As a trainee Scuba diver in the 1970s, I often hankered after a waterproof camera to record my adventures, first in cold winter swimming pools and later in even colder open water dives around the British and Norwegian coasts. I had all sorts of ideas about building a Perspex case for a small 35mm Rollei camera, but I soon discovered this was way beyond my technical skills. Then, one of the trainers – a professional diver – introduced me to his Nikonos waterproof camera. I’d seen them on television, as one of the standard bits of gear on Sunday evening wildlife documentaries, but I’d never handled one. As soon as I did so, I was hooked. It took me a long time to get hold of one, but I’m glad that I did.
History
Until the late 1950s, underwater cameras were usually traditional models encased in alloy and glass cases, which were heavy, bulky and eye-wateringly expensive. Then pioneering diver Jacques Cousteau, creator of the book and film , got together with Belgian engineer Jean de Wouters to produce a dedicated underwater camera. Named the ‘Calypso’, after Cousteau’s research ship, it was
