Nauticam N85 housing & ports options for Sony APS-C

[Craine]

Hey all,

I’m finally making an upgrade to an A6700, and moving to Nauticam and looking for some help. Currently I’m using an A6400 in a Salted Line housing with an 8 inch dome, with either a Canon 60mm macro on a Metabones adapter or a Samyang 12mm AF. Of course neither of these lenses show up on Nauticam’s port charts

 

I’ve made some not so educated guesses based on lenses of similar physical size and focal length, but that’s hardly fool proof, and buying an assortment of ports and extensions to find the best is an expensive proposition. So I’m hoping that someone has some experience with either of those in any of Nauticam’s N85-based Sony housings. If you’ve found a combination that works well for either of those lenses, I’d love to hear it.

 

Additionally, I’d love to crowdsource and publish a table of measurement for various ports and housings, like camera flange to housing flange depth, port flange to port glass (for macro ports), port flange to center of curvature (dome ports), smallest interior port measurement (diameter and its depth), etc.

 

Once I have my new gear in, I’ll start publishing those specs (along with how I’ve measured) and can take in anyone’s measurements who wants to contribute.

 

Thanks for indulging my questions!

[Davide DB]

I see that you have received no reply.
There have been a lot of posts on this topic lately but always only about FF lenses and cameras.
I don't think the topic has ever been addressed for cropped sensors.
ready to be wrong....

[fruehaufsteher2]

With Sony underwater, the price difference between APS-C and full-frame for the same image quality is relatively small. For this reason, either the overall cheaper version with Seafrogs / Salted Line or then full-frame is usually taken. A used A7 IV costs less than a new A6700, and if you use Nauticam, the costs for the housing and underwater lens are comparable. I would think twice about using the A6700 (which is an excellent camera!!) for underwater use. 

 

And: With the 28-60 + WACP-C Sony has a perfect underwater-combination. The 16-50 is weak at best...

[Craine]

25 minutes ago, fruehaufsteher2 said:

With Sony underwater, the price difference between APS-C and full-frame for the same image quality is relatively small. For this reason, either the overall cheaper version with Seafrogs / Salted Line or then full-frame is usually taken. A used A7 IV costs less than a new A6700, and if you use Nauticam, the costs for the housing and underwater lens are comparable. I would think twice about using the A6700 (which is an excellent camera!!) for underwater use. 

 

And: With the 28-60 + WACP-C Sony has a perfect underwater-combination. The 16-50 is weak at best...

I had (well have) an A7 IV, in addition to the a6400/Salted Line housing. After doing all the math it’s about $3k-4k cheaper for me to sell those bodies (and lenses I am not using anymore) and buy a full Nauticam kit for the a6700, including a new body. I’m able to sell my IV for $1550 to Keh, and my a6700 body only cost $1400 after taxes. I also already have the appropriate lenses for shooting APS-C, and don’t have FF equivalents, which means more $$$. 
 

But cost isn’t the only factor. The a6700 housing is a tad smaller and 1kg/2.2lbs lighter than the A7IV one, and the ergonomics of the SeaFrogs housings have left me unimpressed for the last 4 years. 

[ChipBPhoto]

11 minutes ago, Craine said:

the ergonomics of the SeaFrogs housings have left me unimpressed for the last 4 years. 

 

While Nauticam is a more substantial investment over other brands, I believe you will find the ergonomics and overall usability much more pleasing.  In addition, they are extremely well made for a long life.

 

As a side note, I have a friend selling his a6600 and matching Nauticam housing/ports for a good price.  DM me if you want more info.  

[humu9679]

@Craine I think the form factor and specs of the A6700 are really good, especially video. I would go that route if I didn't already have the A7c, housed in Nauticam. I'm sure you'll like Nauticam much better than Sea Frogs, which is really worth it for serious photo- video- graphers. I also like smaller APS-c lenses, which are great for carrying around topside. The Nauticam port chart for APS-c Sonys isn't complete, I agree.

[Chris Ross]

The standard approach on Nauticam housings for adapted lenses has been to specify a port adapter which allows use of the Canon port charts as well as using the Canon zoom gears directly.  I seem to recall in the past older versions of the n85 port chart included this line item for Sony N85, but it is not there on current versions.

 

For the 60mm macro I see the lens specs state the lens is 73mm in OD and this means it won't fit through an N85 port, the macro ports are 70mm ID, so you would be looking at combining an N85 - N120 adapter with an N120 port.  This port adapter is listed to allow use of the Tokina 10-17 lens:

 

https://www.nauticam.com/collections/port-adapters/products/n85-to-n120-60mm-port-adaptor-for-sony-e-mount-system

 

However it doesn't say which port it designed to be used with and the port chart for Sony N85 does not include this option.

