Our Selection of the Best Underwater Drones for 2019
- Robosea BIKI Drone
- Power Vision PowerDolphin Wizard Drone
- Fathom One Drone
- Power Vision PowerRay Wizard Drone
- Trident Underwater Drone
- Fifish V6 Drone
- Navatics Mito Drone
- 150 Meter Tether Titan Underwater Drone
- Can dive up to 196 feet
- Filming time of 90-120 minutes on one charge
- 4K video capabilities
- 150-degree wide-angle lens
- 32GB internal memory
- Ultra-silent (55dB)
- 4K photography and video with 220-degree dual-joint rotation
- Remote controlled up to 1000 meters for long-distance underwater drone photography
- Ultra-long-range wireless transmission of 1080P images
- Above water speed of 4.5 meters per second
- Also acts as a fishing aid by finding fish, dragging bait and bringing the fish to you
- Can generate underwater topographic maps
- HD 1080P camera
- High intensity lights for nighttime shooting
- Runs for an hour each charge
- 1.5m/s
- Works up to 150 feet
- Less than 5 pounds
- 4K, 3D video
- Built-in video stabilization
- Burst mode photo capabilities at 5fps in 12 megapixels
- 64GB memory card
- 1080P real-time streaming
- Speeds of up to 2.06 meters per second
- Up to 4 hours of diving on a single charge
- Can dive up to 98 feet
- 1080P at 30fps or 720p at 30fps with live-streaming
- 6 forward facing LEDs with 360 lumens
- 100 meter diving capabilities
- 3-4 hour dive time
- Travels at up to 2 meters per second
- Weighs 7.5 pounds
- 166 degree ultra-wide angle camera
- 4K UHD in 30fps
- 8x slow motion
- Image stabilization
- 4000-lumen LED headlights
- Full motion stabilization
- 6 built-in thrusters for 6 degrees of freedom
- Can dive for up to 4 hours - that’s a lot of drone photography!
- Can dive up to 328 feet
- 4K recording/1080p streaming
- Active stabilization system
- 4 hours of dive time
- Can dive up to 131 feet
- Can control up to 500 meters away
- Swappable battery for longer dive time
- Automatic color corrector
- Livestreaming at up to 500 meters away
- 6.6 pounds
- 4K UHD camera/1080p livestreaming
- 160-degree wide-angle camera
- Can travel at up to 2 meters per second
- Can dive up to 492 feet
- 32GB of storage
- Can dive for up to 4 hours
- Compatible with underwater microphones
photo by S_Bachstroem via iStock
I consider myself an explorer, and I think most photographers also do.
So, when I hear about a place I shouldn’t or can’t go, it always piques my interest. Which is why I sought out my scuba diving license a few months ago.
It’s estimated that up to 95% of the world’s oceans and 99% of the world’s ocean floors are unexplored.
If that number bothers you like it does me, then you need to invest in an underwater drone for drone photography.
In comparison to this time last year, underwater drone technology is mind-altering. An underwater camera drone in 2019 can have image stabilization, 4K resolution and can dive deeper than I ever can without decades of training, so the quality of drone photography has really improved as of late.
To help you out in your search for your exploration needs, I’ve compiled a list of eight of this year’s best underwater drones for photographers (ranging from the least to most expensive).
Table of Contents
Robosea BIKI Drone
Back in 2017, when the Robosea BIKI was first trying to launch on Kickstarter, it was the world’s first bionic robot fish.
It quickly raised almost a quarter of a million dollars, and still makes my list of the best underwater drones in 2019 because it’s the most efficient underwater drone for the price.
It supports a 4K camera, comes with obstacle avoidance and can return to base when called. Those are features you definitely want when you’re pursuing beautiful underwater drone photography.
Robosea BIKI Specs:
The Robosea BIKI is available on Amazon for $769.
PowerVision PowerDolphin Wizard Drone
Power Vision’s PowerDolphin Wizard Drone was honored with a CES innovation award in 2018 and won the gold medal at the Edison Awards in 2019.
