I want to upgrade. But what should I upgrade?
A light for underwater photos and videos is usually the single most effective upgrade you can purchase for your setup. It can take your photos and videos to the next level by dramatically improving the colors your camera captures.
Without using a light, most shots deeper than 4-5 feet are simply blue / green. Once you introduce lights, you start revealing the true colors of marine life and the reefs, producing much better images and videos.
If you are a photographer, and don’t shoot much video, a strobe is usually the way to go.
Strobes are traditional camera flashes, which fire once when triggered. Underwater strobes are waterproof flashes outside of your camera housing – this means that they require something inside the housing and connected to the camera to relay the signal to “fire.” This is called a flash trigger – in the case of compact cameras, the trigger is usually the camera’s built-in flash. In mirrorless and DSLR setups, it is sometimes an independent flash trigger.
If you’re a videographer, or shoot lots of videos in addition to stills, a video light can be a better option.
GoPro users often fall into this category – users who shoot a mix of photos and videos.
If you like your GoPro setup and want to improve your colors, a tray and video light is a great option.
Check out this deluxe package with dual 4200 lumen video lights. This is an example of tremendous upgrade for a GoPro user, much more valuable in our opinion than upgrading GoPro models, for example.
If you’d like to move on from the GoPro ecosystem in general, the next step up is something in the high-end compact range. We like both the Olympus TG6 and the Canon G7X III at a medium price point in this range, and at the higher end of the range we like the Sony RX100 VII.
Check out this comparison between the TG6 and the G7x III, here.
- Native Lenses vs. Wet Lenses for Underwater Photography – December 20, 2023
- The Complete Guide to Practicing at Home for Underwater Photographers – October 4, 2023
- Best Strobe for Underwater – The Ultimate Strobe Guide (Updated!) – June 29, 2023