SeaLife SportDiver Smartphone Housing Review 🌊📱🐠 | BEST SMARTPHONE HOUSING ON THE MARKET?!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 พ.ค. 2024
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Use the time code for navigation:
0:00 - Intro
5:58 - Test footage taken with iPhone 13 Pro in SeaLife SportDiver Smartphone Housing
8:56 - What I like about this smartphone housing
15:59 - What I don't like about this smartphone housing
19:57 - Summery and verdict
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Good review of it mate
Your a very smart guy and know your stuff. I would suggest a summary in the first 30 seconds to 1 minute and then go into the details. Huge benefit in both. Absolutely incredible shots. I would love to see your subscriber base grow to 100k+
Thank you mate. I really appreciate your feedback. Interesting point with the summary at the beginning. Don’t you think people would then just stop watching after the summary?
Great review, you have made my mind up for me. Great stuff
Glad I could help 😊
how does this one compared to the Divevox
I recently made a comparison video. This should answer your questions: th-cam.com/video/AOh3cicYHmo/w-d-xo.htmlsi=mUmlR2n0mvB3CbfO
I used to think having battery slots was bad for the environment too! But then discovered they're actually better. If you think qbout it, you could actually use lithium AA and AAA batteries and just re-charge as needed. When it looses its capacity over time as batteries do, instead of having to get a new case or having it dent to repair, you get to swap it for another one and down cycle the battery to a TV remote, or some other device that needs less juice. Using standard AA, AAA, and 18650s is the usb-c of batteries. So now I try to get devices that use them 😎
For the batteries i sisagree. If they last a dive or 10-20 the removable batteries are way better as an integrated battery can die and then your unit is dead.
thank you for your review for this product , did you used the diveroid housing as i need to know which is i should buy the sealife or dive roid if you can help me with your suggestion
No, I haven't used the Diveroid housing, so I can't really compare it to the SeaLife SportDiver housing. But to be honest my absolute favorite housing at the moment is the Divevolk SeaTouch 4 Max which I reviewed in this video a few weeks ago (th-cam.com/video/RMwuCj1264I/w-d-xo.html). Have a look. Honestly I think that's the best smartphone housing out on the market at the moment and I'm personally using it all the time.
The batteries and the little moisture bags broke the deal. I think I’ll settle for a go pro. Sadly because they were giving me the option to pay in 4 payments.
Great review.
Thanks buddy. And I fully understand. Have you looked at the DiveVolk SeaTouch 4 Max underwater smartphone housing?
th-cam.com/video/RMwuCj1264I/w-d-xo.html
Might be a good alternative to the SportDiver. This actually is my favorite underwater smartphone housing at the moment. 👌🏼
Im here because i was diving today and talked with someone who had one of these. She loved it. However, generally and especially if abroad, losing your smart phone could be a disaster. So while there are many upsides to using this I've decided to go with a dedicated housing for a already underwater camera (TG6) i have.
If that flooded i would not be in the same problematic position as with my phone. If i didnt have that camera already though, despite what ive said, i might well reconsider or just use an older smartphone (or have that asa backup)
I understand the concern for losing your phone while abroad and think that the option of using an old (backup) phone is a great idea. Personally I think that a recent smartphone model with produce better results than a TG6.
Hi, thank you for this video. Do you think that the model with the flash is required? Or with the red filter it will be enough?
This depends a lot on how you intend on using the housing. A red filter is close to mandatory in my opinion. And extra light is good to have and will certainly help, but you can get good footage even with just the red filter on.
Have a look at this housing as well: bit.ly/3nVqDaS
It is my favorite housing at the moment. 💪🏻
Hey Matthias, great video - thank you very much. I´m considering to buy that housing - using my Iphone 13 mini.... Would you recommend the set (with the 2500 light)? or would you use something else? Greetings from Austria ;-)
Hey buddy, thanks for your comment. This is a high quality housing but honestly speaking, right now I would choose the DIVEVOLK SeaTouch 4 Max Underwater housing (th-cam.com/video/RMwuCj1264I/w-d-xo.html). The simple reason is, that this housing is allowing you to use the smartphones touchscreen which in my opinion is a game changer. And it's cheaper too. 😉
@@MatthiasLebo why would you do a good review on SeaLife then suggest something else ?
