Disposable underwater cameras. At work, they’re my worst enemy. If you have one of these, rest assured they are very secure cameras. Water proof and just about person proof. If you ever want to give your photo tech a bad time, go ahead and turn in one of these monstrosities. It’s a nightmare to get to the film inside. But the real downer? After all that work, the film usually turns out terribly. Light film, black pictures, sad people. So, are they worth getting at all? In Hawaii, I decided to figure that once and for all.
The results is hesitant , but yes.
Now, don’t get your hopes up too high. As you can see the colors are off and the resolution is painfully low. If you’re hoping to take beautiful seascape pictures to brag about to friends, go rent yourself a digital underwater camera. I rented one from Boss Frog’s for $30 which was worth the photos I got. If you don’t need anything extravagant and want to stick to the $10 film alternative, here’s some pointers.
First, keep the camera as steady as possible. No duh, but worth the reminder. You’re probably used to a digital camera that has a motion stabilizer. Obviously, a disposable won’t have that. This also means quickly moving objects are not going to work out. Treat your camera like a gun. Steady, deep breath, steady, shoot. That’s right, I rule the gun range.
Murky? Don’t waste the film. Only take pictures in very clear water. Any sand or mud grains, however small, will make for spotty pictures. Who wants that?
Distance kills. Underwater cameras have a very short range. They should say as much on the back. If you take a picture of something from a distance, you’ll get the print and wonder what you were looking at.
Last but not least, lighting is key. Another no duh. You want to stay as close to the surface of the water as possible. Keep in mind overcast days will bring worse pictures. A good rule to keep in mind is don’t aim the camera downward unless you are in shallow water. Since the ocean floor is certainly the most interesting thing to capture, I think this is what kills most people’s photos. Pointing down away from the light to a distant object will result in a cloudy or undiscernable picture. Bummer, right? 
If you stick to those rules, you should get some halfway almost good photos!
I still recommend just renting a digital though. You want to remember turtle faces in all their glory.
Thoughts From the Shredder 