The 10 best photos from the underwater camera at the Olympics

FOR the first time ever, a robotic underwater camera has been used to capture the Olympics like never before. Here are 10 of the best pics.

THE Olympic Games are not only a highly competitive for athletes, but photographers on the ground are also battling on the ground for the best shots.

Having been shooting the games since the 2000 Olympics Sydney in Sydney, Adam Pretty from Getty Images knows this better than most.

“It’s the most competitive outlet for a sports photographer. It sounds cliche, but you really need to bring fresh ideas to stand out from the crowd,” he told news.com.au.

In order to capture some unique shots from Rio, Mr Pretty said his team had implemented the use of a custom-built underwater camera for the first time in history.

“It’s the latest Canon SLR inside a robotic housing unit, which allows us to shoot 360 degrees to cover the whole swimming pool,” he said.

“It’s connected to a laptop and controlled with an Xbox controller.

Have a look at some of the underwater pics below.

This camera was custom built for the Olympics.

The camera in action for the swimming. Picture: Adam Pretty/Getty Images

Offering a 360 view can mean a number of different shots. Picture: Adam Pretty/Getty Images.

Britain's James Guy competes in a Men's 100m Butterfly heat. Picture: AFP/François-Xavier Marit

Australia's Belinda Hocking competes in the Women's 200m Backstroke heat. Picture: AFP/François-Xavier Marit

The camera has also been used to capture the diving. Picture: Adam Pretty/Getty Images.

South Africa's Chad Guy Bertrand Le Clos competes in a Men's 100m Butterfly heat. Picture: AFP/François-Xavier Marit

Hungary's Laszlo Cseh competes in a Men's 100m Butterfly heat. Picture: AFP/François-Xavier Marit

Spain's Mireia Belmonte Garcia competes in a Women's 800m Freestyle heat. Picture: AFP/François-Xavier Marit

Belgium's Jasper Aerents competes in a Men's 50m Freestyle heat.