I would be interested in which scuba diving camera people recommend before I go out and purchase one, it completely depends on what exactly you plan to do with it and how much you are willing to spend. I’m a very new diver and would just like to get some pics and maybe the odd video I’m looking to spend $300-$500.
Olympus TG5 with original housing . 2 buttons to take crisp and good macro shot, Use whatever method is easiest for you and just have fun. Having a pictures collected while treading water to help keep your mind off the waterproof camera for scuba diving.
Use the Sea Life Micro 2.0. I like it. I rarely take video. No housing to leak and worry about. Video works well when in lower light conditions. No filters to buy. Big buttons. Can use it in auto mode or select your own settings. Can set it to take 3 pics with each button press on auto mode where each one has different exposure (sometimes the over/under exposure photo is better esp in extreme light settings).
Go pro hero 4, great video but pictures can be blurry unless your perfectly still underwater which is difficult! I took it cavern diving and none of the stills turned out, but video was great, so I just do video and then take stills from the video!
As an action cam the gopro 4 or higher, Great video but not so great for pics one needs to be very still for a decent photo. If you compare the specifications the SeaLife is inferior to the GoPro 4 and 5 in pretty much everway. The small advantage of it being a sealed unit are more than cancelled by the inability to change batteries or memory. Electrical contacts can still corrode and the seals can still fail. Also third party housings are available for GoPro with better depth ratings and lots more accessories are made for them.
Your ultimate use or goal in taking the underwater photos have a lot to do with what sort of set up to use. New to diving or want a very easy PHD ( Press Here Dummy) camera? The SeaLife’s are great. You’ll also want a UW video light with either system for really good color photos or video so put that into your budget. I have found SeaLife’s service department outstanding. I shoot a DC14000 now with SeaLife strobe and video light but if it goes I would switch to the 2.0. That’s my exact reason for buying the SeaLife.