Best Underwater Drones In 2019 – A Guide

The pace at which aerial drones have developed over the past few years has been quite astonishing to see and it is almost impossible to walk through a city park or take a drive through the countryside without seeing at least one in the sky. It may or may not surprise you then that a new kind of drone is emerging… or should that be submerging?

Underwater drones are set to be a big thing in 2019 and whilst they made a few waves in 2018, they are set to make a huge splash in 2019 as the technology looks set to take a similar path as that of their airborne counterparts. Indeed, it is likely that to begin with we will see just a few major players and relatively expensive models, but in time and with growing demand it is likely that we will see more options and prices reduce as supply increases. That being said, the quality of some of the flagship models provides something fairly comparable with a top end consumer drone produced by the likes of DJI.

The challenges posed by taking a drone underwater are somewhat different to those of the aerial variety with one of the major limitations being that your submerged drone is likely to need to be tethered. This is for video relay more than anything else as water poses a very different challenge when it comes to transmitting high quality and high speed data signals that are required to transmit video.
Underwater Photography & Videography

If you thought aerial photography was cool then underwater photography and videography just opens up a whole new landscape – quite literally! Whether you are a professional underwater photographer or a seasoned amateur, underwater drones open up whole new opportunities and whilst it is true that they will pose new challenges, the potential for new opportunities should outweigh this.

Like with standard drones, there are an array of different camera types and qualities and of course they all perform differently in different situations. Take the PowerVision PowerRay for example and for around £1500 you can get yourself an underwater camera drone that is capable of taking 4K UHD video and super high quality 12MP images.
Why Would You Want An Underwater Drone?

Most people are going to think straight to photography and videography when it comes to the reasons for wanting to buy an underwater drone but they can have other functions too. One of the key uses that is being pushed by PowerVision for their drone is the ability to find fish – imagine the benefits this could have when sea fishing! The drone can also inform you of water temperatures, water depth and provide images of the landscape of the sea bed – quite nifty stuff indeed!

So now you are up to speed on what underwater drones are, it is time to take a look at the best on the market: