Major photo contests typically conjure images of big, high-end cameras – but not every photo that has won a major award was captured on pro gear. In fact, the Underwater Photographer of the Year has a category dedicated specifically to creators using compact cameras.
These award-winning images were taken with compact cameras – two of them with the Sony RX100 VII and one with a GoPro. But that’s not all the winning images have in common – the shots also illustrate how important light is to creating a successful underwater photograph.
Andrea Michelutti: Alpine Lookout
Andrea Michelutti won the compact camera category in the contest with this vibrant image a freshwater crayfish in Italy’s Lake Cornino. The photographer explained that the camera was dunked in the water with a Marelux housing, and the angle was too low to use the camera’s LCD screen. When the curious crawfish came up to the camera, the photographer fired off several shots without being able to see what the camera saw.
While the crayfish took center stage, the camera angle allowed the mountains to remain visible in the background.
What’s really striking about the photo, however, are the colors – and that’s due in part to Michelutti’s decision to use additional lighting along with the compact camera, adding light with a single Inon Z330 light.
Judge Peter Rowlands called the image “a compliment to the capabilities of compacts in the right hands.”
Manuel Wütherich: Veins of the Earth
The second-place runner-up in the compact category also used the Sony RX100 VII, but the gear used is outshone by the composition, lighting, and mash-up between the underwater world and the world above. Photographer Manuel Wütherich explained that this image was taken in the Cenote Dos Pisos.
A cenote is a natural, water-filled sinkhole, and in this shot, the diver is framed by tree roots, giving the underwater image a connection to the world above. Three video lights – the X-Adventurer M8000 – make the image pop with streaky light and contrast.
Contest judge Tobias Friedrich wrote, “All judges were very impressed by the sheer quality of the image...the composition and handling of the light inside the cave is just perfect.”
Rémi Conte: Natural Barriers
Rémi Conte brought the sky, land, and sea together with this shot taken with the GoPro Hero11 Black. The photographer explained that the colors of this UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in French Polynesia demanded attention. The shallow coral reefs also helped improve the image’s clarity – a constant battle for underwater photographers.
“This image would have been a serious contender in the ‘grown up’ Wide Angle and Coral Reef categories too, despite being taken on a comparatively minuscule GoPro,” wrote Judge Rowlands. “That is a testament to how good this image is. Pretty perfect.”
The shot was taken with natural light and a Shoot Dome Port housing.
The compact camera is just one of fourteen categories in the 2026 Underwater Photographer of the Year contest – browse winners from each category here.
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