Selfie Stick for Underwater (including saltwater) Use

[WanderingSoleImages]

Hello, I am a nature videographer and I recently bought a used underwater camera to begin experimenting with a whole new world of possibilities in filming! I want to buy a selfie stick to use with it. It'll mostly be used in fresh water, however, I do live near the coast and saltwater use is going to happen also. Does anyone have experience and recommendations for this? Thank you in advance!

[Manfred M]

Most of the members here are primarily still photographers and very few of us venture underwater.

Your question is quite broad and the answer will vary based on what you are trying to do. I have spent a lot of time underwater as a scuba diver (well over 300 logged dives) and have done some underwater video work. What are you trying to do, how deep under water are you planning to shoot? What are you planning to do to prevent you from losing your gear (waves, surge and current are often problematic close to the surface).

Salt water versus fresh water; there really isn't much difference here other than the amount of time to clean out the gear to prevent damage from salt recrystalization. The generally means more care and rinsing the gear in fresh water to get all the seawater out. Any low cost steel is attacked by salt water (as is aluminum) and will rust quickly unless it can be disassembled and dried out completely.

Depending on the depth you are looking at using the device, you don't want any stick that has sealed components that will get pressurized under water as that can lead to lock-up of functionality.

If all you are planning to do is to stick it in a few centimeters / inches of water, just about any device that is solid enough to hold the camera phone in water should do. Just make sure that the phone is held securely and tethered to the operator and that the stick and phone can be cleaned and dried successfully.

[WanderingSoleImages]

Thank you for the reply Manfred. My primary intention, especially in the short term, is to film scenes that are just under the surface of the water - schools of tadpoles swimming around in local lakes, spawning salmon in the nearby rivers, etc. I'm also thinking of trips I have made to the Gulf Islands and walking around in the saltwater shallows there. There were all kinds of fish, crabs, etc to be found. These are the types of things I would film. As well as future snorkling outings in both fresh and saltwater.

[rpcrowe]

The selfie stick that I have uses batteries and has a bluetooth connection to my phone.

I don't think it would survive immersion in water of any kind...

Perhaps an inexpensive underwater camera might be your best bet.

I have a Fuji XP-60 which runs around $50-75 USD used on eBay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Na2-a7W-Mw

You could take a one inch wooden dowel and drill a hole in the end into which you could cement a 1/4 x 20 screw and use that to attach a cheap ball head such as this. Thoroughly rinsing the ball head might allow you to use it again and again.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-Metal...sAAOSwZyJdTGlM

You could attach the camera to the ball head but, not activate the camera remotely. However, you could turn it on before immersing it.

The quality of the imagery from the Fuji is not great but, not all that bad. I use the Fuji XP-60 for pool pictures such as this...

[Manfred M]

Thank you for the reply Manfred. My primary intention, especially in the short term, is to film scenes that are just under the surface of the water - schools of tadpoles swimming around in local lakes, spawning salmon in the nearby rivers, etc. I'm also thinking of trips I have made to the Gulf Islands and walking around in the saltwater shallows there. There were all kinds of fish, crabs, etc to be found. These are the types of things I would film. As well as future snorkling outings in both fresh and saltwater.

In that case just about any stick will do, so long as there are no electrical connections with the phone. Those won't do well in water. The case has one important benefit; it allows some air to sit between the camera lens and the underwater environment, which is optically important (think about how clear your vision is when you open your eyes underwater). The one thing to remember is that things that are underwater will appear to be approximately 1/3 larger and 1/3 closer to the camera than they would in air, thanks to the index of refraction of water.

Keep your gear clean, especially the o-ring on the phone case, otherwise you can get water leaking in. Depending on the camera specs that could either be disastrous or not have any impact. The other thing to watch for is fogging, if the temperature of the body of water you are shooting in is cold, there can be condensation issues.