The SeaLife SportDiver S is a new underwater housing designed to protect smartphones down to what for many recreational divers is the standard diving limit of 30m. Based on the previous SportDiver model, it is said to be compatible with all iPhone (including Max sizes) and most Android phones.
Also new from SeaLife are two new dive-lights (below).
Made of polycarbonate, stainless steel, hard-anodised aluminium and optical-grade glass, the SportDiver S housing weighs 641g and offers almost-neutral buoyancy when submerged, depending on the phone inside.
The SportDiver S has a spring and rubber grip tabs to hold different-sized smartphones securely in place and provide additional shock-protection. The housing automatically connects to the phone using Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) 5 wireless technology.
A large shutter-lever and rear control buttons were designed to make operation easy even when wearing dive-gloves, says Scubapro, which distributes SeaLife products in the UK and Europe. This enables control of camera settings such as photo/video, zoom, exposure adjustment, auto/manual focus, white balance, lens selection and RAW/JPEG mode.
The interior is said to protect sensitive components and electronics from damage should any water droplets get in as the door is opened after diving. An SL911 Moisture Muncher capsule can be used to prevent fogging.
The housing incorporates dual leak alarms, indicating internal moisture and monitoring internal vacuum pressure. A pre-dive pressure test provides an on-screen warning should the waterproof seal be compromised.
An optional colour-correction filter can be added or removed during a dive if required, while optional lenses and a 52mm/67mm lens mount are also available. The SportDiver S housing comes with SeaLife SportDiver camera app for iOS and Android.
The set-up can be expanded using Sea Dragon underwater photo-video lights and wide-angle / macro lenses. The SportDiver S has an accessory-mounting bar with three standard 1⁄4-20 tripod mounts.
Power for the SportDiver S comes from two AAA batteries said to be able to provide more than 50hr continuous use. The housing measures 21.3 x 12.57 x 5.48cm externally and 16.5 x 8 x 0.97cm internally but phone model compatibility can be checked using a fit guide on the SeaLife website.
For comparison with the existing larger and heavier SeaLife SportDiver Ultra, that model has a 130m depth-rating, includes a red filter and has seven accessory mounts. The Sealife SportDiverS is priced at £249.
SeaLife Sea Dragon Mini lights
Also new from SeaLife are two dive-lights, the Sea Dragon Mini in 1600- and 1200-lumen Power Kit forms.
The compact Sea Dragon Mini 1600 is depth-rated to 100m and uses a Luminus SFT-40 LED. Designed to combine brightness with a narrow long-range spot beam (4.5° under water), this makes it suitable for long-range viewing and pointing out sea life to other divers.
The light has an anodised aluminium body and is designed for one-handed operation when cycling through its five modes – full-power, half-power, quarter-power, 1sec blinking and SOS.
An 18650 3500mAh li-ion battery and USB battery charger are included. That battery is said to deliver a 1hr run-time at full power. There is a charge indicator and a safety pressure-release valve to relieve pressure build-up should a battery be damaged. The Mini 1600 costs £180.
The Sea Dragon Mini 1200 Power Kit is priced at £160. It too uses a Luminus SFT-40 LED, and offers a narrow, focused spot beam, with a 6° underwater beam angle. The battery is an 18650 2600mAh unit but a 108min runtime is attainable at full power if using the 3500mAh battery.
Also on Divernet: SQUEEZE BIGGER PHONES INTO LATEST SEALIFE HOUSING, COLOUR-CORRECTION FOR DIVERS USING PHONES, PHONE SURVIVES 5 MONTHS UNDERWATER IN A SEALIFE HOUSING
