Cage Diving with Great Whites... What camera?

incanthropy

incanthropy

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Hi everyone,

Sometime this year I will be heading to South Africa to visit friends and also to conquer my fear of sharks. Specifically Great Whites. I recently saw an amazing shot of a Great White in B&W and it got me thinking that I want to photograph these amazing creatures (from within a cage of course!)

If anyone has any info on a great compact they would use for this kind of photography that is under £500 I would really appreciate it.

Cheers,

Inc.
 
for a really great photo you'll need a housing and wide angle lenses, underwater photography and cheap don't mix. But for a compact have a look on amazon for anything with a housing. Fuji and Cannon make great ones, but that ability to shoot in RAW is vital. AWB doesn't do well under water.

But if you've never been in that environment before you'll be thinking far to much about everything else to take great photos.
 
Rent something out there.

You basically want light underwater and the compacts ain't great at that. For a fraction of your £500 you should be able to rent something that will do a far better job.

Better yet - why not just experience it and buy pics later? They are going to be better than anything you'll get first time out plus you'll see what's happening.

BTW it's your call but personally I wouldn't dive in a cage. Shark attacks on humans have gone up massively in the areas where they cage dive. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/06/22/116244/shark-cage-diving-stirs-controversy.html
Plus it's much more fun to swim free with them.
 
boyfalldown said:
f****** scary though, especially when you ain't planning it
Click to expand...

Oh yeah :D

Actually it wasn't the Great White that worried me. It was the Zambezi (on another dive). Easy way to tell the difference is a Great White will generally swim away from you....
 
JonathanRyan said:
Oh yeah :D

Actually it wasn't the Great White that worried me. It was the Zambezi (on another dive). Easy way to tell the difference is a Great White will generally swim away from you....
Click to expand...

we had a big tiger come and investigate us a couple of years ago in Bonnaire...... I didn't even remember to take my camera out of my pocket ;)
 
Cheers for the advice guys. I'll probably dive twice then. First time just for the experience and the second time I'll rent equipment and get some shots.
And I'd need to be in a cage, I'd be too scared otherwise!

Inc.
 
You're pretty safe in a cage. There was an increase in shark attacks in areas where cage diving is popular, but a lot of experts put this down to chumming to attract the sharks. I think this has been banned, or at least abandoned. Surfers seem to be at some risk too, although it's not clear if that's because the surfboard resembles a turtle from below, or just because they spend a lot more time in the water then most people. We're not a natural prey species for sharks, but I suppose that's not much consolation if you do get targeted................

You could mail some of the shark diving operators - a lot of them are in the Hermanus area - and ask for their advice. Alternatively, go to http://www.outdoorphoto.co.za and register - painless - and post questions on their forums. The owner, Hedrus Van Der Merwe, is a professional wild life photographer and he's a good guy to get in touch with too. There's a lot of local knowledge on the site.
 
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