As an underwater photographer, your weighting follows different rules than a recreational diver. Your rig adds between 1 and 4 kg in water depending on the configuration, and that mass changes the equation entirely.

A wide-angle underwater photo rig (aluminum housing, two strobes, arms, and dome) typically weighs 2 to 3 kg in water. This means you need to remove lead compared to your usual weighting, not add it. The reflex of many beginner photographers is to keep the same weighting as on a leisure dive and compensate with the BCD. The result: labored finning, higher air consumption, and blurry photos from constant movement.

The right approach is to run a buoyancy check specifically with your rig. Gear up normally, hold your rig, and do the standard surface test (3-meter stop, tank nearly empty, lungs half full). If you sink, remove lead. If you float too much, add some. The difference from your weighting without a camera gives you the real in-water weight of your rig.

Our calculator factors your rig weight into the equation. Enter your configuration (housing, arms, strobes) and the calculation automatically adjusts the lead recommendation. It is a starting estimate: a real-conditions test remains essential, especially when changing destinations (the salinity difference between the Mediterranean and the Maldives easily adds 1 to 2 kg of extra lead).