It takes more than just a great camera to capture beautiful underwater images. Our 2018 scuba diving Gear Buyers Guide will help you find the best underwater camera accessories to round out your camera rig.

If you want perfect GoPro color correction, one filter is never enough. The FLIP 6 ensures you have the best filter formula for any diving depth and water condition, allowing you to instantly flip between any two filters on the same dive with the touch of a finger. Made from durable aircraft-grade aluminum for rugged use, the FLIP 6 allows you to choose from a range of virtually unbreakable filter optics.

This tray is a sturdy, adaptable foundation upon which to build your underwater photo rig. The tray has two screw holes for attaching a variety of housings, including Ikelite, Olympus, Fisheye Fix, Nauticam, Fantasea and even Kraken’s new smartphone housings (pictured above). Add a handle or two and some strobes and you’re good to go with a convenient setup.

Ultralight is now manufacturing a braided lanyard to place between the handles of its underwater trays and camera systems. This lanyard has brass clips. Adding the lanyard required developing new pieces for the lanyard to anchor to (see description #4). With this handy attachment, you can easily hold onto or carry your camera system when you’re topside.

ULCS Lanyard Holder AC-LH (inset)

In keeping with Ultralight’s long tradition of innovative solutions for underwater photographers, the company developed new handles for the lanyard to attach to. An aluminum lanyard holder (#4) attaches to the new handle. A ball can then be added to act as a base for strobes or lights.

With adjustable interior compartments to keep gear safely stowed, the Photo Pro Backpack is great for photographers who want to stay light on their feet for small planes, tight taxis or crowded boats. The photo gear compartment is lined with water-resistant material and has two large holes to drain excess water from the pack, keeping the rest of your gear dry.

With aluminum construction and a thermal protection circuit, the Retra is tough enough for rapid-fire shooting with no worries about overheating, even out of the water. The bright 110-degree beam can be expanded to 130 degrees with diffusers, and an optional expanded battery pack can cut recycle time in half, to just 1 second with double the number of full-power flashes.

This versatile strobe light is powerful enough to illuminate a wide area, even under very bright conditions with lots of natural sunlight. The strobe, which is made in Japan, has large knobs and a magnetic rotary switch that increases ease of use. With its illuminated control panel it’s possible to check your mode even in pitch-black conditions. Two diffusers and red filters are included.

Create underwater images in rich color with the DC2000 Pro Flash Set. The package features the compact and versatile DC2000 camera with a 1-inch 20-MP Sony sensor protected in a user-friendly purpose-built housing. The Sea Dragon Flash automatically adjusts brightness to create the optimal exposure and boasts a 100-degree coverage with the included diffuser.

Designed to bring the look of natural light to your underwater photos, the Sea Dragon 1500 employs a powerful and efficient COB LED light source to create a high CRI of 80 out of 100. The photo and video light is rated to 200 feet and produces 1,500 lumens at a 120-degree angle for up to 70 minutes at full power. The unit comes with a Micro Tray, Grip and GoPro adapter.

The 2100 Dual Beam offers smart versatility with the ability to switch from a focused 15-degree spot beam to a 100-degree wide-angle flood light with a single button. It utilizes seven CREE XM-L2 LEDs to produce 2,100 lumens in flood mode and 800 lumens in spot mode for up to one hour at full power. It comes with a single tray, grip, Sea Dragon Case and a GoPro adapter.

The Sea Dragon 2300 serves triple duty as photo, video and dive light. Producing 2,300 lumens for up to 60 minutes at full power, the 2300 optimizes output and maximizes battery life with an auto-brightness mode that regulates power in relation to distance of subject. It also has a flash-detection sensor that will turn the light off for one second when external flash is detected.

SeaLife’s high-end photo and video light kit features a Bridgelux Vero 18 COB LED to paint your underwater subjects in rich colors with 2,500 lumens of simulated natural light at a color-rendering index of 90. Depth-rated to 200 feet, the rechargeable 2500 produces a 120-degree beam with three levels of brightness for up to a full hour of burn time at the maximum power setting.

SeaLife’s newest photo and video light represents the pinnacle of the brand’s illumination technology with 4,500 lumens of power delivered in an even 120-degree beam that has a CRI of 96. The secret is a COB LED XNOVA Studio light source that can burn at full power up to 60 minutes with the rechargeable lithium-ion battery. And it includes auto brightness and flash detection.

Fluoro lights illuminate a wild new world of sights underwater, and the Sea Dragon Mini Fluoro’s royal blue LED is tuned through a proprietary dichroic filter that optimizes the wavelength of light to get the highest possible energy response from the organism. The light, which is rated to 330 feet, burns a 14-degree beam for 120 minutes at full power using an optional Xtar 18650 3400mAh battery. Includes a yellow mask filter to block blue light.

By emitting a specific wavelength of blue light, the Fluoro-Dual Beam brings out the fluorescent wonders of the reef for eye-popping images and video. It can also fire a 15-degree spot of white light at 800 lumens so you can use it as a primary dive light or to assist in finding the creatures at night. This versatile model also includes a pair of yellow filters for a mask and a universal lens cover.