Underwater Photo & Video

Dedicated underwater camera vs. housing for your existing camera
A dedicated underwater camera like the Sealife Micro 3.0 is a sealed unit designed from the ground up for underwater use — no housing to flood-check, no o-rings to maintain between dives, and an interface optimized for use underwater with gloves on. A housing for an existing phone or camera lets you use familiar hardware with familiar controls, at lower cost if you already own the device, but requires careful o-ring maintenance before every dive. For divers who want the simplest possible experience, a dedicated camera eliminates the flood-risk anxiety that comes with putting an expensive phone into a housing for the first time. For divers who want to use the processing power and camera quality of a recent smartphone, the Sealife SportDiver housing is one of the best-designed options available.

Depth rating — match to your diving
All cameras and housings in our range are depth-rated for scuba diving. The Sealife Micro cameras are rated to 60 metres — well beyond recreational dive limits. The Sealife SportDiver housing is rated to 40 metres. Action camera housings vary by model and brand. Always check the depth rating of any housing before diving it, and always perform a soak test in a shallow bucket or pool before putting a valued phone or camera inside and descending. Confirming the housing seals correctly before entering the water is a 30-second habit that prevents an expensive loss.

Lens compatibility — building a system that grows with you
One of the most important considerations when choosing an underwater camera system is whether the lens mount is open and what wet lenses are available. The Sealife Micro cameras and SportDiver housing both use Sealife's proprietary bayonet mount for wet lenses — wide-angle, macro, and red filter lenses that snap on and off between dives without surfacing. This makes the system expandable: buy the camera first, add lenses as your photography develops. A camera system with no wet lens compatibility limits your ability to improve image quality without buying a new camera. For a detailed breakdown of Sealife's lens options, read our blog post on Sealife Micro lenses.

Action cameras — GoPro and similar
GoPro and other action cameras are popular for underwater video due to their compact size, wide-angle field of view, and video quality. In their standard waterproof housings they are rated for shallow snorkeling depths — for scuba diving at greater depths, a dedicated dive housing rated to 40 metres or more is required. Action cameras produce excellent wide-angle video footage and are easy to mount on BCDs, mask straps, or dedicated camera trays. The image quality for still photography is less strong than a dedicated underwater camera at equivalent depth, but for video capture they are a practical, versatile, and affordable option.