Maria Munn

There's absolutely no doubt that smartphones are an incredible, cost-effective way to get started in underwater photography. There’s nothing more exciting than being able to view and upload your images to social media as soon as you finish your dive, on a safety-stop or even whilst snorkelling . Did I say started? Let me take that back, as it is so easy to get addicted to using one, that you may just want to ditch your usual camera in favour of it. Of course there are advantages and disadvantages of choosing a smartphone over a camera, but for ease-of-use and for a complete beginner, they are a total game changer. So with so many different housings available for your phone, so I thought I’d share some views on two of the most popular housings Divevolk versus Sealife. I’ll cover other popular housings like those made by Kraken and Oceanic soon. Sealife SportDiver Ultra Smartphone Housing - Depth Rating 40 metres/130 ft - $349 Both compact and sturdy (ideal for where I am in the UK), this housing is how I fell in love with shooting with my own iPhone and has been voted as Scubalab Tester’s Choice for 2024. The SportDiver Ultra housing is a heavy duty housing (808 grams) and is made of polycarbonate, stainless steel, aluminium and optical grade glass. It will take all iPhones from iPhone 8 through to 15 Pro Max as well as most Android models. Just made sure that you review the Sportdiver compatibility and fit guide. It has it’s own SportDiver App which connects to your phone through Bluetooth Low Energy 5 wireless technology, using the phone camera’s technology which is native to each camera. The housing itself is powered by two AAA batteries which last over 50 hours of continuous use. It is almost neutrally buoyant and Sealife also make a Gear Retractor which is a stainless steel snap clip which attaches to your BCD to keep it extra safe when it’s not in use. Let’s look at what the Sport Diver housing offers:- It has a generous shutter button at the top of the housing and four easy-to-use buttons on the back, making access to the different settings easy to use, especially when you are shooting in colder water with gloves. It has the ability to change the ISO, Exposure Value, White Balance, Adjust Zoom, Tint, Lens Selection plus the ability to shoot in both JPEG and RAW, making it ideal if heavy editing is your passion afterwards. Video stabilisation is also available on certain phone models. It is equipped with dual Leak Alarms which include a moisture alarm and a vacuum pressure alarm, alerting the user with on-screen warnings. This alarm will even notify you on the surface if it detects even a drop of water in it and trust me, you will definitely hear it! It also as a Vacuum System with a pump to create more security for your system. It has a very sturdy build which is suited for more challenging conditions. It also has a sturdy holding spring and rubber grip tabs which securely hold the smartphone in place and add shock-protection. Automatically comes with a removable red filter (with a safety tether) to restore natural colours in tropical water and a sturdy travel case so you can get started immediately. Both magenta and yellow filters are also available. Interior fogging and condensation are prevented by using “Moisture Muncher” capsules. Looking to get creative? A 52 & 67 mm thread adapter is available for both macro and wide angle lenses. At present there is just one wide angle dome lens available (which is positively buoyant and has a safety lanyard) increasing the phone len’s field-of-view by 40%. The housing features seven 1/4-20 tripod mounts to mount any light or light tray with standard tripod threads such as Sealife’s range of Sea Dragon underwater photo/video lights. Your phone can be taken out from the back door to charge. The Playback Mode shows full size photos and videos with a vertical thumbnail strip, making it easy to locate your images. Files are also saved automatically to your phone’s camera roll. The downsides are: It needs to be used with the Sealife App for it to work, so all of the functions aren’t accessible such as the highest quality video setting available in newer iPhones. Some of your phone settings may not be available through the App, so it’s important to check both the App and Play store for SportDiver App updates. A manual vacuum pump (included in the set-up) is needed. You can read more about all the different options available via Sealife's website here:- https://www.sealife-cameras.com/product/sportdiver-ultra-smartphone-housing/ DIVEVOLK - Seatouch 4 MAX - Depth Rating 60 metres/196 feet - $239 It’s safe to say that Divevolk have taken the smartphone underwater photography market by storm by introducing the first ever fully integrated touch screen which makes all of your favourite apps and functions easily accessible underwater at an affordable price as well as offering the widest range of add-on lenses. Trust me, you’ll be spoilt for choice as to which one to start with! You can even communicate