NOV 26, 2022
As mentioned in the title, we are aiming to produce reasonabe quality photos or video footage on a budget.
If image/video quality is not a concern, then just purchase the cheapest camera you can find in the market
and read no further.
If you are starting out or simply don't have sugar mummy/daddy to sponsor those expensive gears,
here are my recommendation to have a relatively inexpensive setup.
A. UW Photography (Macro/Supermacro) with price estimation in USD
1. Get a Seafrog brand UW camera housing. Cheaper than big brands but totally useable. [~USD200]
2. Get a compact camera. Make sure Seafrog has the UW housing for the compact camera brand/model. [~USD400]
3. A narrow beam torch light(min 1200 Lumens)[~USD100]
4. A macro wet lens /diopter. (+10)[~USD200] *Not required if you are using Olympus TG-4/5/6
5. Any cheapest UW strobe(flash) that you can find. Enough power for macro.[~USD200] *Start with one pc, two would be better.
6. A budget UW camera tray with arms,clamps, fibre optic cable. [~USD200]
With the above setup recommendation, you will definitely capable of achieving competition level photo quality for macro/supermacro. A highly "professional photographer" setup usually costs at least 3-6 times more. See setup example below.
Setup example below : UW Photography (Macro/Supermacro)
B. UW Photography (WA - Wide Angle) with price estimation in USD
1.A compact camera with a Seafrog UW housing.[~USD700]
2.A UW wide angle wet lens. (min 120 deg UW) [~USD400]
3.A good/mid range UW strobe. You need as much light as possible for WA. [~USD600]
*Start with a single strobe. Can get another later of if you can afford it.
4.A budget UW camera tray with arms,clamps, fibre optic cable. [~USD200]
With the above setup recommendation, you will definitely capable of achieving competition level photo quality for wide angle.
A highly "professional photographer" setup usually costs at least 3-6 times more. See setup example below.
Setup example below : UW Photography (Wide Angle)
C. UW Videography (Wide angle and close-up macro) with price estimation in USD
1.A mid range action camera with UW housing.(min 4k30fps) [~USD350]
2.A bright UW video light. (min 5000 Lumens)[~USD500]
*Buy the brightest video light that you can afford. Its never enough.
3.An UW wide angle lens for action camera. [~USD350]
*Only available for GoPro at the time of writing this. Helps with close-up focus as well.
4.A budget UW camera tray with arms,clamps, fibre optic cable. [~USD200]
5.Red filter (for blue waters) / Magenta filter (for green waters) [~USD30]
With the above setup recommendation, you will definitely capable of achieving social media quality videos.
A highly "professional photographer" setup usually costs at least 5-10 times more. See setup example below.
Setup example below : UW Videography (Wide Angle/Macro)
To reduce the setup cost, consider purchasing older models / used gears. (no more than 5 years old)
Bear in mind that a proper underwater photography/videography gears is just a starting point to produce a reasonable quality outcome. It does not guarantee the result. You have to learn how to utilize the gears to get the result.
Someone who knows how to utilize a USD5000 setup will still produce better quality videos/photos than someone who has no idea how to handle a USD50,000 setup.
Final tips :
1.If you want to shoot everything, Macro/Supermacro + Wide Angle Photos + Videos with minimum investment. SETUP B is the best option (add a couple of cheap no brand video lights).
2.Almost all amazing photos/videos that you have come across have been post-processed.
Learn how to post-process image/video and you will get stunning outcomes.
Happy shooting !