My Underwater Photo/Video Gear

I have been scuba diving for about 10 years and shooting underwater photos and video in some capacity for about 9 of them. It has been a humbling journey to say the least. When I decided to try my hand at underwater photography I had roughly 10 years of experience taking photos out of the water. I knew my way around a camera, was more than familiar with the exposure triangle, and had a decent idea about what made a good photo composition. I mistakenly assumed that it would be an easy transition from land to underwater photography. Looking back now, I realize what a foolish assumption that was. Taking photos underwater is an altogether different animal than terrestrial photography. I have had a number of different underwater camera rigs over the years - everything from a simple GoPro all the way up to the set up I use today.

Camera:

Sony A7S III

As I mentioned before, the A7sIII is amazing. It is compact, lightweight, and powerful. Its only real draw back is it’s 12 mega-pixel sensor size. While that is plenty of mega-pixels to produce beautiful 4k video, it can be somewhat limiting for photography, though not impossible to work around.

Housings & Ports:

Nauticam NA-A7SIII w/ Vacuum System

Nauticam is one of the most well known manufacturers of underwater camera housings in the world. This is for good reason - each housing is is machined out of a solid block of aluminum specifically for a particular camera model. The build quality is beyond compare and the ergonomics of the housings make it extremely easy to operate underwater in any conditions. Along with the housing for my Sony A7sIII, I also purchased the optional vacuum system. This simple system (a small hand pump and an LED light on the back of the housing) provides a substantial amount of peace of mind when it comes to potential leaks. Beyond the housing, one also needs to purchase ports for the different lenses you intend to use underwater. There are two main types of underwater photography/videography: macro and wide angle. I chose the following set up for each lens configuration. All in all, I am pretty happy with each set up.

Wide Angle Setup:

Sony 16-35mm f/4 ZA OSS

Nauticam 180mm Optical Glass Wide Angle Dome Port

Nauticam N100 to N120 Adapter Port II

Nauticam N120 Extension Ring 50 with Lock

Nauticam SE 1635-Z Zoom Gear

Nauticam SE 1635-F Focus Gear

Ikelite Anti-Reflection Ring for Sony 16-35mm f/4 ZA OSS Lens

Schneider Optics B+W 72mm +2 Close-up diopter NL-2

Macro Setup:

Sony 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS

Nauticam N100 Macro Port

Nauticam SE90-F - Focus Gear

Bluewater +7 Macro Lens

Arms & Floats:

Ultralight 8" DB-08 Double Ball Arm

Nothing super special here. These are your basic ball arms designed to hold your video lights out and away from the housing.

STIX Underwater Buoyancy Float Kit (Jumbo) for Ultralight Arms FUL-3

These underwater floats are inexpensive and pretty small for the amount of buoyancy they provide. This makes them an awesome choice when packing space is at a premium. They are made out of a dense foam material that does not collapse under the increased pressure at depth.

Lights:

Good dive lights are a must for getting proper exposure and good color - especially when you are more than 50ft below the surface of the water or if you happen to be diving on an overcast day. Unless you are diving in clear shallow water on a day with plenty of ambient light, you are going to want a pair of good video lights or strobes.

Big Blue Dive Light VL4000

These are left over from my last set up and are next on the list for being upgraded. They are not bad, however, at only 4,000 lumens they are better suited for a compact or crop sensor camera rig. That said, Big Blue Dive Lights make good quality lights at a reasonable pice for all size camera rigs.

Sola Nightsea Blue Light

These specialized lights emit a specific wavelength of blue light which acts as a fluorescent exciter. Many marine organisms and corals absorb this light and produce a visible fluorescent glow, which is quite visible when viewed through a yellow barrier filter.

Filters:

Nightsea Yellow Barrier Filter 67mm

Other:

White Balance card