Underwater Housing:
Finding the best underwater camera housing is equally as important as choosing the best camera for underwater photography. The housing provides crucial protection against water, trauma as well as pressure.
Not all underwater housings are created equal and divers should be very particular about the quality of a potential housing. All sorts of features should be taken into consideration like maximum depth, building materials, accessory ports, and internal components.
Each dive housing will be rated to go up to a maximum depth before compromisation becomes a risk. Depths range from 150 to 300+ feet. Take note of how deep you usually dive and which rating is best for you. If you should spring a leak, some housings come with a leakage alarm, which is pretty useful.
The internal components of an underwater camera housing can be physical or electronic. Electronic components may be faster and more responsive but can fail more easily. Physical components can sometimes be tedious to use but work for the most part at least. You must also consider if a housing can accommodate additional accessories, including lights, floats, and lens ports.
Build-wise, underwater housings are usually made of either high-grade plastic (polycarbonate) or aluminum. Polycarbonate is lighter and cheaper but is more prone to breaking as well as internal fogging. Aluminum is the strongest, most reliable material and can last for years but costs an arm and a leg. Aluminum housings generally offer smoother operation as well thanks to higher-quality design work.
We made the Ikelite our go-to dive camera housing because they’re relatively (big emphasis on relatively) affordable and effective. Being made primarily of polycarbonate though, Ikelites are not the most durable camera housings currently available.
If you want something supremely hardy, that can go deeper and take more of a beating, then we suggest going with Nauticam brand dive housings. Made from strong aluminum housing materials, Nauticam housings are among the best underwater camera housings currently available. They are (no surprise) extremely expensive.