Underwater photography is becoming easier and easier today. One no longer needs to splurge thousands of dollars and expensive underwater housings for cameras. Even the consumer market is bustling with waterproof and water resistant cameras such as action cameras like GoPro, waterproof point and shoots, and even smart phones that are water resistant. Earlier this year, I took the leap and invested in a waterproof camera for my travels to Mexico and Belize. I purchased the Olympus Tough point and shoot for several hundred dollars. While this camera is a little more expensive than some of its counterparts, its overall performance and its waterproof, crushproof, and freezeproof qualities quickly made this my favorite all-around travel camera. Best of all: it’s tiny and can fit into my pocket, so it doesn’t stick out like a DSLR does.

Ko Tao scuba diving underwater photography

Thoroughly impressed with the snorkeling photos I took with the Olympus in Belize and Mexico, I made sure this little camera was with me during my 2.5 week trip to Thailand a few months later in March 2014. While I didn’t use the camera much in Bangkok, the Olympus was used to take a majority of my photos once I hit the beaches of Ko Tao, Phi Phi Island and Bamboo Island snorkeling. This camera held up exceptionally well not only during my snorkeling trips, but also during two scuba dives I did in Ko Tao. Take a peek at some of my underwater photos in the slideshow below!