The Special Marine Camera

The people that use genuine marine digital cameras are those where it is usually used in the course of their work as these cameras are very expensive Studying the life below the surface, a marine camera is only normally within the realm of marine biologists and other nautical scientists Waterproofing a camera is not an easy thing to do so many, so called, marine cameras aren’t really designed for that type of work

I for one would love to look for a marine digital camera to buy but this is not likely to happen and I really don’t go into the sea often enough to make it worthwhile.

There aren’t that many manufacturers of these weatherproof digital cameras owing to the problem of water ingress into the cameras case and the pressure they have to work under. Some of you may have seen or tried the cheap solution to this problem that comes in the form of a plastic casing. This type of casing will turn your conventional digital camera into an marine digital camera.

There are a few things you need to be aware of if you are taking photos underwater.

Water diffuses the light and the farther down you go the more this diffusion occurs. This means that your marine digital camera will produce images darker than those images you took while on land so to avoid this, use white balance adjustment to help with natural colors. You will also notice when you see the pictures taken underwater that they appear larger than they should; this is part of the magnifying effect water has. Many novices make the mistake of not checking the viewfinder carefully to make sure they are going to take a picture containing exactly what they want in the final shot.

You don’t want to have a camera that leaks when you go underwater so before you dive, check that the case is waterproof by holding it below the surface for a few seconds. Especially check the seal to make sure that a grain of sand or even a hair hasn’t broken the seal. Small silica gel packs can be useful if they can fit in the case without causing an obstruction.

Optional lenses are often available so if you can add these to your marine digital camera then do so. It is possible to get really close to some subject for great close-up shots using a macro lens.

The seals on the marine digital camera need to be kept clean and free fro contaminants so ensure the camera is thoroughly rinsed of when you return to the surface. In particular where sand is present then a stream of water to rinse it off is best.