The Best Underwater Camera Gear For Skilled Amateur Photographers

Chelsea PomalesReady to flip your camera into manual and start exploring your options? Advance your underwater-photography skills with our Editor's Pick for amateurs.
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1. Lowepro DryZone DF 20L Bag
Safeguard your sensitive photo gear with this padded, compartmentalized dry bag. $164.95; lowepro.com
2. Light & Motion GoBe 850 Wide
This small light pumps 850 lumen and has a 60-degree beam in water for even lighting when shooting stills or video. $199; lightandmotion.com
3. Olympus PT-056 Housing
Add a housing to the TG-4 for depths of up to 150 feet. This one accepts a wide range of accessories, including wide-angle and macro wet lenses, and a tray/handle for attaching strobes or lights. $299; getolympus.com
4. Ultralight Control Systems Tray, Handle, Arm and Clamp
Make your rig easy to hold while shooting. $119.95; ulcs.com
5. XIT 404 Dive Stick
Helps stability or holds your position in current. $15 aluminum; $18 stainless steel; xit404.com
6. Olympus Stylus Tough TG-4
This compact camera packs a 16 MP sensor, is waterproof down to 50 feet, shoots RAW, records full HD video, and has a microscope mode for photographing even the tiniest critters underwater. $349.99; getolympus.com
7. Olympus UW Wide-Angle Conversion Lens
Expand field of view to 100 degrees for shooting wide-angle scenes, from reefscapes to whale sharks. $529; getolympus.com