resulting in blurry pictures. If you cannot manually select shutter speed, try shooting in shallower water where there is more light, or use a strobe to allow your camera to capture motion at a higher shutter speed. Bump up your ISO settings to compensate for the loss of light allowing you to take higher shutter speed snaps.

Lens fogged up.
Sometimes the reason you get blurry pictures is simply due to the lens getting fogged by the condensation inside the camera housing. If moisture is trapped inside the housing and you leave your camera in the hot sun on the dive boat, you are likely to have condensation build-up inside your housing. A silica desiccant packet should help to keep the moisture at bay. Also closing the camera in a dry, low humidity environment and keeping your camera out of direct sunlight may help prevent this. Often while underwater the heat from your flash, or strobes, causes some build-up of condensation; a silica gel packet may help reduce this effect.

Your Buoyancy
Often the simplest cause for blurry photographs is the diver not being able to remain still enough to take the shot. As funny as this may seem, so many divers take up underwater photography with lousy buoyancy control and complain that their camera equipment is no good. Good buoyancy control is key to underwater photography, and anyone taking pictures should have done enough dives to be very comfortable with controlling his/her buoyancy underwater.

Brace the camera correctly
To get steady shots underwater try holding the camera with your elbows pressed up against your chest and not at arm’s length. This gives the camera greater stability, as your body absorbs the shock and vibrations.

Gently depress the shutter release button
While pressing the shutter release button, do so smoothly in one swift motion so as to not cause the shifting of the camera. This takes practice. We suggest plenty of surface photography first to get familiar with the camera and depressing the shutter smoothly in a fluid motion without jarring the housing before taking it underwater.

Motion Blur
Sometime you get blurry shots simply because your subjects, namely fish, and yourself, the photographer, are constantly in motion causing motion blur. If you get your photographs with the subject blur but the background clear, then it’s usually caused by the movement of your subject , or a shutter speed not fast enough to freeze the action of the movement.  Shoot with high shutter speeds and practice on stationery subjects like coral first, then slow moving fish, or turtles, until you get the hang of it. A technique used to capture moving subjects known as ‘panning’ involves moving the camera with the movement of your subject as you depress the shutter and follow through once you are done. This technique is supposed to get you a clear subject but motion blur on the background.

* photos from flickr by: Quinn.anya , jurvetson , PhotopediaPhotos

Longnose Hawkfish

photo by doug.deep on flickr

Jawfish

photo by doug.deep on flickr

Flamboyant Cuttlefish

photo by NeilsPhotography on flickr

Curious Batfish

photo by CW Ye on flickr

Blue Mandarinfish

photo by Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton on flickr

Balloonfish (Pufferfish)

photo by laszlo-photo on flickr

Skunk Anemonefish

photo by doug.deep on flickr

Hairy Frogfish

photo by CW Ye on flickr

Imperator Shrimp

photo by doug.deep on flickr

Transparent Whip Coral Goby

photo by CW Ye on flickr

Nudibranch

photo by Stephen Childs on flickr

Lizardfish

photo by doug.deep on flickr

Christmas Tree Worms

photo by doug.deep on flickr

Eastern Blue Devilfish

photo by doug.deep on flickr

Juvenile Emperor Angelfish

photo by doug.deep on flickr

Mantis Shrimp

photo by doug.deep on flickr

Red Cuttlefish

photo by doug.deep on flickr

Cleaner Shrimp on a Snake Eel

photo by doug.deep on flickr

Underwater Cameras and Underwater Photography Gear & Equipment at the most competitive prices available at LeisurePro.com

For all you underwater photography enthusiasts out there, here’s a bit of good news. The leading underwater photography website DivePhotoGuide.com recently announced the launch of the highly anticipated free series of comprehensive underwater photography tutorials written by professional underwater photographers.

