GoPro for scuba advice needed

[Riaan1]

Hallo to all,

I'm considering a GoPro for scuba diving, but I'll like to speak with people already using these cameras for underwater filming before I buy anything.

Are there any experienced GoPro using scuba divers out there who will be willing to educate me?

Regards

Riaan

[stephenplumb]

.

[Paul Dold]

If I recall rated to 10m and with the R1 500 dive housing (Hero 9) 30m.
I am a Gopro user but know nothing about Scuba.

Incidentally I use the dive housing for general protection of the camera.
I have the Hero 8 and the housing cost R1 000. I did not upgrade to the 9 as am waiting
for a larger sensor which will mean even better quality pics.

This Japanese diver is excellent with decent quality footage. There is a ton of videos on Gopro.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkdBFHSiDUs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY7x-raSBXU
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAmBkfn62dY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poF-_lqwG3E

https://www.takealot.com/gopro-prote...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

[stephenplumb]

.

[NicoSmit]

You can buy a housing via Takelot that are 30m water proof this is my setup for my Go Pro 9 wich I am going to use this coming weekend at Sodwana

[PsyPhin]

Hallo to all,

I'm considering a GoPro for scuba diving, but I'll like to speak with people already using these cameras for underwater filming before I buy anything.

Are there any experienced GoPro using scuba divers out there who will be willing to educate me?

Regards

Riaan

I still use a GoPro hero 3. Very old but the housing it came with is rated to 30m. Mine has been to 50m easy.
As long as it is the GoPro brand it should be safe. I heave never heard of them flooding and even found old GoPros by Vetches pier bear Ushaka that even those the buttons were rusted, they were still sealed.
The latest ones are 10m without a cover, and 60m with cover.

I have seen many other people with off market brands and they hold their seal too for a lot cheaper.

[Impi Adventures]

Hallo to all,

I'm considering a GoPro for scuba diving, but I'll like to speak with people already using these cameras for underwater filming before I buy anything.

Are there any experienced GoPro using scuba divers out there who will be willing to educate me?

Regards

Riaan

[Impi Adventures]

Hello Riaan

I have been using a GoPro for diving since the Hero3.It’s a excellent choice for the sport.since I dive salt water just about every weekend I really put it through a tough life.

I have drowned 2 previous models (unfortunately) In both instances I took them to depth without a trademark GoPro case.

Once with a Cheapo china case and once without a case at all.

Not a big deal since I subscribe to GoPro and get a replacement for a fraction of the cost. I had to pay $ 100 since it was my fault really…Otherwise for free.
I upgraded to the latest at the time Hero9 black

They guarantee…Brake it…we’ll replace it.

For general video footage on a specific setting like wide or super wide (setting of your choice) it’s great but unfortunately it’s very difficult to change settings once at depth. So you’re kind of stuck with what your settings at.

For closeups you have to go super close if you know what I mean.
I sometimes mount my unit to my FFM so it’s hands free and records the whole dive.

My advice is getting the real McCoy GP case
for scuba 🤿 attached to a floaty the floaty doesn’t interfere with your buoyancy but if you have a accidental drop your investment doesn’t sink to DaveyJones locker.

[jaconell]

My scuba days are done but still snorkel.

My GoPro gets used for this, it goes onto the handlebars of the MX bike, fishing, hunting playing in the pool etc, etc.

Like a G-Shock Casio, it is indestructable.

You cannot go wrong.

[bones]

Just have a look at a cell phone casing like 'weefine' before you buy the gopro. I think mine was R6500. Rated for up to 80m and takes beautiful photos and video with your phone.

Obviously it is hand held so not strictly apples with apples, but I thought worth mentioning.

[Heinz Modricky]

I have some experience I can share, having sold about 800 housings, some of them which failed.

We had originally taken 2 camera housings down to a 100 meter chamber dive, no problem. All good, and then I started getting returns.

What I worked out is that the leak does not happen at depth. Generally, the way the seals are designed is that the more pressure you have on the door, the better it seals. The housings are fitted with tiny bump stops to hold the camera in the housing. Some of these bumpstops push against the door, somewhat releasing the clamping pressure provided by the locking clip.

The problem arose when the camera was left in the sun, and upon entering colder water, would create an immediate suction inside the housing, and while still swimming out to the dive site, the housing would flood (not because of the outside pressure on the actual housing, but because of the partial vacuum that would form.)

I had initially heated the housing in like 60 degree water and then submerged the housing in ice water, and it never leaked. But it was when I fitted the camera in the housing and repeated the exercise that I found leaking, that I realised the bump stops were interfering. I simply cut enough of the stop away so that it just made contact with the door. I would check that the stops are also close to the hinge and the clip, and not somewhere in the middle.

I haven't been back in the water since 2018, and if I ever did take a camera in the water again, I would just do the kitchen test before losing the camera and potential footage.

I can check if I still have a housing and camera floating around somewhere that you can have - send me a pm. Won't be 4K though.

[Hyades]

Been using a HERO3 since about 2012-ish.

I have no knowledge of the newer models, I've seen the newer ones require a more robust housing when diving. On my old one, just the standard housing works.

Not sure how many dives I've done with it, probably around 80 to 100 if I had to guess.

I'd like to get a new GoPro, but honestly, I don't use it enough to justify. I only use it for scuba. Normal day to day stuff, my iPhone works, and it's always in my pocket.

PS, have also used the old hero3 on aircraft, but that's another story.