with your dive buddy underwater via writing apps, make an emergency call at the surface if needed as well as record GPS co-ordinates. You can even have your own Fish ID Guide with you whilst you’re diving, making identification an absolute breeze. The Divevolk housing is much lighter (375 gms), made of plastic and stainless steel, supporting any smartphone. Simply pop your phone in a customised adapter and slide it into the housing through a narrow opening and close the housing door which has a built-in compression ring. You’re then all good to go. So let’s look at what it offers the user:- All functions are easily accessible via the touchscreen, even with wetsuit gloves. And yes, the touchscreen is tougher than it looks with a special 3-layer sealing gasket to keep the housing secure. For those colder water temperatures, this innovative company have even invented a special finger cot to pop on over your drysuit glove. It may not have a vacuum pump but it does have a pressure balance system to keep it safe from leaks. If film making is your passion, this housing is the only one to give you a choice to shoot at the highest resolution that your phone can offer. It can also be used as an external monitor for your d-SLR or Mirrorless camera. It has developed a wi-fi transmitter which can be placed in-between your housing and your phone where the signal is transferred. Divevolk is the only manufacturer to offer this option. Incredible underwater content can easily be achieved using the variety of add-on lenses which Divevolk offer. From both red and magenta filters to a 15 + close-up lens, plus both wide angle and dome lens options make this an unbeatable system to get started with and grow your creativity. The downsides are: Take added care to protect the membrane when travelling. If you are using a tray with two handles, be aware that you will need to remove the housing from the tray first before being able to remove your phone from it’s side door. Alternatively you can purchase Divevolk’s own tray which allows it to swivel and you can then remove it easily. DIVEVOLK Platinum - Depth Rating 262 ft/80 metres - $399 This recently launched housing has been specifically built for newer and thicker smartphones and has a much more sturdy finish. It has the following upgrades:- It is made of aluminium alloy which makes the casing more resistant to corrosion. It also makes it look very stylish. An upgraded sealing system, making the housing feel more resistant to leaks. The touchscreen is easier to operate with gloves and offers a smoother response than previous models. It comes with an integrated expansion clamp which attaches directly to the case with 1/4 inch threaded holes at the bottom. For more information on Divevolk, visit their website here:- https://www.divevolkdiving.com/en-gb/collections/seatouch-4-max-kit Finally, don’t forget to utilise a wireless charger if possible to reduce the risk of moisture entering your housing. Regardless of which one you choose, you sure are guaranteed a whole new underwater photography world opening up in front of you. I’ve absolutely loved shooting with my phone the past couple of years for ease-of-use and the simplicity and how I can create my content for social media in a nano-second after getting out of the water. I look forward to hearing your thoughts, experiences and seeing your images 🙂 Maria

Underwater Photography conjures up a vast array of subjects to capture, from the tiniest animals on the planet measuring just the size of a grain of rice to the largest creatures which have ever lived in our incredible blue planet. But starting out as a complete beginner with such a huge choice of different compact camera systems to choose from and accessories, where on earth do you start to ensure that you come back from your trip of a lifetime with fabulous eye-catching images. Compact cameras have evolved hugely from when I pioneered the first ever dedicated courses for them back in 2005, but the essentials I always ask on the forums I participate in are: What are your dream images to photograph? Where are you going? How much do you want to change your settings? What is your budget? It’s honestly that simple to make sure that you choose the right equipment. I remember seeing on one forum that a lady going to Fiji was recommended an Olympus TG6 for it’s macro capabilities. Being the passionate shark stalker and wide-angle reef scene passionate that I am, I just had to butt on in and suggest that a wide-angle lens was an absolute must to capture those jaw dropping reef scenes that Fiji is so famous for, as well as those sharks. Yes the macro life is absolutely incredible too, but it’s so important to KNOW your destination, RESEARCH the subjects which you are going to have the opportunity to capture and have a budget in mind to start with. How can you go to such an incredible, jaw-dropping, life changing destination and NOT come home with all of the incredible images that both you and your camera deserve? Then there’s