GoPro are a legendary name in the action camera world; with a long line of models that are similar to the substantially cheaper Akaso cameras, but which are better in overall quality.
With the popular line of GoPro Hero cameras currently going all the way up to the Hero 10, you can save money by buying an earlier model, such as the the Hero 9, which was only released in late 2020.
The GoPro 9 is a formidably powerful action camera, being the only one that can shoot in 5K video resolution and snap 20mp photos with it’s beastly 23.6 MP sensor.
Although the underwater casing must be purchased separately, it costs under $50 and makes the Hero 9 waterproof to 200ft / 60m
Other cool features include image stabilisation, super slowmo and digital lens modes that allow for wide, linear or narrow shots.
So, it sounds pretty cool and that’s because it is; but for us there are some disadvantages when considering a GoPro Hero as a cheap underwater camera.
GoPro Hero cameras are designed as generalist action cams – arguably more for use on land than underwater. However their high overall quality makes them pretty expensive.
What this means is they don’t have any underwater specific features despite being as expensive as cameras that do have features such as underwater light correction, optical lenses and underwater shooting modes.
So if you’re serious about using purchasing something to capture underwater videos and photos with, you’d be better of spending the same amount of money that a GoPro Hero 9 costs on a more dedicated underwater camera such as the Sealife Reefmaster RM-4K or the Olympus Tough TG6.