If you’ve ever just picked up an affordable point and shoot with housing to capture and share those sights of the underwater world with friends and loved ones or investing in some more advanced underwater photography gear these tutorial guides are just the thing to get you started or fine tune your skills to get some stunning shots down below. Written by professional underwater photographer Jason Heller and DivePhotoGuide.com editor Matt Weiss, along with contributions from several world renowned professional and award winning underwater photographers, such as National Geographic photographer David Doubilet, Martin Edge and Alex Mustard, the guides include great pictures that illustrate each technique.

The easy-to-read tutorials are for photographers of all levels and cover a wide array of topics right from understanding of basic principles and techniques or underwater photography to creative techniques that include- macro, wide angle, super-macro, composition, lighting, surf photography and so on. The simple objective- to learn how to take GREAT underwater photos. The next time you hit the water we suggest you be prepared and armed with these  practical underwater photography tips that promise to help you with some rewarding underwater images.

DivePhotoGuide.com: The popular underwater photography website DivePhotoGuide.com has been a valuable resource to a community of over 50,000 underwater photographers around the world since 2005. In addition to the new free techniques guides, the website features underwater photo galleries from the top pros and amateurs in the world, daily underwater photography and ocean related news, in-depth articles, a comprehensive underwater photography equipment guide, travel guide, event calendars and a monthly photo contest with prizes.

Macro photography underwater is such a joy with the numerous and various macro worthy sea creatures out there. For all types of Underwater photography it’s important to understand the basic of photography like Aperture & Depth of Field, camera settings and types of lenses. It’s also crucial in underwater photography to know how light works underwater. For these you may read our previous posts:

Underwater Photography: Basic Tips for Taking Good Underwater Pictures
10 Underwater Photography Tips for Beginners
Understanding Light for Underwater Photography
Using Filters for Underwater Photography

1. Use the right macro photography equipment
For this up close and magnified way of photography it’s best to use a macro lenses (which can range from 50mm to 200mm) depending on the focal length you desire. The the longer the focal length of the lens, you can be farther away from the subject for a shot, which is important while capturing fish that are skittish and won’t allow you close enough for a good picture.

A 100mm / 105mm is better for shooting smaller animals. It allows you to get the exact size of the subject without having to get very close to it. But, it does have a tighter angle of view than the 60mm which has a wider angle of view. The 60mm lets you capture slightly bigger subjects, but at very close range. For beginners, it’s best to start with a 60mm as it’s less frustrating than the 100mm/105mm which can be hard to get it to focus just right.

The use of external strobes is almost as important as the camera itself in underwater photography and especially macro photography. As this type of photography uses small apertures and you shoot at close range, strobes provide that much needed source of light on the subject thereby adding true colors to your photographs. Use of just the internal flash which is usually located above the lens is not appropriate for underwater photographs as it creates backscatter. Two external strobes on either side of the underwater camera is the ultimate, but the use of one strobe at least required and affordable.

2. Get Close
Getting as close to the subject as possible is an underwater photography basic rule. In macro photography you have to take it up a notch and get even closer than close. The less water between you and the subject, the sharper your picture will be and the more effective the strobes will be in capturing colors.

When trying to get close it’s very important to watch your buoyancy and not bump into coral or disturbing the environment. Care must also be taken as to where you put down your camera or what you touch to steady yourself. Avoid touching anything at all if possible.

3. Picking the right moment
Photographing fish and marine life is all about the right timing. Your best bet to get a decent fish portrait is finding a subject that wants to be photographed or is too slow to notice you. Then position yourself and the camera keeping your finger on the shutter, preferable half depressed. Then watch the fish closely and not the camera to click at the just right moment. It can take time to get the subject in a good position, but the key is patience.

If you’re a beginner in macro photography pick a slow moving creature like a nudibranch where you can take your time to take a shot and actually capture several shots before it moves. On the other hand photographing a fish is not as easy as it seems. They constantly move and just when you think you’ve got them where you want in the frame, the second before your finger presses down on the shutter button, it has darted out the frame. The only thing you can do is move very slow and cautiously without drawing attention to yourself or scaring off the fish, it’s easier said than done, but is the only way of getting a good picture.

