About the Author: Martin Stevens
Martin Stevens is an underwater photographer based in Cornwall in the UK. Showcasing how incredible underwater life is, and peoples’ connections to it, is his main passion. He takes photos mostly through freediving, but also through SCUBA or even in shallow tidal pools. His photography has won various awards, including several times in Underwater Photographer of the Year, Ocean Geographic Pictures of the Year, and DPG Masters. He is also a natural history writer and author of three popular science books. His work has been used by various organisations, from marine charities to cosmetic and travel companies, and appeared in a range of publications from dive magazines .
Website: wildlifevision.com
Instagram: @stevensunderwater
TikTok: @sensoryecology
A guest blog by UPY award-winning photographer, Martin Stevens.
The world beneath the ocean surface is magical to experience, and photography represents a powerful way to show the ocean’s diverse environments and creatures to others. Historically, underwater photography has tended to be a niche pursuit, and not always an accessible form of photography for many. Aside from the challenges of having to shoot under the water, the equipment tends to be expensive, specialist, and bulky. Yet times are changing. One key reason is the ever-increasing use of smartphones for photography and videography, alongside recent kit to use them underwater.
Smartphones represent an excellent alternative to a larger camera set up or other devices. Many of us own a relatively recent smartphone already, often capable of taking impressive photos and video, equipped with multiple lenses from ultra-wide angle to telephoto, and which (unlike action cameras, for example) can focus both automatically or manually on different parts of a scene (including close-up and far).
From a Professional Rig to a Pocket Powerhouse
Although I have a full mirrorless underwater rig, I’ve always been interested in small and portable set ups that are good for diving, snorkelling, or even use in shallow rock pools. Recently, I was lucky enough to have some photos awarded in the Underwater Photographer of the Year (UPY) competition and was able to choose as a prize a DiveVolk SeaTouch housing for my iPhone. DiveVolk were kind enough to send me not only the housing, but a full Ocean Kit with a wide-angle lens, along with their Macro +18 Pro diopter, and more recently their new Bluetooth shutter. I’d been keen to try my phone for underwater photos and videos for a while (and already use it a lot above water), so this was perfect timing. I’ve been using the set up for the last few months with my iPhone 14 Pro Max.
The Touchscreen Difference: Unlocking True Manual Control
Although many phones claim to be somewhat water-resistant, most of us wouldn’t want to deliberately dunk them in the sea without a housing. What makes the DiveVolk housing special is that you have full use of the touch screen of the phone. Not only does this open up possibilities, such as being able to make emergency calls if in trouble at the surface or using other apps for diving, but also a suite of third-party apps for film and photography. This is crucial, since to get the most out of smartphone photography/videography, you want to take control over as many settings as possible: shutter speed, ISO, white balance (but not aperture, since this is often fixed in smartphone cameras).
Versatility in the Field: From UK Seas to Mediterranean Blues
The DiveVolk housing and use of a smartphone is highly flexible to circumstances too. It is well suited to SCUBA diving, both for macro and wide angle and easy to switch between them. Given the small size of the set up, it is also excellent for freediving or snorkelling and this is how I use it most. I have used the set up in the relatively green and lower visibility waters of the UK, and the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean and it is excellent in both. Having a small size also makes the housing and lenses very useful for taking photos and videos in tight spaces, such as in tidal pools, and I have also found it excellent here, especially for macro.
An Honest Review: My Thoughts on the DIVEVOLK Kit
Having used the DIVEVOLK underwater smartphone housing for a while, it’s been excellent. Here are my thoughts on the individual components:
The SeaTouch Housing & Bluetooth Shutter
The touch screen membrane is very responsive and accurate, and beyond needing a firm press I’ve not had any issues with it. At times, having to stretch my hand across to press the screen to take a photo has been a bit limiting, and for macro, I sometimes inadvertently end up moving the phone and focus slightly too. This is where the Bluetooth shutter has been brilliant, such that I can control everything on the phone with the touchscreen, but when needing to actually take a photo or start a video, I simply squeeze the trigger.
The Wide-Angle Lens
The wide-angle lens is very good too and does a very effective job of restoring some of the field of view that’s otherwise lost when placing the camera behind a flat port and correcting for distortions. There is still some distortion in the corners (especially photographing something on the seabed), but nothing too unusual, and when shooting into the sun (something I do a lot), the set-up can produce reflections in the image from the housing, but this is a common occurrence with lenses like this. Otherwise, as with most underwater photos, the wide lens with the ultrawide iPhone camera shines best when very close to subjects and enables those classic ‘close-focus wide-angle’ shots.
The Macro +18 Pro Lens
For macro, I’ve been extremely impressed by the +18 Pro lens. Made of solid glass and metal, it gives remarkably sharp images and, at least to my eyes, with the standard 1x iPhone lens, some really nice bokeh. On the 1x lens, I’m able to take photos of things like very small sea slugs, small hermit crabs, or cushion stars. Given this camera has a 48-megapixel resolution, there’s scope to crop in too, especially with the images being so sharp. For video, the results are especially impressive to the point where I’d use this in preference to the macro video on my main camera (and a lot more easily too)! Just as with action cameras, one of the main restrictions of smartphone photography is that, at present, there is no way of using strobes with a smartphone because they can’t be triggered. So a strong video light or two is often valuable, especially for macro.
Final Thoughts & The Future of Smartphone Underwater Imaging
All in all, I’m very excited about the possibilities that are open, and being developed, for smartphones underwater. Naturally, smartphones come with limitations of their own, but recent, especially high-end ‘Pro’ models are capable of very good photos, and perhaps even more so impressive video. The photos can need some delicate editing, and it’s best to work with the RAW files since smartphones do like to overprocess images otherwise, but I’ve been really happy with many of the photos and videos I’ve been able to get so far and have loved using the housing.
