Yes you will have to hold it in portrait mode to take portrait photos and videos for reels, but I did that for most of my videos for reels! Just make sure you have the strap attached to your wrist for extra safety and stability when you're filming in portrait 😁
It depends on how frequently you dive and the conditions in which you seal your phone into the housing, but you can tell when to replace the moisture muncher when the vial changes from blue to pink (I need to replace mine before my next dive!)
@@jokkie007 You should be okay for a few days of snorkelling with one moisture muncher! Just make sure you follow the steps to ensure your housing is sealed properly and keep an eye on the colour of it each time you take your phone out of the housing. I hope you get some amazing photos and videos! 😍
@@matthewlippert6864 the housing will drain your phone battery more than usual while connected, as you’ll be using Bluetooth and it needs your phone unlocked and (ideally) at full brightness the entire time you’re using it. The housing does put itself and your phone into a sleep mode when you don’t use the housing for a few minutes, but you wake it up by pressing one of the buttons. This helps save the battery a bit. My phone has never died whilst in the housing though, even after a full morning of diving. If you are doing 3+ dives throughout the day, I would recommend removing your phone to charge it, as well as switch off the housing, to replenish the battery and also to stop any overheating that might occur. Just be careful when removing your phone on a dive boat; clean the housing thoroughly before opening and ensure no water gets inside 😁
@@justwandermaya I should really have AppleCare+ but I don’t 😬 I have travel insurance which covers my tech, but not specific phone insurance. I would definitely recommend insuring your tech, especially when diving with it! I just take the risk, not the smartest!! 😂
I had already purchased this case (SportDiver Ultra Smartphone Housing because it will fit my Google Pixel 8 Pro, many cases would not) before I saw your video. Thank you! it was very nice to get another overview (I'd also watched the videos by SeaLife) that simply and clearly explained how to use the case. I had previously purchased a competing case by Kraken because of a blog article from Google. I sent that one back because it felt quite heavy to me. Literally took it out of the box, hefted it and went 'no' and put it back. Now, that is not a thorough comparison review but I will say yes... these cases are heavy for a reason, they need to perform at depth. That said, the SportDiver Ultra is lighter than the Kraken and that matters to me since I prefer to travel light/take only carry on. I was very happy with the customer service from SeaLife when I called to ask them questions (many questions) and as Maddie has so clearly laid out, the camera comes with the red filter, wrist band and all the things you want to get started. It's perfect for me and I'm very excited to give it a try in my upcoming trip.
I’m so glad you found my video helpful! I hope you love using it as much as I do! Have fun using it on your trip! 😍 The weight of underwater housing, like you’ve mentioned, can be quite an important factor for some! Not only for travelling lightly, but for comfort while holding. You don’t want to be putting extra strain on your wrists when you’re already going to be carrying around heavy scuba equipment!!! Thank you for sharing your reasoning and experience with other housing models, I’m sure other viewers will find this helpful too 🥰
I've been using this case for the Google Pixel 8 Pro for 12 dives now and I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed. The case itself is beautifully made, but what I find really annoying is the software, which hardly supports the excellent capabilities of today's smartphones. I can't use the pixel 8 pro's great macro mode, night mode or, particularly sadly, the panorama mode. It is precisely because of this smartphone's ingenious capabilities that I bought this case. That's just a question of software. this really should be fixed. Without being able to use these special skills, I can also use a GoPro. very unfortunate. Kind regards
@@AtraxJoe great point! I think the only thing that lets down the product is indeed the app. I’ve had no problems using it, but it definitely could be more advanced to allow other smartphone capabilities. I’ve seen some people mention the app isn’t great for what they need it for too. Hopefully they will work on a major update for this soon!
@@EvripidouM I would check the product description first, but I'm pretty sure it will! You get the little rubber pieces that can be used to make sure most phone models fit tightly inside the case so they don't move. I hope this helps!
It's roughly the same compared to the newest GoPro model, depending on where you buy from. I shop secondhand where I can, and you can get a good deal on tech! I also prefer to have my content readily available on my phone, rather than exporting it from the GoPro app. The GoPro is still a great option if you're not wanting to take your phone underwater 😄
@@yoeri2451 Yes, the alarm goes off when it recognises a pressure leak, which you’ll be able to hear underwater. Sometimes it doesn’t go off when you actually open the housing to remove your phone, but it will flash at you. So I presume the case knows the difference between a leak and when you’re taking your phone out completely? I’m not sure! But opening it out of the water has set the alarm off before. When I was in the Maldives and I was pressurising the case on the beach before our dive, the seal wasn’t tight and the alarm did go off twice. It was due to me not putting enough lubricant around the o-rings. After that, I sealed and pressurised it for the third time and it was completely sealed with no alarm. Hope this helps! 🥰
@@maddiehowarth Thanks for this reply. I did see the LED flash red, but the alarm did not go off. The same happened with my Sportdiver, so i was wondering if this was normal. I thought that by releasing the vacuum with the valve i would simulate a leak where the alarm should go off. The alarm did not go off, but the LED did change to red. In my opinion this is a bit odd, so I just wanted to perform a quick check.