4. Pick a contrasting background
You may have noticed that a lot of underwater macros feature a black or deep blue background. This is because the photograph was take from an angle where there is a lot of open water behind it. Where possible shooting at an upward angle will ensure this sort of backdrop and makes the subject stand out.

However, most times it’s not possible to to have a empty space behind the subject, so try to find a subject on a contrasting and not too distracting background. Since macro shots tend to blur the background which is not in focus, you want to avoid a background darker than your subject. A contrast color or pattern works best at maintaining focus on the subject and creates a better composition for the photograph.

5. Focus on the Eyes
If you’re shooting a fish, the best point of focus is the eyes. The most interesting visual position for a fish portrait is the front view of the fish or creature. For this, you should select it’s eyes as the focal point. If you want to focus on the eyes and mouth try focusing between the two. To get the whole fish in focus, you should try positioning yourself parallel to the subject and get a side shot for the best depth of field.

*Photo credits: All Underwater Macro Photos by doug.deep on flickr

The best part about underwater photography is the sheer number and variety of subjects to photograph. While it’s cool to spot the big stuff like sharks, rays, turtles etc, some of the best underwater photographs are of the smallest creatures of the sea. One blink and you can miss them. The patterns, textures of colors of these small fish, invertebrates and even coral or anemone is stunning when captured by underwater macro photography. Here’s a look at some of the smaller creatures that are great subjects for macro photography-

Nudibranchs
With over 3000 varieties of this colorful soft-bodied creatures, the nudibranch is the king of underwater macro photographs. Nudibranchs are found almost all over the world and can vary dramatically in length, between as small as 20 millimeters to a very large 60 centimeters. Underwater photographers and divers truly appreciate the small sea-slug like mollusk and often try to spot and picture as many different colored and types of the 3000 varieties of nudibranchs as they can. (Read: Nudibranchs: An Underwater Enigma)

Leafy Sea Dragon
Emanating from the sea horse family, the leafy sea dragon is a an usual and curious looking animal. Found only along the Australian coastline, it can grow upto 20-24 centimeters in length. They have amazing camouflaging abilities and can often be missed as they blend in with their surroundings, mostly sea grass or between rock formations. The leafy sea dragon bears resemblance to it’s relative the pipefish but features leaf like protrusions allowing it to blend in. They’re an absolute pleasure to watch and photography as they gracefully bob between the grass.

Mantis Shrimp
Contrary to its name, the Mantis Shrimp is actually neither a mantis nor a shrimp, but bears a striking resemblance to both. This crustacean from the Stomatopoda family looks and poses like a mantis while it’s tail and claws are similar to a shrimp. These fierce crustaceans can grow to 30 centimetres (12 in) in length and are quite the predator in shallow tropical waters. The the harlequin mantis shrimp or painted mantis shrimp, more commonly known as peacock mantis shrimp is the prettiest of the 400 odd varieties that range from shades of browns to bright neon colors.

Mandarinfish
This beauty is native to the Pacific Ocean and found around Indonesian Islands, Micronesia and Australia. Reaching only about 6 cm, this small bottom feeding fish is packed with bright blue shades making them a great subject of underwater photography.

Anemone & Clown Fish
A very popular subject of Macro photography underwater is capturing the clown fish in anemone. Not an easy task at all, as the clownfish is tricky to shoot darting in and out of the anemones tentacles. It’s like a game of hide and seek with the camera. However, if you manage to get a shot the picture is reward enough for the effort. They picture magnificently. (Read: Sea Anemone: An Underwater Photographer’s Delight)

As the list of Macro worthy creatures of the sea is endless look out for more posts on this subject to come!

*Photo credits: Photos by Raymond™, kqedquest, lecates, jeffk42, doug.deep, Enje, Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton, Luc Viatour (www.lucnix.be), Nemo’s great uncle, CW Ye on flickr

Taking pictures underwater can be quite challenging to get a good shot. When first taking pictures in this new medium of water, to get good underwater pictures it’s crucial to go back to understanding the basic concepts and how light works in water (Read: Understanding Light for Underwater Photography). Here are a few techniques or tips to help you get a great photo on your next dive.

