Best Mirrorless Cameras for Underwater Photography
Many underwater photographers have seen the rise in popularity of mirrorless systems over the last couple of years, and now most of the photographers I know have made the switch to a mirrorless camera for underwater photography.
There are many features that draw photographers to this type of system, and you don’t have to sacrifice image quality or autofocus speed.
Understanding mirrorless cameras
What makes these cameras ‘mirrorless’ is the lack of a mirror mechanism in the camera body. Instead, they use electronic viewfinders and shutters. There are some common benefits to a mirrorless camera system, including:
Silent shooting
As you no longer have any noise from the mechanical shutter, these cameras ‘click’ silently.
Lightweight body
The reduced weight and size of mirrorless cameras make them much more suited for travel and keeping the cost of underwater housings down.
Compared to a DSLR, mirrorless cameras are often smaller and lighter. There are fewer space requirements and associated weight in an electronic viewfinder compared to a traditional mirror mechanism.
This is great for weight saving, especially as we underwater photographers like to travel, and every gram counts when you’re packing diving and camera equipment into your suitcase.
If you can reduce the weight of your camera body, lenses, and underwater housing due to it being a smaller mirrorless size, then you could save plenty of money when traveling in the future.
Electronic viewfinder
The benefit of an electronic viewfinder (EVF) is that you are able to see a live view of your photo through the viewfinder, and this changes as you adjust your settings, which can be incredibly useful for exposure and being able to see your photo in real-time.
I think this is the feature that really makes mirrorless cameras a stand-out option for underwater photographers. It can be challenging to get your exposure right underwater, as a lot of the sun’s light is absorbed in the first few meters.
Histogram viewing
Another bonus feature is that you can see the histogram on your viewfinder, allowing you to perfect your exposure as you can see both your image and histogram in the viewfinder at the same time!
Fast shutter speeds
A general improvement of mirrorless systems is the faster speed of the frame rate and shutter.
It’s worth noting that we often use strobes when taking photographs underwater, so a very high shutter speed isn’t always that useful. Many cameras have a limit on the sync speed which is usually around 1/200 or 1/250.
There are High-Speed Sync systems that can enable you to get a higher sync speed with your strobes, but they are available at an additional cost.
Negatives to consider
There are also downsides to mirrorless cameras, despite their many perks. One, in particular, is issues with the battery power.
This does not affect all of the cameras, but the nature of the electronic viewfinder means that mirrorless cameras do use more power than a DSLR just to function.
The battery life is often around 400-600 shots, so we just need to be mindful of the battery life, I find my EM-1 MII lasts around three hours when I’m using it for underwater photography.
The main factor here is that we must be mindful of our battery use and utilize power-saving settings and sleep modes because we can’t just carry an extra battery and swap them underwater!
Best mirrorless cameras for underwater photography
In no particular order, here are some of the main cameras in the mirrorless market to consider.
These are all popular with both professional and amateur photographers, and you can find many award-winning underwater photographers using these systems.
Canon EOS R5 – £3,799; 738g
This Canon is one of the most popular mirrorless cameras to buy, with an impressive 45MP full-frame CMOS sensor with 5-axis image stabilization. It has improved dual pixel autofocus with 5,940 AF points.
This system also features an animal eye AF detection system, which is proven to work on birds and pets but has a lower success rate with fish.
The R5 has dual card slots, one CF and one SD, plus impressive video capabilities. Capable of capturing 8k video at 30p and 4k/120p, it is a great all-rounder with excellent image quality and video quality.
But such impressive stats come with a high price, and this one comes in at £3,799 for just the camera body. The weight of this camera body is 738g.
Sony A1 – £3,499; 737g
This is the flagship of the Sony camera series with a 50MP Exmor RS stacked CMOS sensor.
This is by no means the highest megapixel sensor that Sony produces, but combined with the impressive video quality, it makes this camera a force to be reckoned with.
Shooting video at 8k/30p and 4k/120p, it matches the Canon R5 on video while producing a slightly higher quality image. The weight of this camera body is 737g, just a gram lighter than the Canon. So, on paper, these systems are quite well matched.
One feature that is certainly more appealing on the Sony is the flash sync speed. With an underwater strobe sync speed of 1/400 with the mechanical shutter and 1/200 on the electronic shutter, this is one of the highest sync speeds available.
The system also boasts lightning-fast AF with 759 phase-detection points and an AF system that recalculates 120 times per second. This works alongside the animal eye AF to help keep your subjects’ eyes in focus.
