Snorkel Camera Guide
Why Snorkeling Photography is Different Than Diving
It took a lot of researching, but I now have a snorkel camera setup that takes great pictures, with good colors, that was not expensive, big, nor does it require an external flash. I did this by ignoring the prevalent advice from divers, and instead focused on taking pictures as a snorkeler. And I found one product that is truly magical for making this possible.
On this page I am going to show what I know about taking pictures as a snorkeler, how it differs from a diver, and how I decided what snorkel camera setup to use. Then on the next couple of pages I will share with you all the different underwater camera options that you have to choose from.
Deciding on what snorkel camera setup to buy was a bit of a struggle. Because what I was told I had to have in equipment, to get the pictures I wanted, was not the equipment I had in mind.
Here is what I had in mind for my snorkel camera:
- It has to be small and simple to use - I snorkel for the simple joy of it, and don't want the hassles of a bunch of gangly gear.
- It has to take excellent pictures - meaning they are sharp with excellent underwater color - I want to see the color of those fish in my pics.
- It can't cost a ton - I don't want to be concerned about flooding a $600-$1000 camera or having it stolen.
The reason why what I wanted is at odds with "what I was supposed to get" is because almost all the advice available about underwater photography comes from divers.
Well, I am nowhere near a great underwater photographer, but I am a very experienced landscape photographer. And when I looked at why divers choose the equipment they do, I soon realized that the correct camera setup for a diver is not at all correct for me as a snorkeler.
To understand this all better, lets take a look at the different things you have to deal with to get a decent underwater picture.
First, there is that beautiful blue water. The water acts like a big filter, shifting the colors in your pictures towards blue. The deeper you get away from the sun, the more the water filters out the different colors in the light. And the further away you get from your subject (fish and coral, etc), the more color gets filtered out. How many times have you taken pictures of a beautiful fish, only to have it come back on the print as a dull, not-so-colorful fish?
The solution that divers have had to use to solve both of these problems is to use an external flash, and get close to their subject (often using a very wide angle lens). They use a flash because they are deeper in the water than a snorkeler, and they need to add light to see the colors. When you use a flash, it reflects off the sediments floating in the water, creating a speckled look called backscatter.
To help reduce this problem you have to move the flash out away from your lens. This change in angle of the light reduces this backscatter problem. And to reduce the amount of water that this flash has to work through, divers like to get really close to their subjects. That means your camera just became a contraption, with a handle, and a plate connecting your camera and it's flash, and a big-wide angle lens on the front. That is OK for a diver, but not for me, the fancy free snorkeler.
So the prevalent advice available is that you have to have an external flash and get close to your subject. And as far as diving goes, that is what you have to do. But as a snorkeler, I have discovered a couple of things that makes the flash and wide angle lens almost unnecessary.
My Snorkel Camera Solutions
First, I snorkel in tropical waters. To see the wonderful colors of the fish and coral I always go out on bright sunny days. And since I snorkel on the surface or near it (I only free dive down at most 15 feet), there is plenty of available light. So I don't need a flash. I turn it off completely. When it is not sunny, I am rarely inspired to take a picture anyways.
So, now that I have plenty of light, the next big problem I wanted to solve was how to get good colors when shooting through a bunch of blue water (when my subject is not real close to me or the surface). After doing a lot of research I discovered a solution that while not perfect, is fantastic. Remember how I said that the water filters out colors. It first starts filtering out red. At about eight feet of depth red starts to fade, and is all but gone by fifteen feet. The next color to start fading is orange.
Well, I discovered a little colored filter that when I put it in front of my lens, shifts those colors back into a more natural appearance. By natural, I mean more like my eye sees the colors underwater.
This little gem of a filter is appropriately called an
Auto-Magic Filter.
This filter was designed by award winning underwater photographer and diver Dr. Alex Mustard who wanted to take available light photography, without using a flash. It is designed to work with automatic exposure digital cameras.
And boy does it work. It has a minor problem, but overall I have gotten much more naturally colorful pictures than without.
It made it so that I could have a compact camera, at reasonable cost, without an external flash, that takes great colorful pictures.
The one small problem the Magic Filter does have is in very shallow water. The picture gets a little red looking. But I have been able to adjust for this in Photoshop pretty easily, so it is not too bad. And for my next trip I created a little device that will allow me to take the filter on and off the camera in the water.
Have you used an underwater filter with any success?
Tell us about it.
So that was my solution that gave me exactly what I wanted. As with all photography equipment choices, my setup is a nice compromise between pretty good pictures (as good as I desire), while still being fairly inexpensive and compact. I achieved my goals, but they may not be yours. Still, I bet a lot of snorkelers have similar goals.
Here is what I ended up spending on my snorkel camera setup:
- A compact digital point and shoot camera - under $200.
- A good underwater case for it - $79 (I was lucky).
- The magic filter - $35.
To see pictures and further details about what exact snorkel camera setup I am using, as well as to learn more about the many different snorkel camera options available to you, go to
my Snorkeling Cameras page.
I will give my two-cents about disposable cameras, digital vs. film cameras, compact vs. SLR cameras, cameras with built-in underwater housings, and cameras with separate housings.
Go to the next page in the Snorkel Camera Guide
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