Fish Portraits
It’s pretty obvious that fish make good subjects of underwater photography, but photographing a fish on a dive is not as easy as it seems. They constantly move and just when you think you’ve got them where you want in the frame, the second before your finger presses down on the shutter button, it has darted out the frame. The key to getting a decent fish portrait is finding a subject that wants to be photographed or is too slow to notice you. In water, you have to be able to get close enough to the subject to photograph it, otherwise you’ll lose out on the colors and you’ll see the all too familiar blue tinge on everything.

Rule one, is to never take the photo from above. The best angle is to shoot up, or across.. but never down. The second important rule to follow is – Always use an external flash which will help light up your subject as compared to the background. Wait until the fish takes the right angle before you click away and scare it. Move slow and time delay by half pre-clicking the button and then full press at a time when the fish turns to you or the angle you’d like. Try to get your subject to fill the frame as much as you can and ignore getting in a lot of background as that will make a better and more colorful shot. If it’s the landscape you’re more interested in photographing see our next point.

Underwater Landscapes or Reef Photos
Never use digital zoom for any type of underwater photography especially landscape pictures. For underwater landscapes try to shoot in calm, shallow, sunny water – preferable in less than 20ft / 6 meters with the sun behind you. Again, just like in fish photography shoot upwards or parallel and not downwards. If there isn’t a lot of natural sunlight, make sure to use external strobes.

Choose an angle which will provide a little colorful foreground (like a wall or some coral growth or even a diver) which provides the primary focus in the composition of the picture and then the landscape in the background. Combining close subjects like some coral with fish or divers in the distance will give the picture great results. Make sure you are close enough to the foreground subject so that the strobe light/flash illuminates it, capturing its bright colors while helping to reduce back-scatter. For landscape shots it’s best if your camera has a wide angle setting (in point-and-shoot digital cameras) or a wide angle lens for your SLR. Wide angle shots give a good impression of the reef and surroundings. Shooting towards the surface greatly improves these photos.

One good shot is all it takes to get you hooked to underwater photography. Being able to show your non-diving and non-snorkeling friends what you saw underwater can be way cool and not to mention impressive. But, it’s important to remember to master you basic diving skills before bringing your camera system into water. Perfect your buoyancy skills, managing your air consumption, decompression limits and underwater navigation before attempting photography underwater as crashing into the reef while composing “the perfect shot” even by accident is unacceptable. Underwater photography can be all-consuming and addictive, so remember to keep a frequent eye on your gauges and your dive buddy in between shots.

Also Read:
10 Underwater Photography Tips for Beginners
Understanding Light for Underwater Photography
Using Filters for Underwater Photography

* Photo credits: photos by sunphol, Stephen Childs, motleypixel, Raymond™ on flickr.

Trying to get the most color into your underwater photographs is true challenge that all who have taken an underwater photograph will attest to. Several scuba divers have often wondered whether using a U.W. Filter is the solution to their color problems. Some have actually gone out and bought one and will tell you that it doesn’t work.

The key to understanding how to get the best out of your underwater filters is to understand how light behaves underwater at different depth and in different areas. An underwater filter is not a substitute for poor light and will not magically bring color into your photographs; however if used correctly it will enhance the ambient light for your underwater photography.

It is important to remember that water itself acts as a giant filter, selectively canceling the lower range spectrum’s of light starting with the reds, yellows and orange spectrum as depth increases. Always remember that using a filter on your underwater camera further blocks light from entering your lens, which is why some photographers simply can’t understand why there are no reds in their images at 30’ despite using a filter to enhance reds. A filter may cause you to lose around 1 to 1 1/2 stops of light, making it more critical to get enough sunlight or Strobe lighting into your images to begin with. Also a filter cannot compensate for colors already lost. So if you cannot see reds at the depth your at, the chances are that your camera will not either, and a magenta filter won’t either.

