Since moving to New York from Wisconsin I’ve been visiting Rockaway Beach. Until recently, my perspective was always from the shore or a jetty. In pursuit of a deeper connection, I began to explore water housing options for my camera to shoot directly from the water. Some options required a rather substantial investment and others were more economical. After much deliberation, I ended up going with the Ewa-Marine U-BXP100.
Before deciding on the Ewa-Marine U-BXP100, I had looked at custom made options from SPL, AquaTech, Ikelite and other housing providers, products like the DiCAPac WPS10. I wanted the quality of an SLR, but also explored point and shoot cameras for ease of use and mid-level pricing. The functionality, flexibility, and security of the expensive housings appealed to me, but the investment was too high.
One perk of having the Ewa-Marine U-BXP100 is allowing yourself to use multiple cameras with a variety of lenses. After my first day in the water with the Ewa-Marine U-BXP100, I realized there was no need for the straps and removed them for future shooting. Depending on your needs, one could retrofit the strap system, however I decided to do away with it all together. Even after removing all the air from the camera bag, it still floats to the surface. Weights are needed to take the camera below water. Another nice feature of this product is it’s ability to keep the front glass connected to the lens which is great, because it eliminates vignetting, but be sure you have the correct lens rings. It came with a 77mm lens ring, but the best fit for the lens I use most frequently required a different size ring. The Silica packs that come with the bag are incredibly helpful. Knowing I would be shooting in a high humidity environment, the packs inserted in the camera bag will not only remove moisture while your gear is in standby, but will also prevent fogging when the inside heats up and water temps are cold.
As for the challenges, zooming is difficult due to minimal elasticity in the pvc and setting adjustments aren’t easy, but fairly useable with careful attention and practice. I’ve learned that it is best to set the camera settings before going in the water. The camera body I use most frequently sits low, even with the specially profiled foam padded blocks, making the shutter hard to reach and the viewfinder inaccessible at times without manipulation of the bag. The bag features an imprinted plastic ring on the back that gets in the way of both my viewfinder and the screen. Although the accordion-like lens housing appears to accommodate a wide variety of lenses, the reality is most wide angle lenses and fisheye lenses will not work and larger lenses such as a 24-70mm shrink back into shape causing you to shoot at around 50mm.
While this camera is a great mid-level product for photographers, as in all art, the form also impacts the final product. I quickly learned some valuable tips while shooting from the water during my first sunrise surf session. First, I love shooting with a wide angle lens and getting as close to my subject as possible. When shooting surfers and when shooting in a pool, I try to stay close to the surface to capture the best quality light available. It’s helpful to be mindful of the clouds when shooting underwater and make adjustments to your settings according to the light available. The quality and transparency of the water definitely makes a difference. I shoot mostly in manual, but set my camera to aperture priority with an exposure adjustment around +1, when shooting various depths from the pool.
Being patient is extremely valuable as is taking time to framing your shots. This comes, of course, after being comfortable in the water and the environment you are shooting from. In my case for shooting surfers, this means understanding the marine life, the tides, and the surfers. I also learned to fine tune my settings before going in the water. I shoot in white balance cloudy or daylight mode, with a low ISO, an aperture generally between f8 and f16, a higher shutter speed: 1/125th or 1/250th. If you have access to a swimming pool, it’s great to get a practice session in shooting from the pool.
Overall, I am happy with this product and the quick learning curve that comes with it. It keeps my camera dry and safe and is easy to get used to. Great value, given the price point of this camera! I think a high-quality hard case with a large domed port will give you technically better photos, but unless you are a working professional selling a ton of underwater photography, I think it is pretty hard to justify the cost. If you do hope to shoot with a hard case one day, the EWA Marine U-BXP 100 housing is still a great way to start with water photography.
