Sure, most action cameras can head underwater, but one Danish startup is aiming to create a camera that can really dive. The Paralenz is a camera designed exclusively for diving — and it shows with a depth rating of 656 feet without housing.
The Paralenz, available for pre-order as a fully funded Indiegogo project, includes a temperature and pressure sensor inside its small barrel-shaped body. Those sensors work together with the Paralenz app to pair depth and temperature data with the footage to see just how deep that sea creature was, as well as to record the overall data from the dive. The dive data can be viewed inside the app or added to video as an overlay.
Those same sensors also allow the Paralenz to automatically adjust the white balance based on the camera’s depth. Underwater, certain wave lengths drop off the deeper you head — the first being the red, orange, and yellow spectrums. By adjusting the white balance based on the depth, the camera is able to automatically adjust the colors — Paralenz says its camera is the first equipped with such a feature.
The camera captures eight megapixel stills, as well as 4K video and “snap recording,” or short, easily shareable video clips. Image stabilization is included, though it’s electronic and not optical.
Designed to attach to diving masks for a first-person point of view, the camera also includes a universal mount compatible with mounts for existing cameras. The body of the Paralenz is designed to allow the camera to be operated with neoprene diving gloves, with a large recording button, large mode ring, and vibration to let the diver know the recording started. The camera uses magnetic buttons to maximize water sealing, according to the Indiegogo page.
The dive camera starts at $399 for pre-orders, with the list price expected to be $599. The camera’s Indiegogo funding has already reached more than double the original goal with a month of funding remaining. The product has an estimated ship date of January 2017.