Water is a different color at different places, from blue, green or brown depending on the turgidity and suspended particles present in the water. In an ideal world, if you knew the depth you would be diving at, the quality of water and the amount and type of sunlight (based on time of day), you would be able to pick the perfect filter for your photographs. Unfortunately water, sunlight and a diver’s depth change constantly.

So when deciding to buy underwater filters, one recommendation is to get one of each; for deep or shallow dives, and for correcting Blue or green water types. Plan your dive before hand, and select the filter that you will need based on the depth you will be diving at. Many suppliers of filters will help you choose the right filter for your camera based on your requirements.

There are essentially two kinds of filters suited for underwater photography; CC or Color Compensating Filters and Color Conversion filters. Compensating filters favor a particular range in the color spectrum. So a Magenta Compensating filter would be useful to counteract the effects of sea water. The Second type of filter is known as Color Conversion filters, which can be either warming or cooling filters based on color temperature in Kelvin. A warming filter would for example, help counteract the cooling blue appearance of light underwater.

* Photo Credits: Photo by PhotopediaPhotos on flickr

** Product pictured above: Epoque Underwater Color Correction Filter available at LeisurePro.com

Underwater photography is a fascinating hobby and for terrestrial photographers, the transition to underwater photography is marked with several difficulties and new rules that once understood can result in rewarding photographs. The first step to transitioning into the underwater realm for photography is to go back to the basic concepts and understand how light works in the medium of water.

Bending of light Underwater
Light bends as it passes from one medium to another. This bending of light is known as refraction, and can occur when light traveling through water passes through the glass and air of your underwater camera. Refraction underwater causes objects to appear approximately 25% larger/closer than they actually are causing a magnification effect. This phenomenon of bending of light underwater is important to understand as it also plays havoc to auto-focus cameras that constantly hunt for accurate focus resulting in blurry images.

The magnification effect can be rectifies easily by the diver always keeping in mind that there will be 25% magnification and compose photographs accordingly. The second problem however of focus, needs special attention. Ensure that you have a camera that always focuses at infinity or one that has a manual focus setting.  Underwater cameras with an infrared autofocus assist will work underwater, but cameras that use laser rangefinders will result in focusing problems and blurry pictures.

Water Absorbs Light, Overcoming light Loss
Water acts as a filter absorbing a large portion of light traveling through it when it passes from air into it. The deeper you go, the more light is absorbed. A rough measure of light loss based on depth , is that on average, for every 10m/30′ in depth you dive there will be a loss of half the light (i.e. at 10m/33′ there will be 50% of the light found at the surface, at 20m/66” there will be only 25% as much light as there was at the surface.

The amount of light available for underwater photographers also depends on the time of the day and the position of the sun overhead. The best time for taking photos underwater is between 10am to 2 pm when the sun’s directly overhead where the surface of the water reflects the least amount of the sun’s rays from entering the water.

In the same manner a calm surface allows more light into the water than a rough one. The clarity of the water also impacts available light; the more particles floating, the less the available light.

If you plan to use natural light for your photographs, stay shallow for the best pictures. However if you plan to dive deeper, or don’t want to worry about the angle of the sunlight, invest in a good strobe unit that will allow you to overcome the effects of light loss underwater.

How to overcome Color Loss
The third problem photographers have while taking photos underwater is color loss. The effect of water on light is the same as a giant red filter that absorbs red light the deeper you go leaving only blues and greens of the spectrum visible. By 3m/10′ in depth there is no red light left from the sun light underwater, and at 25m/80’ there is only the blue part of the spectrum visible.

There are a few methods that can be used to overcome this color loss underwater, the first by using a color-correcting filter. UW filters available with different red gradients; help restore the red spectrum to photographs at different depths. This however the effectiveness of a filter is debatable topic, as filters only enhance light that is already available, and will not be able to add color to subjects taken at a depth. Filters also further block available light to the lens.

Usage of a strobe, is another way to bring back color to your photographs. Know the distance your strobe or flash unit can illuminate beforehand.

Taking photographs in shallower water will help gain maximum color to your photographs. Also getting closer to your subjects will reduce the distance that the light has to travel underwater, and increase the effectiveness of your strobe unit.

*Photo credits: photos by thanker212, Johnny Jet, Nazir Amin, laszlo-photo on flickr.com

Are you a SCUBA Diver that is just getting started in underwater photography? Or are you looking for a reasonably priced underwater camera that you can take along with you on your next dive vacation which won’t cost you more than your trip? Well look no further; we have compiled a list of 5 reasonably priced underwater cameras available at LeisurePro.com that will allow you to capture your underwater adventures.

Intova IC800 Underwater Digital Camera 8MP ($199)
The Intova IC800 8 megapixel camera with housing is perhaps one of the best value for money underwater digital camera kits out in the market today. Perfect for anyone looking to get into underwater photography as a hobby, without having the equipment cost both an arm and a leg. The IC800 is depth rated to 180 feet and has a 3x optical zoom lens and can accommodate up to 4 GB of memory. Also capable of recording VGA movies with a resolution of 640X680, the Intova IC800 gives the user the flexibility of both video and photographs.

We recommend this Kit for anyone looking for a real value for money kit.

Intova IC10 Underwater Digital Camera 10MP ($249)
The second product from Intova to make our list of truly affordable underwater camera kits is the IC10 (10 Megapixel) Digital camera. Very similar to the IC800 reviewed above, the IC10 has more pixels, offering higher resolution images from the same compact body. Also with a 3X Optical Zoom lens and depth rated to 180 feet, the Intova IC10 is also great value for money providing you with 10 Megapixels of resolution and video and photograph capabilities as well.

Liquid Image Scuba Mask with Camera & Video ($249.95)
This innovative product from Liquid Image, the HD320 is a 5 megapixel digital camera and video camera integrated into a scuba mask capable of operating at a depth till 115 feet, allowing for convenient hands-free operation. The video quality of the Liquid image is a decent 720p recording at 30fps on micro SD storage cards that can accommodate up to 32GB of storage. What fascinates us most about the HD320 is its convenience; no need to have your camera dangling on your wrist off a lanyard, or in your hands, and also the reasonable price of approx. $250 which gives it a place on our affordable underwater camera list.

Ikelite Ultra Compact Housing & Nikon Coolpix L20 Digital Camera Still Package ($ 369.95)
Though from two separate manufacturers, what better combination can be there than pairing Nikon cameras with Ikelite underwater housings?  Despite being on the higher end of our affordable underwater camera list, this perfect pairing makes an appearance purely because of the value you would get from combining two names that you know you can trust. The Nikon Coolpix range of cameras have proved extremely popular and easy to use, and with this package you get the Coolpix L20 which is an image stabilized 10.1 megapixel compact digital camera that features 3.6x optical zoom, 3 inch LCD, motion detection, ISO range from 84 to 1600, face priority, smile mode, in-camera red-eye fix and the list goes on!  The Ikelite Ultracompact digital housing allows for full control functionality and is depth rated to 200ft (60m), and you know your Nikon will be safe in this well-built housing.

In our opinion one of the greatest combo deals for underwater photographers for the great images and camera control options.

SeaLife DC800 Reefmaster 8.1MP Underwater Digital Camera ($399)
From the leading maker of underwater dive cameras, SeaLife’s new DC800 8 megapixel camera is truly a perfect purpose created product.  With 5 dive-specific color correction modes, the DC800 takes sharp, colorful underwater pictures and is reasonably priced as well. Depth rated to 200 feet and equipped with a high capacity rechargeable lithium battery, the DC800 allows you to take photographs all day without needing to swap out batteries.  The Reefmaster DC800 also comes with video recording capability with sound, and 22 land modes allowing it to be used as a terrestrial camera as well.  Paired with the SeaLife external strobes, this camera can be used by amateur and professional underwater photographers alike.

Overall ,an excellent purpose driven camera and affordable as well.

For the Best in Underwater Photography Equipment right from underwater camera housings, digital cameras, strobes, lenses, and more visit LeisurePro.com