The drone market is currently on a boom with aerial drones being the most popular. But what about those people who desire to go underwater, is there a drone for them?
The short answer is yes. There are underwater drones for scientific research, investigating shipwrecks, fishing or just exploring aquatic nature.
In this article, we are going to introduce you to the best drones for underwater photography and videography.
Best underwater drones
PowerVision PowerRay
Powervision Powerray is among the best underwater drones you can get for professional or recreational purposes.
The Powervision powerray takes the shape of a fish making it move easily underwater. It is also an easy-to-operate drone even for people who just began their drone journey.
The drone offers you high-quality 4k videos thanks to its 95 degrees field of view camera located at its front. There are also two flashlights on either side of the cameras to provide some light.
You can view the videos you are recording using the VR goggles which are included in the package. However, if you want to record the highest video resolution (4K/24p), connect the drone to your phone using a 70m cable which is also included in the package.
Powervion Powerdolphin
Powervision Powerdolphin is a sister to the Powerray mentioned above.
This underwater drone takes the shape of a dolphin and behaves like one too.
The Powerdolphin is partially submerged in water when sailing through the water. This makes it ideal for viewing what lies on the surface of the water.
The camera which is placed at the front of the surface water drone rotates up to 220 degrees to view below the surface.
4K videos from the Powerdolphin are streamed wirelessly to your smartphone which is connected to the controller. Videos can also be recorded into a memory card for later viewing.
iBubble
IBubble is a completely autonomous underwater drone that borrows most of its technology from aerial drones.
Some of the interesting features in the iBubble include follow me, obstacle avoidance, circle, and dive.
You can operate the underwater drone by wirelessly connecting it to the smart control for a maximum distance of 25m. Either way, you can use the 60m cable included in the package.
If either of the options does not work for you, you can operate the drone handheld.
On the flip side, iBubble does not have an integrated camera but is compatible with GoPro 3 or higher.
Chasing Gladius Mini
Chasing Gladius Mini is a yellow underwater drone that can go to depths of up to 100m.
This ROV is equipped with 5 rotors making it very agile in the water and friendly for beginners.
The Gladius Mini has a 4K image-stabilized camera that records high-quality videos and photos. There are two LED lights on both sides of the camera that helps in improving the picture quality of the underwater drone.
The most interesting features of the Gladius Mini are the tilt-lock and depth-lock which gives you amazing angles when exploring the ocean.
With a long battery life of up to 2 hours, you are guaranteed to finish whichever task you intended to do with the Gladius Mini underwater drone.
Navatics Mito
Mito is the first underwater 4K drone camera from Navatics with 4 propellers for maximum stability.
The most interesting feature of the Navatics Mito is the use of a wireless communication buoy.
While most underwater drones are connected directly with a cable, Navatics Mito uses the buoy to stream 1080p videos on your phone. The communication buoy is also used to send back instructions from the touchpad.
This underwater ROV also has pitch control which locks the camera 45˚ up or 45˚ down. This helps in giving you a closer look at the coral or inspecting the underside of a boat.
Qysea Fifish V6
Qysea Fifish V6 is an omnidirectional underwater drone that can be helpful for underwater search and recovery.
This underwater ROV has 6-propeller thrusters which make the drone move in any direction.
To make it easier for beginners to control the Fifish V6, you can connect it with a VR headset and the underwater drone will move in the direction you move your head. This brings a feeling of being underwater.
A camera is placed at the front of the ROV alongside two LED lights. At the back are a cable connector and a fin on top around which the cable can loop.
At the bottom is the tool mounting point which attaches tools such as a robotic arm, fish clamp, fishing net, and a retrieving hook.
Geneino Titan
Geneino Titan is a 4K underwater drone that boasts 6 powerful propellers and a depth of up to 150 meters.
The camera gives you a 160˚ wide angle view and the footage can be streamed directly to your smartphone in 1080p resolution. There is also an option of VR goggles to give you a first-person view experience of sea life.
Geneino Titan underwater drone has an additional robotic arms feature that is useful when searching and retrieving things from deep waters.
Check out this video by SoMuchTech for more underwater drones;
Conclusion on the best underwater drones
Gone are the days when underwater drones and ROVs could only be used by scientists and for military purposes due to high costs.
This list consists of the best underwater drones that are cheap for anyone to buy.
If you are a drone lover and you have not tried underwater drones then you are missing a lot.
