The first underwater photographic record dates back to 1856, when British adventurer William Thompson took the first picture under the sea using a camera inside a waterproof box. However, it was French photographer Louis Boutan who truly opened the door to underwater photography when he captured scientifically useful photos in the late 19th century.
How did Boutan take his first underwater photo? Boutan faced two significant challenges: pressure and light. Although Thompson had achieved an earlier underwater photo, his experiment was only a partial success. His camera could only descend 16 feet, and the resulting photograph was of very poor quality, lacking any scientific validity.
To overcome these challenges, Boutan and his brother created a camera housed in a waterproof iron box. They designed the shutter to be operated by a lever and incorporated an internal balloon to balance the internal pressure with the external pressure. They placed the camera on a tripod on the seabed while the diver submerged to operate it.
After addressing the pressure issue using their innovative box and tripod, the final challenge was controlling the light. To achieve this, they developed a sort of aquatic flash. It consisted of a glass bottle containing oxygen and magnesium cable, which could be lit for half an hour using batteries.
How does underwater photography work on phones? The first underwater photograph was taken almost 170 years ago. Today, phone manufacturers face new challenges in this area. Interestingly, modern technology has some limitations compared to Boutan’s original invention.
A photo taken with the Realme GT7 Pro.
Chinese brands Realme and Oppo are the first manufacturers to introduce an “underwater” photography mode. Users of the Oppo Reno 13 can submerge it up to a depth of 5 feet, while the Realme GT7 Pro is rated for depths of up to 6.5 feet.
The significant advancement comes from the new IP69 protocol, which enables phones to withstand high-pressure water jets. As such, it provides better protection than the previous IP68 rating. However, Realme and Oppo advise against using their phones underwater for more than 30 minutes and don’t provide warranties for any damage resulting from underwater use.
Image | Jonathan Caliguire
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