News
SeaLife launches new underwater housing for iPhone

SeaLife is introducing a new compact and lightweight underwater housing for Apple’s iPhone. The new SeaLife SportDiver housing will allow divers to take photos and video with their iPhone down to 130 feet or 40 meters. The SportDiver can encase iPhone 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus, X, Xr, Xs, Xs Max, 11, 11 Pro Max, and SE (2nd Gen) models.
The heavy-duty housing is constructed of Polycarbonate, stainless steel, aluminum and optical grade glass. And while the SportDiver housing is “heavy duty”, it is not heavy, weighing less than 1.5 pounds (641 grams), and is lightweight for travelling and offers almost neutral buoyancy in water depending on which iPhone model is used.
The SportDiver is easy to hold and use and offers a large shutter lever and rear control buttons for easy operation, even with dive gloves. Snorkelers and Divers can get more creative with their photos or video shot by using advanced camera settings. Adjust Zoom, Exposure (EV), Auto/Manual Focus, White Balance, Tint, Lens selection, RAW+JPEG mode, Live Photo and Background Blur (on available iPhone models).
The SportDiver housing includes the free SeaLife SportDiver camera app for iOS 12 and up and unlike other smartphone housing apps, there are no annoying in-app purchases or ads. You can easily switch between photo and video mode. The SportDiver App uses the iPhone camera technology native to each iPhone® model.
The App Playback mode shows full size photos and videos with vertical thumbnail strip to easily locate your images. Videos start playing automatically when selected. All files are also saved to iPhone camera roll. The SportDiver housing automatically connects to your iPhone and the SportDiver app using Bluetooth® Low Energy (LE) 5 wireless technology. No cables or buttons touch the phone and offers ultra-low power consumption for both the phone and the housing which is powered by two AAA batteries that last over 50 hours of continuous use.
For enhanced imaging results, a removable underwater color-correction filter is included with the SportDiver which restores natural underwater colors. The filter easily attached or removes underwater and includes a safety tether to prevent loss. The SportDiver housing features triple 1/4-20 tripod mounts which mounts to any light or light tray with standard tripod threads such as SeaLife’s own range of Sea Dragon underwater photo/video lights. SeaLife also offers the SportDiver and Sea Dragon underwater light combined dubbed the “SportDiver Pro 2500 Set”.
For the phone’s safety and protection, the SportDiver has a sturdy holding spring and rubber grip tabs that securely hold the iPhone® in place and add shock-protection. The SportDiver has “Dual Leak Alarms” which include an internal moisture alarm and a vacuum pressure alarm which alert the diver with on-screen warnings, audio and LED signal in the unlikely event the waterproof seal is compromised and there’s a loss of housing pressure or moisture is detected. The door of the SportDiver is sealed with a TPE O-ring and a robust cam-lock sealing latch that easily and securely locks waterproof door. To prevent interior fogging from residual moisture, the SportDiver uses the anti-fogging agent “Moisture Muncher” capsule which prevents fogging and internal condensation.
Deliveries of the SportDiver iPhone housing are planned to start in November, 2020.
Item Description US Retail
SL400 SportDiver Underwater Housing for iPhone $299.95
SL401 SportDiver Pro 2500 Set with Sea Dragon 2500 underwater light $649.95
Included with SeaLife SportDiver, Model SL400:
- SportDiver Underwater iPhone Housing
- Underwater Color-correction filter
- Vacuum pump
- Rubber Grip Tabs (12x Small, 12x Medium and 12x Large)
- Spare O-rings (1x Main O-ring and 1x Vacuum Check Port O-ring)
- O-ring lubricant
- O-ring removal tool
- Deluxe wrist strap with clip
- Moisture Muncher sample pack (1 capsule)
- AAA alkaline batteries (2)
- EVA Carry Case
Included with SeaLife SportDiver Pro 2500 Set, Model SL401:
- SportDiver Underwater Housing for iPhone, model SL400 as above
- Sea Dragon 2500 Underwater Photo/Video light, model SL671
- Sea Dragon 2500 Underwater Photo/Video Light head
- Flex-Connect Single Tray w/ standard ¼-20 mounting screw
- Flex-Connect grip
- 25Wh Lithium Ion rechargeable battery
- AC Power Adapter, charging tray, and international plug adapters
- Spare O-rings, O-ring lubricant, O-ring removal tool
- Sea Dragon EVA Case
For more information about Sealife Underwater Cameras visit the website by clicking here
News
Frontline workers honoured with free dive trip to Yap