@@yoeri2451 perhaps try and test your housing by sealing and pressurising it to trigger the timer, then release the pressure from the valve at the top. This should trigger the alarm and test that it works. The alarm went off for me during the sealing period, and I presume it would go off if there was a leak after sealing properly. The alarm may not go off when it’s not been pressurised.
Nice vid. Thanks. I was wondering at what stage you do all the post-preparations....just at the accommodation or when you get to the dive shop or even only when you get in the boat? I am trying to assess how long I will have to do without my phone when I go on a dive...:).
Hi, thank you! I would definitely practice assembling the day before a dive so you are confident with the set-up. I set up the housing while on the dive boat. I would give yourself at least 20 minutes to set up properly, as if the housing doesn’t seal the first time round, you have to wait another few minutes for the housing to do a seal test again. It depends on how long it takes you to get to your dive destination, it took us 45 minutes by boat so I had plenty of time to assemble it before prepping my dive equipment. Make sure your phone is fully charged before the dives. I wouldn’t recommend sealing your phone inside until an hour or less before the dive, as your phone and the housing will just be wasting battery life. I would also recommend keeping your phone inside the housing in between dives so you’re not rushing to try and re-seal after your surface interval. I hope this helps! 😊
Finally a real review, there are so many posers who test an underwater case by putting it in a sink or pot of water. There are so many losers reviewing products they don’t use or have any idea how to use, thank you Maddie.
I’m so glad you found this helpful! Thank you for your kind comment, it made me smile 🥹 I will never review a product or service that I haven’t used and genuinely loved using, so I’m glad that this has come across in my first review video! Please let me know if you decide on this case and what you think of it too! 💕
This video is exactly what i need!! Currently planning my first diving trip and have an iphone14pro just like you and have the access to buy this case in the dive shop that I’m doing my course. In think i’ll get the case and hopefully take amazing footage just like you.!! Thanks a lot for the video! Will do the dive in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
Aw this makes me so happy! I'm really glad you found my video helpful! Good luck with using it on your dives in Costa Rica, that sounds like a dream place to dive! 😍 Let me know how you get on with it!
Loved this, thank you! ❤ If you were doing a few dives would you set the case up as shown, complete the dive, take the phone out of the case and redo the entire process for the second dive (maybe an hour later) or would it be safe to leave it in the case until the next dive? I’m assuming not because of the varying pressure? Thanks!
A great question! It depends on how much time you have in between your dives and if you are able to rinse your case thoroughly before your next dive. I personally kept my phone inside the case for multiple dives, as we only had two dives in the morning with a half an hour surface interval in between. If you have time and are able to clean it, you can definitely take it out, as this can help save the batteries, but make sure you leave yourself enough time to set it all up again, as it takes a while to get your phone in the case and connected, then at least 3 minutes to repressurise the case. Your phone and the case go into 'sleep mode' when you don't use it for a few minutes, which helps save the battery life of your phone and the case. However, you will need to keep an eye on your phone's battery if you are diving all day and make sure it is fully charged before you put it in the case and start your dive. Otherwise, it might not last for the duration of your dives. I've not had to change the batteries in my SeaLife Sportdiver case yet, it does last a while! I hope this helps! 😁
Hi, thank you so much, that means a lot! In the underwater videos shown in this video, there isn't an extra light source. However, I did have a dive torch with me on most dives and made a makeshift torch attachment to the housing. I used the torch when I was diving around caves or in lower light conditions, but the footage in the video was all filmed in 5-10 meters of open water, so the sunlight was enough. The footage shown is also unedited to give you an idea of how it really looked underwater. I hope this helps! 😁
Awesome review! Thank you, and can you please let us know what depth that amazing video footage was filmed at and if you used any lighting configuration and such?
Thank you, I hope you found it helpful! The majority of the footage shot for this video was filmed around 10-20 meters deep. I had a DIY lighting set up, which was a lot cheaper than buying strobes, so I will do a video on this for you soon to show you how I did it! ☺