Were you using the red filter in your shots? Thank you.
Yes I was, at least in most of them.
I bought de SL400, and my phone Samsung Galaxy 22 Ultra+ Have a lot of video preferences.
If I Go to the preverences on de sportdiver it have only standard pref. photo 12mpx , video 4K 30fps
I cannot use the pro pref. from the phone.
The pref. in your video is not on my sportdiver.
What can I do ?
Great reviews Matthias, thank you
See if you’ve got the latest version of the SportDiver app on your phone. I’ve never used it with an android phone, but even on the iPhone not all camera settings that can be changed in the phones native camera app, are available through the SportDiver app. And this might be different from one phone model to another. I can’t really say why SeaLife is keeping some settings unavailable through their app. 🤷🏻♂️
I got this housing and absolutely love it but I am looking for a simple tray with two handles. Can you recommend something that fits?
What about this dual handle tray: bit.ly/3QfobIF
Thanks! That’s it
Is there any way to use it with native iphone camera app and not the sealife app? Thanks
unfortunately not.
Can't you use rechargeable AAA batteries for the housing?
You can, yes, but it means you have to bring an extra charger with you. Just would have been more convenient to have a rechargeable battery back build into the housing.
The main point for me is that it means trading a smartphone + an action camera for a smartphone + a housing that cost as much as an action camera. There is still important issues on the housing, like the app delay, heat dissipation problem and after all it doesn't take the full potential of the smartphone cameras. Doesn't worth it in my opinion.
I see what you're saying buddy and agree to most of it. This might not be the perfect underwater housing for smartphones, but it isn't bad either.
The latest one I've tested is this one here: th-cam.com/video/RMwuCj1264I/w-d-xo.html and it ticks a lot of the boxes. For me this is the best smartphone housing on the market at this moment.
I’ve watched a few reviews on iPhone housings, and was wondering which smartphone housing is your favourite for underwater photography using the iPhone pro 13?
I don't really do much photography underwater, but the SeaLife SportDiver is my favorite underwater smartphone housing.
@@MatthiasLebo thanks for the reply! Really enjoying your content!
Thanks for the feedback buddy. Glad you’re getting something out of it. 😉
I recently started using the SportDiver with iPhone 13 Pro Max, and I have one main issue: my content (photo and video) is much blurrier than yours, even in similarly clear shallow water. It’s especially noticeable in video at the edges, where it seems to focus in center and then blur at lot at the edges. I noticed your sample footage at (6:39) is doing this too, but the rest is great. Do you recommend avoiding certain lens selections in app, or avoiding autofocus, or am I just too wobbly?
(I know this is an older video, but hoping I might still get a response!)
Hey Kyle,
Thanks for your question. Let me guess. This problem only occurs when you use the wide lens on your iPhone, right? The problem is that the light's refraction changes from air to water and therefore the wide lenses need a wide angle conversion lens to be sharp all the way to the edges. From what I know, there isn't such a lens specifically made for this housing. Easy fix is not to use the wide lens when using your iPhone in the SportDiver housing. This should get rid of the problem.
I hope this helps?
Cheers
Matthias
Yes I think that does! I’ve also been struggling with, quite frankly, completely unreliable autofocus. Above water the iPhone is great at at focusing on a person or obvious subject regardless of other things in frame. In the water, I find if there is “any” particulate/debris in the water, focusing on a person/reef/fish/wreck is impossible to guarantee, but sometimes still happens randomly (say 2/10 attempts). It’s rendering the housing basically unusable. Manual focus seems to not work at all. Any tips?
You just added another subscriber. Love the content :)
Unfortunately there is not much you can do here as this housing simply doesn’t support any manual focus. The only thing that might help is video lights to properly light your main object, but that’s not always easy underwater. Have you had a look at the DiveVolk housing? It allows you to use the phones touch screen and therefore also touch focus.
th-cam.com/video/RMwuCj1264I/w-d-xo.html
AAA format is not the best, but if you search, you can get and try AAA format with usb c charger integrated, but they would not last so match as Duracel for instance..
