Underwater photography is an expensive enterprise and it is difficult to find both educated and unbiased gear advice. Most people doling out the tips fall into two categories:
Strongly opinionated but not especially qualified.
Qualified but with a bias, either because they sell the gear, or because they have strong personal or business relationships with those who manufacture the gear.
At this moment in time, as a professional underwater photographer with no sponsorships or strong relationships with anyone who makes underwater camera equipment, I feel like there is some helpful information I can share. I’d still highly recommend looking around and doing further research, but hopefully this can be a useful read for those with question marks over what gear to choose.
First off, let’s take a look at housings.
Despite any fancy marketing, housings are actually a pretty boring part of your set-up for underwater photography. They won’t help you take better pictures, and aside from how ‘sexy’ they look on the dive deck, the main reason people talk about housings is because something went wrong with them. They are an absolutely vital item of gear, and yet, the better the housing, the less you have to think about it.
I have operated Nauticam housings since I started, and have now owned four of them, encasing an Olympus EM5, Nikon D7200, Sony A7Rii, and Nikon D850. I’ve never had a big flood, a few drops of water at most, which was quickly picked up by the housing sensor. They have allowed me to operate pretty much impeded, and the headline is I have been happy with Nauticam and would recommend the brand.
Here’s the details…
“What’s a naughty cam daddy?”
Why Nauticam? Well, when I first tried a ‘proper’ underwater rig in Lembeh and it was in a Nauticam housing. Quickly hooked on underwater photography and wanting to get my own set-up, I was introduced to a Nauticam dealer in the U.K.. From then on, I was in the Nauticam clan, and the truth is you will be heavily tied to whichever housing manufacturer you choose. This is more of a practical rather than an emotional statement. You see, the thing is, over time you will probably cycle through a few camera housings as you decide to change camera. In each of those cases, you will (painfully) have to shell out for a new housing that fits the new camera. You will, however, be able to use the same ports and viewfinders from one camera to the next, as long as you stick with the same housing manufacturer. Those macro ports, wide-angle dome ports, and viewfinders, are expensive too, worth hundreds, if not thousands of pounds. You will need a very fat wallet to jump from one housing manufacturer to the next. Housing manufacturers are a bit like the mafia in that way, once you’re in, you’re in for life. Witness how housing manufacturers have a tormented relationship with underwater photography competitions. The Underwater Photographer of the Year used to win a £5k Nauticam voucher. I imagine they stopped doing that because the winners weren’t switching to Nauticam! A £5k voucher gets you a high end housing, with a little change left over. You need double that to get a selection of ports and extension rings to get yourself a really ‘pro’ rig from scratch - the maths just don’t add up if you already have a working set-up that is taking the level of shot which can win UPY. Another example, I won a $2k Seacam voucher, I went through their product inventory, focussing on accessories, the only thing I could use it for which would work with my Nauticam set-up was a video light.
As such, a housing brand will have to severely let you down for an underwater photographer to make the switch to another brand.
Bearing that in mind, here are my qualms and negative experiences with Nauticam:
Nauticam housings come in ever-fashionable black, with a beautiful sheen out of the box. Somewhat excruciatingly, that sheen very quickly rubs off in just a few dives. It’s a bit heart-breaking when you’ve just bought the thing, even if it doesn’t affect performance at all. With time, I quite like my gear to look a bit rugged, evidence of the many adventures is has presumably been along for, but that shiny gleam sure does come off quick on a Nauticam! I have also had white lettering for buttons fade over time, but that’s over years of use so I can live with it (hopefully by that time I actually know where the buttons are and what they do).
The handle on my Nikon D7200 housing tore and eventually broke off. I was actually at ADEX just after that happened and shared it with the people at the Nauticam stand. They explained that they there was a fault with some older handles, and gave me a new pair of handles free of charge, so I can’t complain really and have had no further handle issues. I also had a rubber gear wear out and break on the inside of the D7200 housing, meaning I could no longer change shutter speed. This was quickly fixed by a dealer, and hasn’t happened again, on any housing, so I’m prepared to consider it an anomaly.
On the Sony A7Rii, one of the ball mounts where I attached the lanyard wore away its thread and would no longer attach securely. We have had go through several DIY solutions on that, and I think there is a fundamental problem with the way in which the ball mounts are secured by a metal plate, from the housing to the handle. I have not had any such issues with my other housings. My sense is Nauticam has grown fast and ambitiously, delivering a lot of housings, fast. I think there have been a few production issues along the way, but their volume has also allowed them to quickly identify fundamental issues with the products and correct. My Nikon D850 housing has been used more intensively than any other housing I’ve owned, over the last three years, and it is still functioning flawlessly.
I have heard other pros say they prefer the robustness of other brands in the field, where if in a remote location there is no way of easily fixing or getting another. “You take care of your gear but you’re not too precious about it”, was how a client described the manner in which I handle my gear. My Nauticam housings, especially the D850, have put in a good shift in some fairly challenging environments, and so far so good.
My sense, even as a monogamous housing brand user, is that at this moment in time, we are blessed as a community of underwater photographers with more reliable housings than ever before, with multiple brands delivering excellent products. Aquatica, Isotta, Ikelite, Nauticam, Seacam, Subal…etc (that’s not meant as a comprehensive list, so don’t get fussy)…we as consumers are in a golden era for housings, but just remember, choose carefully, because once you’re in, you’re in!
Some additional thoughts:
If I take a step back and imagine that I was investing for the first time now, one of the most crucial aspects in my housing decision would be compatibility with the Nauticam W.A.C.P.-1. Housings are boring, but the line of water corrected lenses/ports that Nauticam has built, and this one in particular, are really game-changing. The W.A.C.P.-1 is my go to lens of choice (I wrote a blog on it a way back, and may have to write a follow-up). I heard Seacam has an adapter port to add those lenses, and don’t know about other brands. For me, the ability to cater for the W.A.C.P.-1, would be an essential consideration if looking at a housing.
Please get a vacuum installed on your housing and use it. Yes, I know they work without them, but it is the ultimate peace of mind and will save you from human error. You just spent thousands on your rig, get the ultimate insurance and use a vacuum.
“Hmm the vis isn’t looking great today.”