Mirrorless cameras
Think you need a big camera for great underwater photos? Think again and check out this selection of underwater photos all shot on a mirrorless camera.
Technology never stops moving and this couldn’t be more true than for cameras. The most recent development for underwater photographers is the advent of mirrorless cameras. These are essentially a bridge between a compact and SLR. You get all the goodness and quality of an SLR but in something not much larger than a compact. Perfect!
I have been shooting almost exclusively with the Olympus OMD cameras, but Sony and Panasonic have great models too.
Where were we?
These images were shot across Indonesia, Sudan, Socorro and Gozo.
Find out more about underwater photography in Manado in my trip report.
What camera?
My camera of the moment is the Olympus OMD-EM1, but I’ve also used the OMD-EM5 in a lot of these shots. The image quality and lens choice rival many entry-mid level SLR options. Put it in the beautifully engineered Nauticam housing and you have a powerful, yet small set up for travel.
I’ve been using a 12-50mm kit lens, specifically for shooting on Bunaken. But it was the 60mm macro lens that saw the most action.
I took both an 8mm fisheye and 9-18 wide angle lens to Socorro and Sudan. I tended to use the wide angle more on this trip, just to make the most of the shark proximity.
Added to this was a SubSea +10 dioptre for super macro and 2 YS-01 strobes.
In Gozo, I had been tasked by the folks at Olympus to test a range of underwater camera and housings, along with Alex Mustard, Pete Bullen, Nigel Wade and Rob Spray. These included the TG1, EPM1, EPL3 and OMD EM5. All were in the Olympus produced housings. Strobes were Inon S2000 and Z240.