Absolutely, you're right. That would be a good solution.
Filming underwater is increasingly accessible to everyone. More democratic. 😀
For sure my friend. And that’s a good development. 👍🏻
How do I get my pictures off the app to my phone
When your in the SportDiver app you need to access the footage taken with the phone and then save it to the camera roll.
Hello
What's the MOD of the housing?
40 meters
@Matthias Lebo thank you for the fast answer. Is there a housing that goes below 100m?
There are some that go to 80m, but I don't know of any to go down below 100m.
I really want to like this housing, but there are many things, which are bothering me a lot. I tested the app today with my iPhone 14 Pro and I'd like to add some downsides here: First of all the designation of the lenses. The double Tele for example zooms less than the Telephoto. For my understanding double Tele should zoom further, but maybe I have some understanding troubles. The second and more important thing is, that if the option "RAW and JPEG" is activated in the app, the app saves only the JPEG, but no RAW-image. And the biggest bummer is, that you can't control the picture size. The iPhone 14 Pro is capable of taking 48MP photos, but with this app I only get pictures with 8 to 10MP, but never 48 or at least 12 MP. The pictures also are not as sharp as I take them with the normal integrated Camera-App from iOS. One more thing is, that you can't activate ProRes Video on the newest iPhone. And another thing I asserted is, that the symbols for video and settings are sliced in half due to the new notch of the iPhone 14 Pro. So I hope they will add this necessary features and fix the issues with the picture resolutions, if so, this could be a really good alternative to big camera equipment. 'Cause at the moment the app unfortunately looks like half a product on the iPhone 14 Pro, kind of working, but not as you would expect.
Hey Markus,
Thanks for your comment and for sharing your thoughts with us. I completely agree, the housing per se is not a bad piece of equipment, but the app is really not up for the task. Back at the time when I reviewed this housing it was actually in my opinion one of the best on the market. Since then a lot of things have changed and competition has become fierce.
My absolute favorite housing at the moment - and for some time already - is the DIVEVOLK SeaTouch Max 4. Have a look here at how this housing works: th-cam.com/video/RMwuCj1264I/w-d-xo.html
With its incredible, one of a kind, underwater touch screen capabilities, it puts all the other housings well behind it in terms of ease of use and versatility and is very moderately priced. I would change to the Divevolk housing if I was in your shoes.
@@MatthiasLebo Hi Matthias! Thanks for your kind answer! I totally agree with you. Gladly I didn't bought the Sealife case, I just tested out the app without the casing, 'cause nowadays many new products which sound perfect from the start on fail when it comes to the dedicated app. I also watched your Divevolk video and I was impressed. Today I watched some additional reviews about this casing and I already made my decision for the Seatouch :) Even the possibility of using the iOS camera app is an absolut reason to buy this case instead of the one from Sealife. To give Sealife some credits: I contacted the support yesterday and "confronted" them with my sorrows and the things I think they should change. I received I kind answer saying that they are already working on the integration of ProRES and ProRAW and some other optimizations. And: "Please feel free to email us any more updates you would like to see, so we may add them to our list of app enhancements". So 5 stars for the kind support, I hope they will fix it soon, I think many people would appreciate.
Cool, thanks for the update. Glad to hear that SeaLife if offering good support and that they are working on solving the current problems with their app.
By the way, if you want to safe some extra money when ordering the SeaTouch 4 Max you can use this link which will give you 6% off: bit.ly/3nVqDaS
And on top of that you’ll help out this channel. 😉 thanks buddy. 🙏
iphone 11?
Yes, works with iPhone 11.
There is one more flaw in the software. It shoots videos at 30 fps. Although the phone has 60 fsb feature, you cannot change it.
Not true. It does 4K/60.
Too expensive for a phone case..£300 for plastic with a tiny circuit board ..Defeats the object when you can buy a GoPro for that price...should be £50 at most...
I agree it is a bit pricy, but at the time of recording this model was the best option available on the market. This has changed in the meantime and I do like this housing here so much better: th-cam.com/video/RMwuCj1264I/w-d-xo.html