the question, do you need a camera with full manual controls or not? Again, it all depends on what you want to achieve, but I’ll never forget my course guest Daniel Norwood, now Editor of DivePhotoGuide winning the British Society of Underwater Photographer’s Best Beginner Competition with a compact camera which had NO manual controls. The Runner-Up (27 points behind) was the then Chairman with a d-SLR system. It just goes to prove that it honestly is all about how YOU drive the camera, how YOU create an image, and that you CAN still create award-winning, breathtaking imagery with older compact cameras too. I have a huge variety of all kinds of images taken during my 20 year career gracing the walls of my gallery here in the UK. And guess what, no-one can tell the difference as to which one was taken with a d-SLR, Mirrorless, Compact, Go Pro or my Phone. So let’s dive on in and look at some answers to common questions I often see to get you started on your own journey. Do You Need the Latest Model of Compact Camera? Absolutely not, I loved shooting with my Olympus TG4 before upgrading to a TG6 model. If an older model will give you more “bang for your buck” and enable you to purchase additional lights or lenses so that you can achieve your dream images, then it’s totally cool to go down this route. Which is the Best Compact Camera for a Beginner? All of them! Yes honestly! It all depends what you are looking for and how much effort you want to put into changing different settings when you are underwater. I even absolutely loved using my Sealife DC-2000 camera and in the right scenarios would deliver incredibly sharp, punchy images even here in the UK with minimum effort and fuss. So do you need full manual controls to take incredible images when starting out? Absolutely not! Yes, full manual controls allow you to get more creative, but they are not the be all to creating fabulous images that you will fall in love with. I love the Olympus TG range for simplicity and for the jaw-dropping close-up images which it creates from the tiniest creatures by just using it’s “Microscope Mode.” It doesn’t have full manual mode, but you can still achieve black backgrounds to your close-up subjects by adjusting some in-camera settings. You can add-on wide-angle lenses, lights or even use a torch to start your creative journey. Can I Really Capture Great Stills Using a Go Pro? Holy moly, yes, yes, yes! I’ve fallen in love with my Go Pro this summer and all the additional lenses and accessories which you can add to it. From Backscatter’s MacroMate Mini which neatly fits on the front of a Go Pro housing to achieve razor sharp macro images to their incredible (how much am I in love with this lens) Action Cam Sharp Wide Lens Pro which gives a whopping 140 degree field-of-view. It also allows the Go Pro to focus much closer to your subject to give you real nice close-focus wide-angle images. Simply add on some small video lights to bring extra lushness, colour and depth to your imagery, I love my MARES EOS 10LRW Video Light Set-Up for lightness, compactness and brilliant results, and you are set to go. What About Using My Phone Underwater? Can you guess what I’m going to say? Yep I absolutely ADORE using my phone underwater as well. It also will give you excellent results, and it really is all about what you want to achieve our of your underwater imagery. For me, what sets it apart from the rest is that your images are there as soon as you finish your dive, ready to upload to the world without the need to download them first. I have been using a Sealife Housing and I love being able to change different settings via the Sealife App such as ISOs, Exposure Values and I can even shoot in RAW. Being able to change my exposure value was crucial to achieve these reflections at Ginnie Springs in Florida. Finally what about Insta 360? Insta 360 is definitely all the rage at the moment, and definitely so for a very good reason. You will not have seen anything quite like it anywhere and the results will leave you spellbound. That is as long as you are using it in settings which actually suit it’s capabilities, such as huge wrecks, large reef scenes and giant cave systems. Oh and make sure you have heaps of ambient light around you to get the best results. Trust me it really is awesome, but you will need to take extra care with the lens as it scratches easily. Sadly you can’t add any extra lights onto it due to the way that it has been designed, but trust me, it is jawsome. I could honestly write about all of them forever, but thought it best to stop here so that you can go grab a coffee. At the end of the day, they all take superb images, but you need to make sure that you are in the best possible conditions to make the most out of each device. I’ll write more to explain each set-up individually very soon. Until then, feel free to reach out and ask me any questions. Helping is my middle name so just reach out if you’d like some help. Look forward to seeing you all very soon. Maria