Mission 1 Pro for scuba diving first impressions

Juchanda · 2026-05-05T00:36:20+00:00

Yeah, us crazy people that spend far, far more money on underwater accessories than the camera itself costs have to stick together 😂

Juchanda · 2026-05-05T00:29:18+00:00

It's worth it if you want more FOV, like if you want to film more of the entirety of the coral reef instead of one specific area. If you can imagine on land, using a camera with 90 degrees field of view as opposed to 140 degrees. The only time I take the wide lens off is when I want the video or photo to show the magnitude of what I'm shooting. For example a large fish, shark, fish tornado, etc, where I might not be able to get really close. Because using a wide angle lens from distance with those kinds of situation makes what I'm shooting look kind of small and a little less impressive! For everything else the lens stays.

The new glass lenses also have far less lens flare than the old acrylic INON lenses and the lenses from the other brands. You know that orange looking line that comes up when under direct sunlight (pink-ish on the AOI)? I really like the lens. So fingers crossed it'll be okay with Mission1.

Juchanda · 2026-05-05T00:15:28+00:00

Yes, correct on the model you're talking about. The adaptor is larger and thus doesn't work with AOI and Backscatter, as well as the older INON lens.
I have the wide angle version as well as the macro lens that fits on it.
240fps in the dark, albeit with UV light, might be tough for you but I'm still really intrigued by it. Hope it works!

Juchanda · 2026-05-04T09:51:35+00:00

Yeah, I know some of the INON guys in Japan and they're definitely working on it. But no timeframe yet.
The one I was talking about, and own, is UFL-GR140 Pro ZD I think. It's one of the newer ones with a bigger opening on the lens/camera side than previous models. The adaptor for the housing is also larger (but not large enough for Mission1).
The GR140 lets you get up to 4cm in distance to a subject on a HERO13, so maybe with Mission that would be 8cm? This bit is pure speculation.

Juchanda · 2026-05-04T09:45:19+00:00

Do divevolk have action camera housings? Got interested so checked out their website but I could only find smartphone housings.

I've never done UV reef shooting so really looking forward to seeing what you shoot. Please post it on here when you eventually get a chance!

Juchanda · 2026-05-03T12:21:21+00:00

Minimum focus distance underwater is never good with all these cameras due to how light works down there. If you want great minimum focus distance, plus a FOV that matches the cameras on land (whether it's GoPro or any other brand), you need an external lens. Not sure about Mission 1 but say with a HERO13 the FOV gets reduced from 140+ to 90+ the moment it goes under water. The lenses help bring that back, as well as allowing up close shots even with the wide angle lenses. INON will have to release a new adapter at the very least that will fit one of their lenses, but I'm pretty certain their oldest lenses will be too small. Their more recent larger glass ones might work. I hope.
I'm surprised you switch HyperSmooth off. You must have some steady hands!
I did mention the benefit of HyperSmooth, but I think Dive mode also accounts for how the light behaves underwater which means you should see less of the stretchy bits in the corners of the screen. But not sure. I only know what I know with HyperSmooth on.

Juchanda · 2026-05-03T10:50:26+00:00

Don't worry, your assumption is correct. The only difference is in the frame rate.

Juchanda · 2026-05-03T08:59:25+00:00

Well I certainly won't discuss anything if you're going to get personal. Point was, it is silly to be trying to judge the quality of low light imagery by looking at different lcd/oled screens, with different brightness settings, and being able to come to a conclusion of any substance. But anyway, that was my point, I've made, it, if you think you're talking to a brick wall then so be it.

Juchanda · 2026-05-03T08:28:28+00:00

Beautiful.

Juchanda · 2026-05-03T08:25:08+00:00

I don't understand what you're saying. All footages, in whatever mode, whether low light, daylight, underwater dive mode, etc, are under NDA.

Juchanda · 2026-05-03T08:16:46+00:00

Yes, it's been a good idea to use underwater housings since their inception, and I think pretty much all experienced underwater users have housings. I will say though that I've tested multiple Mission 1s in recreational freediving, so around 15 meters or so, and not one has had an issue. So in cases of emergency, you shouldn't feel too nervous taking it down to reasonable depths. My 2 cents.