Plus, it’s not the only submersible drone by Power Vision on my list (more on that later).
The PowerDolphin is one of the fastest drones on our list, which can cruise between 4 and 5 meters per second.
This speed does come at a price, though, because the PowerDolphin can only last between a half hour and 2 hours on each charge, depending upon its speed.
Power Vision PowerDolphin Wizard Drone specs:
The PowerVision PowerDolphin Wizard Drone is available on Amazon for $999.
Fathom One Drone
The most exciting part about this submarine drone is the fact that you can remove and replace its thrusters. It comes prepackaged with 3 that you can customize, or you can build thrusters yourself.
It’s also the only drone on our list that comes with easy storage-it has a rail system where you can put additional cameras (like a GoPro), lighting or sensors.
The cheapest package comes with a 100-foot line that tethers it to a floating buoy (a floating buoy that creates its own WiFi, which is equally cool).
Fathom One specs:
The Fathom One is available on Amazon for $999.
Power Vision PowerRay Wizard Drone
Hey, look. Here’s the other Power Vision underwater drone I promised!
The PowerRay, a sister submarine drone to the PowerDolphin, is unique because it includes a ZEISS VR ONE Plus Goggles so you can enjoy all of your real-time footage in virtual reality.
If that alone didn’t sell you, maybe this will: All of that footage is also in 4K and up to 64GB of it can be stored on the underwater drone.
Plus, the PowerRay is able to dive for an incredible 4 hours on one charge.
Power Vision PowerRay Wizard Drone specs:
The Power Vision PowerRay Wizard Drone is available on Amazon for $999.
Trident Underwater Drone
With a dive time of three hours and a maximum depth of 100 meters, there’s a lot of underwater drone photography you can tackle with the Trident Underwater Drone.
It can be controlled with an Android smartphone or tablet using the OpenROV App. Likewise, there is a dedicated controller that can be used with the submersible.
If you don’t have Wi-Fi, no worries! The Trident Topside creates a Wi-Fi network of its own that enables it to send control signals and live video to your phone or tablet.
Trident underwater drone specs:
The Trident underwater drone is available on Amazon for $1,695.
Fifish V6 Drone
The Fifish V6 drone is the world’s first 4K omni-directional underwater drone.
It has 6 built-in thrusters, so it can move in multiple directions to chase the best shot. It also comes with a motion stabilization system and 4000-lumen integrated LED headlights.
The 166 degree wide-angle camera is impressive, and HDMI live streaming is never a bad thing!
Fifish V6 drone specs:
The Fifish V6 Drone is available on Amazon for $1,799.
Navatics Mito Drone
The Navatics Mito underwater camera drone is expensive and worth every penny.
This submersible drone has an incredibly impressive remote control system, so much so that you may never even need to get on a boat at all. If you suffer from seasickness, or a fear of the open water, this is the underwater drone for you.
You can control this drone at up to 1,640 feet away-that’s a third of a mile!
It can record in 4K and stream at 1080p. It also comes with 2 1,000 lumen LED headlights.
But, my favorite capability of this submarine drone is that it comes with a swappable battery. So, if the already impressive 4 hours of dive time isn’t enough for you, bring an extra battery and make a full day out of your shoot.
Navatics Mito drone specs:
The Navatics Mito Drone is available on the Navatics website for $1,999.
150 Meter Tether Titan Underwater Drone
The 150 Meter Tether Titan Underwater Drone can dive deeper than any other submersible drone on our list at 492 feet. It shoots 4K video at 30fps and works with a smartphone app that is the most user-friendly of any on our list.
If you want to be the envy of all of your photographer friends, make sure you pick up this submarine drone so you can catch photos your friends with other underwater drones can’t.
150 Meter Tether Titan Underwater Drone specs:
The 150 Meter Tether Titan Underwater Drone is available on Amazon for $2,999 from third-party sellers, or is available on the Gene Inno website for $2,799.
That’s all for our list, guys! Let us know if you’ve picked up anyone of these underwater drones for sale, and if you snagged a better price somewhere else.