Underwater housings

Using Housings for Underwater Photography

---

Your hotel and flights are booked, luggage is packed, and your camera gear is organized and ready to go. You are all set for an amazing tropical vacation where the breeze is always warm, and the water is so crystal clear you can see it all the way to the bottom. But are you really set as far as camera gear goes? You may be forgetting one piece of equipment that will take your images to the next level when traveling to coastal locations, and that is an underwater housing.

Are underwater housings expensive?

I know what you may be thinking to yourself, underwater housings run into the thousands of dollars and can cost more than the vacation itself. That is true, but you do have some affordable options to keep your DSLR or mirrorless camera and lens dry and still capture breathtaking underwater images, for example, the Ewa-Marine U-A underwater housing system is more affordable at less than $300. And since the Ewa-Marine works more like a dry bag, it is much simpler to use as well.

How do I select the right underwater bag?

Know the filter ring size of the lenses you will be using. The bag housings are designed so that the lens pops into the front support, keeping the lens securely pressed against the rigid part of the bag. You can buy additional rings that allow for different size lenses to be used with one bag.

What type of lens do I use for underwater photography?

A wide-angle lens like the Tamron 17-28mm F2.8 for full-frame mirrorless cameras, or the 11-20mm F2.8 for APS-C mirrorless cameras, are good choices for underwater photography. They are compact lenses that fit nicely in a housing and provide a larger field of view to capture as much as possible when close up to your subject. Another choice is a macro lens, 1:2 or 1:1.

How do I take underwater photos?

• The best time of day for underwater photography is between 11am and 2pm when the light is bright and overhead, resulting in more vibrant underwater images. Any earlier or later, or on cloudy days, will cause your images to look darker and flat.
• Take photos during low tide, or less than 10 feet, if possible since water absorbs light and color. For example, 20 feet, red is no longer present. Shooting in the shallow water will give you a more vibrant result.
• Use color correction filters. Since water will change your color balance, your images can tend to look blue. A red filter can counteract the blue color cast. Before purchasing a filter, be sure to know what cast the water has (blue as in the tropics or green as in lakes and other seas).
• Shoot close to your subjects, at eye level for the best composition. However, wait for the fish to come to you. Do not chase, touch or otherwise harass sea life.
• Use a higher ISO to ensure you get a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the motion of swimming subjects.

How do I prevent water drops on the housing?

If you intend to take photos half in / half out of the water, you may have water droplets on the portion of the housing that is not underwater. To prevent this, there are several recommended methods:

• Always make sure your housing lens port is free of dust and debris.
• Lick the lens port to spread spit evenly over the entire acrylic element and let the spit semi-dry for 5 or 10 minutes before submerging the housing. Chewing a mint or eating an apple before licking the port will aid in the effectiveness of the spit.
• Rub the juice from an acidic fruit, like an apple on the port.
• Use anti-water Droplet Gel

Is taking underwater photos hard?

Practicing in the hotel pool before heading out into the water to snorkel or dive and photograph sea life is recommended. While an underwater housing is a relatively simple device, if you’ve never used one before, you will definitely miss shots of a lifetime if you don’t familiarize yourself with it first.

Practice loading and unloading the camera into the device. Leave a little extra air inside the bag, because the deeper you dive, the more pressure there will be. The extra air you leave in the bag will prevent it from acting like a vacuum and wrapping tightly around the camera and lens.