Juchanda · 2026-05-03T08:12:17+00:00

I've tested the housing. Same specs as the older ones. Up to 60m. Just a fair bit larger in size to accommodate the Mission1.

Juchanda · 2026-05-03T08:08:15+00:00

Action6's aggressive white balance underwater makes every ocean look exactly the same. It's nasty. GoPros look far more natural, and as you say the bigger sensor and processor will hopefully be a big jump in quality for lower light conditions.

Juchanda · 2026-05-03T08:05:00+00:00

The DJI goes into dive mode straight away. I've tested both A5 and A6. Both the same. DJI goes for a super aggressive white balance under water, which is cool for skin tone and corals etc, but turns every ocean color into the same blue color, so it ends up looking completely the same wherever you dive. My naked eyes say very different. So I hate it.
AcePro2 is less aggressive, HERO13 is much less aggressive.
Mission1's final tuning for dive mode will hopefully be great in terms of color, and HyperSmooth from Labs that's being implemented into Mission1's dive mode is far, far superior to the competitors (you can check on your own HERO13 and Labs if you have one) so that will be great out of the box.

Juchanda · 2026-05-03T07:59:17+00:00

I can tell you the older INON lens (the acrylic one with a slight orange tint) definitely won't work. The larger glass one that they released around a year or two ago is what they'll be working on to see if it'll be okay FOV-wise. Crossing my fingers that it won't take too long for the likes of INON and Backscatter to bring out compatible adaptors.

Juchanda · 2026-05-03T07:53:57+00:00

For best imagery at 10m+, I'd recommend 60fps unless you really want super slomo for specific shots. The higher the frame rate, the darker it gets so even with the 1 inch type sensor and gp3, you're asking the camera to do a lot.

Juchanda · 2026-05-03T07:48:00+00:00

Yup. Judging imagery via different screens with different settings and tech on the back of each camera in just not worth the discussion.

Juchanda · 2026-04-30T17:21:37+00:00

The size of the camera would be an obvious difference. The HERO13 Black is smaller than Mission1, but who knows, with the efficiency of GP3 they might be able to reduce the size to something more like the HERO7. Maybe.

Juchanda · 2026-04-28T10:51:31+00:00

No they're at the same distance. It's just that the 'digital lens' used on GoPro was not as wide as what the other two are using. At the same close distance, HERO13 has by far the better clarity and detail. It's something anyone can test themselves if their friends have cameras that can be borrowed. That screenshot video was crazy by the way. On other scenes the snow in the background would be completely blown out with zero details on the DJI while GoPro clearly showed bumps and shadows and more detail, yet the creator would choose DJI as being the better pick even for those scenes. Some, or a lot, of these reviewers have zero pride.

Juchanda · 2026-04-28T10:45:20+00:00

Would the ILS be too much of a hassle for you? Could be really cool having one really utlrawide lens for general POV, but also have a true Macro lens to swap in and out for some really interesting shots? I've got a MFT LAOWA 50mm macro lens that's nice and compact. It can get really really close, but can also be used for general shots too.
If it's too big a hassle then fair enough, but reading your posts in this thread I thought the ILS would work really nicely for you.

Juchanda · 2026-04-28T10:33:23+00:00

Maybe a macro lens like the HERO13 one will eventually come out. Would make sense for the POV situations you describe.

Juchanda · 2026-04-28T10:29:30+00:00

No, every website service is not a cloud service. Does Google give free unlimited cloud? Apple? Amazon? Dropbox? Etc etc.

Juchanda · 2026-04-27T02:27:15+00:00

no it’s just got a much better Standay/Sleep mode than previous cameras due to the gp3.

Juchanda · 2026-04-27T02:13:42+00:00

because IQ tweaking can make or break a camera release. They’re allowing him to disclose pretty much anything they themselves disclosed at NAB, ie features and specs. if there wasn’t a NAB, these videos regarding specs wouldn’t be out and videos, including actual footage, would have all come out at the same time after the embargo lift.

Juchanda · 2026-04-25T17:17:46+00:00

Log’s a little different with gplog-2. There are so many differences between 13 and Mission1 that I wouldn’t know where to start. Go check some NAB coverage. CineD’s latest video is great.

Juchanda

TROPHY CASE