Notes from the Studio

7
20
2010

iPhone 4 goes underwater





 

Recently my vacations have been very water based. I think my kids might be part fish, they never want to leave the water. We were in Lake Tahoe this past  weekend. Usually, my camera gear is stranded on the beach as I spend most of my time in the water. I could get high end underwater gear but this is a vacation not work so I wanted something small and fun.  Therefore, I ordered an Aquapac 104 Phone/GPS Case from L.L. Bean ($30) for my iPhone. For the most part, the case worked great. My iPhone didn’t get wet or damage. The material that the case is made out of gives a slight softness to the photos and videos, which I didn’t mind.  At the end of the day, you really need to clean the Aquapac case with soap and water to keep it clear. 

When I was out of the water I was able to take photos and video without a problem. Once the camera was in the water I couldn’t get the iPhone screen to respond to my touch. I’m not sure if this would happen in warmer water like Hawaii. The water in Lake Tahoe is ice cold. In order to take video I started recording before going under water and that worked fine. I used iMovie on the iPhone to edit the movie. It’s amazing that the whole thing can be captured and edited right on the iPhone. Above is a quick movie I made with my kids.

You can see the video on Vimeo or Youtube

http://vimeo.com/13491167

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCBnbHhbGOU

Comments

  1. Avatar

    Erik Tonnesen

    Peter, Thanks for sharing the family outing with us. When you used the Aquapac 104 Phone/GPS Case how deep did you take it? I noticed the manufacturer states it can go down to 15 ft. I ask because my wife and I are going on a cruise to the Caribbean (traveling light) and I would like to use my iPhone 4 to take some underwater shots/videos of aquatic life. Mainly in the 1 ft depth range. Would you recommend it? Thanks!

  2. Avatar

    Erik I took it down to about 7 feet and it worked great. Remember what I wrote above about not being able to take photos. Not sure if it was the cold water.