Although a relatively new feature, this seems to struggle with tracking fish on most camera systems.
Sony A7R V – £2,699; 723g
This is where the Sony cameras have the market, with an impressive 61MP and the Exmor RS stacked CMOS sensor. This is one of the highest resolution cameras you can buy an underwater housing for.
Such a high megapixel count makes this camera perfect for macro photographers and cropping images.
The impressive image quality does mean that this camera is lacking in the video department, with capabilities of just 4k at 30p compared to 8k/30p in many other mirrorless cameras.
But this is reflected in the price, with this body around £1,000 cheaper than the flagship Sony A1. If you’re solely a photographer and don’t do underwater video, then it’s a great way to save some cash.
Like many other cameras, this Sony features animal eye AF tracking and a 1/250s flash sync speed. In my opinion, this is the perfect camera for a macro photographer, offering high image quality and high sync speeds.
OM System OM-D EM-1 Mark III – £1,599; 580g
The OM System cameras are what we formerly called Olympus, but a name change doesn’t mean a drop in quality, as they continue to make excellent cameras.
The EM-1 Mark III has slightly lower megapixels than some of these other cameras, with a 20.4MP live MOS sensor, but that is reflected in the price.
Once you’ve added in the costs of lenses and an underwater housing, this is a much more budget-friendly option, especially compared to the flagship OM1, which has the same sensor and video quality of 4k/60p for around £1,000 less.
This system is classed as micro-four thirds (M43), meaning that you can use any lenses compatible with M43, including those from OM System and Panasonic Leica.
Like most of these mirrorless cameras, it comes with 5-axis image stabilization and around 420 shots per charge.
This system also has some fun features, including the ability to do in-camera double exposures, where you can see an overlay of your chosen frame at 50% opacity to be able to shoot your double exposure, and a high-res shot mode at a whopping 80MP.
A tripod would be needed to get the most out of the high-res shot mode underwater.
Panasonic GH6 – £1,350; 823g
This is a great budget option for those underwater photographers who also like to have the option of great quality video. The GH6 shoots at 25.2MP with a high-sensitivity MOS sensor and is capable of capturing 5.7k video at 60p or 4k at 120p.
This is another micro-four thirds camera with access to a range of lenses from the OM System, and with 5-axis stabilization built in to keep that video nice and stable!
This is one of the few mirrorless cameras to have an in-built cooling fan, and with the reputation early mirrorless cameras had for overheating, Panasonic seems to have thought of everything to keep the camera cool.
But the extra fan does make it heavy compared to other M43 cameras, weighing in at 823g. The GH6 also features a high-res shot mode, slightly beating the EM-1 Mark III with 100MP and the ability to work handheld.
I would still recommend a tripod underwater to get the most out of this setting.
Nikon Z8 – £3,299; 910g
Hailed as the mini Z9, the Z8 is a great all-rounder if you have the budget. It has nearly all of the features of the flagship Z9 at a lower price and smaller size. It’s certainly the choice for many award-winning underwater photographers, and I can see why.
The Z8 shoots 45.7MP images and has the ability to capture 8k video at 60p and 4k at 120p. If you aren’t already sold on this camera, it also has one of the most impressive tracking systems, with 3D tracking and an updated AF system.
This one seems to be able to track fish underwater better than most other cameras on the market.
The flash sync is 1/200s, and that’s the standard across the board here. There is the option to add an aftermarket high-speed sync system to this camera if you need more than the 1/200s sync speed.
In conclusion
There are plenty of options for mirrorless cameras in today’s market for underwater photography, but be mindful of the newer cameras, as camera housing manufacturers do take a little bit of time to develop a housing for a brand-new camera!
As with most hobbies, camera choices are often restricted by budget, so it’s worth spending some time adding up all your accessories and making sure you can get the best quality camera body and lenses possible.
Most systems have an AF tracking feature, which has limited success with fish, as these tracking systems are designed to work best on land with subjects such as birds, people, or pets.
Fish aren’t quite as easy to detect, especially if it’s a little murky underwater. But like most things, I’m sure this will improve with time.
You can expect 5-axis stabilization, at least 4k/30p video, and a 20MP image in all of these cameras, which will be plenty of quality for most situations.
The main things to consider are always what features suit you the most: is battery life more important than camera weight, and do you prefer photography, video, or a bit of both? There’s something for everyone, and maybe even a few more features than you expected!
