‘Well what about it?’ I hear you ask.
And my answer may be unpopular with a lot of people. In my opinion most divers take cameras into the water before they have sufficiently honed their diving skills. Destruction of the reefs aside (as out of control diver/photographers crash into it) this is a discussion on air consumption.
A camera is another piece of gear to cope with. It causes drag, is a distraction and can task load someone who still has skills such as buoyancy to master. All of these factors will cause an increase in air consumption.
With the revolution in digital cameras and housings, underwater photography is within reach of many divers and of course it is great fun. If you are concerned about your air consumption and dive with a camera, do an experiment. Leave the camera on the boat for 1 dive and see if it makes a significant difference. If so (and I believe even the most experienced photographers use more air when taking photos than diving without a camera) you have a simple decision to make – enjoy the fun of photography or enjoy extra dive time.
In time you will be able to do both but maybe leave the camera behind sometimes so you can hone your diving skills.
Of course that’s going to be the dive when you bump into a school of hammerheads, 20 mantas………..
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