The remote island of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia is among the few places in the world that remains free of Covid-19 thanks to its ocean border and a strict travel ban that has kept its residents safe.
Nonetheless, Yap has been affected, too. As one of the world’s premier, award-winning destinations for divers, this paradisiacal location in the western Pacific Ocean has had no outside visitors to its rich shores and reef for nearly a year. But while there may be no virus, the island hasn’t been cut off from the economic impact experienced around the globe.
That didn’t stop Bill Acker, CEO and founder of the Manta Ray Bay Resort and Yap Divers, from doing something, though.
Last March, soon after the island went into lockdown, Bill began to realize the effect of the virus on daily life beyond the island. “Yes, we are closed, have no divers, had to send our employees home and prepare for difficult times,” he said. “But we’re lucky in that we have, for the most part, avoided the human suffering and death this pandemic has caused.”
Thinking about the problems faced by his family business, they paled when he compared them to those endured by the healthcare workers who have been fighting selflessly around the clock for months on end for the well-being and lives of others.
“One evening, while checking the news online, I saw pictures of frontline workers who were tending to desperately ill and dying people when families and friends could not be with their loved ones. It was heartbreaking,” he added.
The next day, a meeting was held with the resort’s staff and Bill invited suggestions for ways they could do something to honor healthcare workers. The result was the idea to award twenty divers who are working on the frontline to save other’s lives during this pandemic while risking their own, with a free week at the resort.

Manta ray, Manta birostris, gliding over a cleaning station in M’il Channel, Yap, Micronesia by David Fleetham
Divers around the world who had been guests at Manta Ray Bay in the past were invited to submit the names of candidates for the award by December 31, 2020. “We received nominations for 126 individuals from as far away as Germany, the U.S., Australia and Canada,” he said. “It was not easy choosing the winners but our committee of staff members took on the job and selected the 20 finalists.”
“While trying to choose the people to reward for their hard work during this Covid-19 crisis,” Bill added, “by reading the nominations we saw that every one of the nominees was doing things above and beyond the call of duty. Sadly, we don’t have the finances to offer over 100 free weeks in Yap, but we do want to recognize the contributions all of them are making to our world. So, we are offering the rest of the nominees a free week of diving in Yap which includes room, hotel tax, airport transfers, breakfast, diving and Wi-Fi. The only requirement is that they travel with at least three other people and stay in two rooms or more.”
“We do not yet know when Yap will open its borders,” said Bill, “but when it does, we will welcome these important guests to Yap to relax and dive with the manta rays and the other beautiful denizens of the ocean surrounding our island home. They are the true heroes of this devastating, historic time and we look forward to honoring them with a well-deserved dive vacation.”
Watch out for our exclusive trip report from a healthcare worker from the UK who is one of the 20 to have been awarded this amazing dive trip!
For more information on Manta Ray Bay and Yap Divers visit their website by clicking here.
Dive Training Blogs
Dream Dive Locker Build Out. Part I: Demolition (Watch Video)

It’s finally here! Time to start building the greatest dive locker the world has ever seen! Part I: Demolition! #dreamdivelocker
This is the first of a series of videos showing the evolution of building out my dream dive locker. My dream dive locker needs to be dive gear drying and storage, dry storage, workshop, office, editing suite, You Tube studio and classroom. That’s a lot of functions for a small space!
The first step is planning out the space and demolishing the laminate flooring. Then I taped up the walls to get a feel for the space. We have a lot of work to do!
But finally we will have a purpose built space to house all of our dive equipment! Subscribe to our channel to follow our progress!
Thanks for watching, Team!
James
Subscribe here: http://bit.ly/DiversReady
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