When it comes to underwater photography, preparation is a major factor and it can determine whether your dive trip is a successful one or not. Learn the necessary preparation needed for your camera, and how to enter the water safely without damaging your equipment.

Pre-Dive Check

Ensuring that your camera is securely sealed within the underwater housing is one of the most important things in underwater photography. Make sure that the housing is leak-proof by submerging it into a pail of water first. This process is crucial – if sea water permeates through the case, it may damage your camera. Here’s How to Prep Your Camera and Accessories for Your First Dive.

Besides ensuring that your underwater housing is sealed properly, you will also need to secure your accessories such as filters, strobes and bungee. It is difficult to retrieve loose items once you are underwater, and losing your equipment could be costly.

Before your dive, check on the underwater housing depth limit to make sure that you don’t dive beyond it. If you want to dive deeper, then get a housing that allows you to do so. Use a dive computer to measure the time and depth of a dive to protect yourself and your equipment. The Canon Waterproof Case WP-DC55, for example, is dustproof and waterproof up to 40 metres, perfect for recreational diving.

It is important to pay attention to your suit and equipment by making sure that there are no protruding objects. These objects, if protruding from the camera, may injure you underwater. If you are carrying sharp objects, they may damage your equipment including your camera.

The ways to tying a knot underwater differs slightly from our normal everyday ones. From bowline, figure 8, sheet bend, square knot to double half hitch, you can use these to secure a surface marker or dock a boat.

On the Dive Boat

When you have done all the preparations that are required, then it is time for the dive. Before you jump into the water, note that you should never enter it with great force, because the force from the jump may damage your equipment. Hand your equipment to a boat assistant or your buddy, descend slowly into the water, and then retrieve the equipment from him/her.

If there is no one available to help, then hold your equipment close to your body and slowly enter the water. In this way, your equipment is protected and less likely to be damaged by the kinetic force and the water.

Choose to use back roll (smaller boats) or giant stride (larger dive boats) entry techniques as the more effective ways to enter the water. You may also opt to use the boat’s ladder if you are not used to the mentioned techniques.

Explore the underwater world with PowerShot G7 X Mark II

With powerful performance and fast speed, the PowerShot G7 X Mark II is perfect for underwater photography. Equipped with DIGIC 7 Image Processor and a 20.1 Megapixel CMOS sensor, the camera delivers sharp images even under low light conditions. Photograph passing school of fish effortlessly with its high-speed continuous shooting of up to 8 frame per second and never miss a shot again.

By ensuring that you’re prepared for the dive, your underwater photography adventure is off to a good start. To help you further, here are 5 Crucial Camera Settings to Ensure Sharp Underwater Photos, and 10 Tips to Get You Started in Underwater Photography.

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