SeaLife’s SportDiver case turns your smartphone into an underwater camera. Recordings can be made at a depth of up to 40 meters.
The iPhone accompanies a diver down to depths of 40 meters and photographs the underwater world when it is in the SportDiver SL400-U housing from the manufacturer SeaLife. In this way, the photos and videos can be processed immediately after they appear and posted on Instagram & Co.
The underwater housing can be adapted to a smartphone using knobs. According to SeaLife, iPhone 7 and newer will work, but so will Android devices. Even an iPhone Pro Max fits in. The SportDiver case therefore takes up more space in the luggage than it first appears. In the test we used an iPhone 13 Pro.
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The case is operated via five buttons. The commands are sent via Bluetooth to the special (free) photo app further, which is available for iOS and Android. This falls short of the possibilities offered by the iPhone’s camera app: We missed the macro switch and ProRAW in particular. After all, the SeaLife app delivers files in the classic RAW format, which is a must-have for subsequent white balancing.
SeaLife underwater case for smartphones (7 images)
The SeaLife SportDiver SL400-U smartphone case is not designed for splashing around, but for water depths of up to 40 meters.
Results shows our Instagram channel. Especially a few photos with the SeaDragon 2500F diving lamp, which is available in a set, were a good success. The lamp offers power, only the arm is short and inflexible.
When taking photos with the iPhone, we benefited from the large display – a real advantage over underwater cameras. Before diving, it gets more cumbersome: switch on the case, make a number of settings and pump air out of the case for the vacuum density test. After closing the case, the iPhone stays on with the SeaLife app in the foreground. On longer trips to the dive site, the preparations are therefore better made at the site, which is not always optimal. After all, the app turns itself off after one, three or five minutes, so that the iPhone battery was still full even after two dives. The two AAA batteries in the case for the Bluetooth connection last a complete diving holiday.
Manufacturer: SeaLife // Dimensions: 21.34 × 5.59 × 12.45 cm // Weight: 680 g // Scope of delivery: case, adjusting knobs, color filter, hand strap, sealing rings, lubricant, pump, moisture capsule, 2 AAA batteries, Bag // System requirement: iOS 13 // Price: 299 €; SeaDragon 2500F dive light kit: €769
When we dived for the first time, we still had a queasy feeling, since we not only entrusted an expensive iPhone to the SportDiver case, but also the data it contained, such as important bookings, tickets and contacts on vacation. However, diving expert SeaLife did a good job and earned our trust.
