Best Underwater photography accessories for GoPro Hero 13

The latest GoPro Hero 13 Black is packed with impressive features, but it was not specifically designed for scuba diving. While the camera is waterproof, it cannot withstand high pressure without additional accessories. Below is a quick overview of the best and most essential accessories you should consider for your Hero camera if you want to capture stunning videos and photos underwater.

Housings

It may seem obvious, but you will need an underwater dive case for your GoPro Hero 13, as the camera itself should not be taken deeper than 10 meters. GoPro’s own dive case is a reliable option; their Hero 13-compatible Protective Dive Housing, which also accommodates many older Hero Black models, can be used underwater down to 60 meters. This affordable case will be enough for most users, but it is by no means the only one available. There is a sizeable 3rd party market for GoPro housings, and here at MDC, we’ve decided to stock two alternatives: By Isotta and Weefine.

The Isotta Hero13 housing is an impressive deep-diving case designed for the latest GoPro cameras. Made from a solid block of aluminium, this double-seal housing is rated for depths of down to 200 meters. Even with this death-defying rating it is not that much bigger than the original GoPro-made one and weighs only 200g on land. It does cost almost 10 times more than the original plastic housing, but it is worth it if you are planning to do any technical diving or just want to look super cool with a bright Ferrari-red housing.

The latest 3rd party GoPro housing (at the time of writing) is the Weefine WFH-GP1. This housing has a few interesting features that the other companies are not offering. Firstly, it can fit both GoPro Hero Black and DJI Osmo Action cameras. The different models of cameras are firstly inserted into special inner sleeves before going inside the housing. The GP1 housing also has a space for an extra battery. A 18650 li-ion battery can be inserted into a slot at the bottom of the housing and a cable is plugged into the camera charge port. A powerful 18650 3400mAh battery can more than double the filming time with the camera. All this makes the housing a bit bigger but that is not always a bad thing. Holding the GP1 housing in your hand feels more like you would be holding a regular compact camera.

Filters

GoPro has been steadily improving the colour and white balance settings on their cameras. However, even with these advancements, they cannot fully overcome the laws of physics. To achieve more vibrant and balanced underwater footage, physical filters are still essential. In clear water on a sunny day, the latest GoPro 13 performs well down to depths of 6-8 meters without a filter. Beyond this depth, adding a filter can significantly enhance and balance the colour of the footage. 

Mike’s Dive Cameras sells the Backscatter Flip system for GoPro cameras. We think this is the best on the market currently. The key feature is the possibility of bringing two separate filters into a dive and then flip/fold them away when not needed. The current Flip13 two filter kit includes a "dive" filter for shallower waters and a "deep" filter designed to work down to around 24m. Lots of other types of accessories are also available for this modular system. The Backscatter Flip13 system currently works with the GoPro Protective Dive Housing and the Isotta GoPro 13 Housing.

Trays

Most divers I encounter use their GoPro with a stubby handle or a selfie stick of some sort. But even with the improved image stabilisation of the Hero 13 camera, the footage can end up looking shaky, especially when filmed with a long stick. Your best bet is to get a sturdy two-handle tray that adds mass and stability to your footage. There are plenty of different ones available and most of the standard underwater camera trays can also be used. Here at MDC we also offer a few tray/handle systems specially designed for GoPro and other action cameras. Here are a few good examples: AOI MDS-01 modular GoPro Rig or the Bigblue Extendable GoPro Tray. The Tray/handle system also functions as a base to add lights. (more about lights later)

Lenses

Why would you need an extra lens for a GoPro camera you may ask? Isn’t it really wide already? The answer is both yes and no. The Hero 13, when used out of the box on land, can capture footage at a wide angle of 140 to 150 degrees (diagonal, in 4:3 mode, depending on the camera settings). However, once it's placed inside a housing and used underwater, this wide-angle significantly narrows to about 90 to 100 degrees due to the magnification effect of water. Additionally, wide-angle lenses behind flat ports will experience aberration issues underwater, resulting in a loss of sharpness at the edge areas of the frame. If you are looking to record crisp super wide-angle footage with your GoPro, an external lens is needed. A lens like the AOI UWL-03 that fits the standard GoPro dive case, works almost as spectacles for the camera and allows up to 140-degree wide-angle views. As a bonus, the corners stay sharp and the minimum focus distance is shortened. For the Weefine GP1 housing a lens (called WFL14) will also be available soon.

Action cameras were never really designed for macro photography underwater, but there are close-up lenses available. The GoPro Hero13 is a fixed-focus camera. It works perfectly for distant objects but from about 30cm and nearer the image is not anymore in focus. To focus close, an underwater macro lens (a glorified magnifying glass) can be added to the front of the housing. There are a few on the market but by far the best one is the Backscatter Macromate. Just remember that as the camera does not focus, it is quite hard to estimate the right distance. Backscatter includes a little ruler with a lens that helps to find the right position. It is not easy though.

Lights

When you see underwater photographers with big lighting rigs in water, they are not doing it just to look professional. Even in crystal clear tropical waters, once you go beyond 10m, most bright colours are gone. Venture deeper and the footage is all blues and greens. There is nothing a filter or editing software can do beyond the 20-meter mark. The only option is to bring light with you. Lots and lots of white light.

It is not possible to sync a strobe with GoPro cameras so the only remaining option is a video light. A video light is a bit like your dive torch but bigger and better and most importantly has a wide beam. A dive torch is usually a spotlight with a beam angle of around 8-15 degrees. GoPro camera's angle of view is 90-100 degrees (in water, without extra lenses). Now most of us can probably guess what the footage will look like when you combine these two. Yes… a bright over-exposed spot in the middle and dark everything else.  A decent up-to-date video light will not only illuminate the scene better but also often come with higher-quality LED light sources that reproduce bright colours even underwater.

There are heaps of video lights on the market, but it's important to understand a few key points when selecting one or two. Firstly, water is dense, and diffused light does not travel well through it; as a result, the light's output (often measured in lumens) will only effectively illuminate nearby subjects, typically within a max range of 1.5 to 2 meters. 

Secondly, regardless of the power of the video light—no matter how much it resembles a car's headlights on land—it is likely to appear dim and underwhelming underwater. Don't bother with underpowered lights.

Finally, be cautious about the manufacturer's lumen ratings. For instance, if an 8000-lumen video light with a 2-hour battery life is priced at £120, something is likely amiss—it simply isn’t feasible. Choose a reputable brand and expect to pay around £70-80 for every 1000 lumens. Our most popular video light kit for GoPro cameras remains the Bigblue VL4600 dual kit. For those who need something truly powerful on a tight budget, check out the new Kraken LTD12000.