 

You best bet might be to contact Nauticam to confirm if there is an N85 - N120 converter which allows use of EF lenses on the metabones adapter on Sony N85.  If you confirm this then the Canon port chart can be used to specify which ports and extensions to use.

 

 

[Lewis88]

I am also a Sony/Nauticam N85 shooter. I shoot an A6100 in an A6400 housing (the cameras are physically identical)

 

My main lenses are:

1. Tokina 10-17 (via Sigma MC11 adapter, N85-N120 adapter, and Zen DP100 mini dome)

2. Zeiss Touit 50mm macro (using 2x 17mm extension rings, and the Macro Port 40 with knob that I can use with the 1650 if needed)

3. Kit 16-50 (rarely used)

 

Per the older port charts, here is the port for the adapted Canon 60mm macro:

 

Nauticam Macro Port and Focus Gear Set for Metabones Canon EF Lens to Sony NEX Smart Adapter II and Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM (backscatter.com)

 

I'm not sure why this is no longer on the port charts, but the flange to housing distance hasn't changed in the newer cameras, so there is no reason it shouldn't work. I looked at going this route, but it's an expensive port and I was able to get my zeiss lens and extension rings for less than the port alone. 

 

 

As a note, due to the small port opening, many of the adapted lens require you to install the camera in the housing, install the lens from the front of the housing, and then the port over the lens. I have to do this for my tokina. 

 

I added Nauticam's M16 USB-C bulkhead, so I can charge my camera with everything assembled and vacuum pulled instead of disassembling to change batteries.

 

Let me know what questions you might have. 

Edited September 3 by Lewis88

[Craine]

On 9/2/2024 at 6:36 AM, Davide DB said:

There have been a lot of posts on this topic lately but always only about FF lenses and cameras.
I don't think the topic has ever been addressed for cropped sensors.

I've seen this topic (Housing Flange Distance) but as you say most all of the discussion is around the FF bodies/housings. So once I get my things I would like to get some sort of searchable database going. Maybe if I have some success at getting data I can post an article/link here for all to use...

 

16 hours ago, Chris Ross said:

For the 60mm macro I see the lens specs state the lens is 73mm in OD and this means it won't fit through an N85 port, the macro ports are 70mm ID, so you would be looking at combining an N85 - N120 adapter with an N120 port. 

 

Aha! That (the port ID) one of the things I'm hoping to compile into a convenient list, as I can't find anything of the sort on Nauticam's website proper. I went with a N85-N120 adapter just in case, so I'm good there!

 

1 hour ago, Lewis88 said:

I am also a Sony/Nauticam N85 shooter. I shoot an A6100 in an A6400 housing (the cameras are physically identical)

Glad to hear there are actually other APS-C Sony shooters in Nauticam here! As I've mentioned elsewhere, I've been using the a6400 in a Salted Line housing for a few years, and I've never been satisfied with the housing (neither build quality not ergonomics). 

 

1 hour ago, Lewis88 said:

Per the older port charts, here is the port for the adapted Canon 60mm macro:

 

Nauticam Macro Port and Focus Gear Set for Metabones Canon EF Lens to Sony NEX Smart Adapter II and Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM (backscatter.com)

I had seen this before and also balked at the price. I don't need access to the AF/MF switch, and if I have to get an N85-N120 adapter for my WA lens, it didn't make sense to me to get this instead of finding a macro port of the correct length. 

 

1 hour ago, Lewis88 said:

I added Nauticam's M16 USB-C bulkhead, so I can charge my camera with everything assembled and vacuum pulled instead of disassembling to change batteries.

I've done the same. I've always hated having to crack open my housing to change batteries on a wet, rocking boat. It just makes me nervous. 

[humu9679]

@Lewis88 "I added Nauticam's M16 USB-C bulkhead, so I can charge my camera with everything assembled and vacuum pulled instead of disassembling to change batteries." @Craine

 

The zed batteries have been a game changer for the A6xxx series. I have an A6600 but unhoused. I also have an old Nauticam housing for the A6000 - any idea if I can fit a newer A6 body in there?

[Lewis88]

49 minutes ago, humu9679 said:

The zed batteries have been a game changer for the A6xxx series. I have an A6600 but unhoused. I also have an old Nauticam housing for the A6000 - any idea if I can fit a newer A6 body in there?

 

I'm stuck with the fw50 batteries, but charging between dives via a powerbank has made it not an issue anymore. 

 

I don't believe any of the other a6xxx series will fit in your 6000 housing. From my research, the 6100/6400 were closest externally. I didn't look much at the 6300/6500, but they're all quite different than the 6000. 

[Craine]

58 minutes ago, humu9679 said:

The zed batteries have been a game changer for the A6xxx series. I have an A6600 but unhoused. I also have an old Nauticam housing for the A6000 - any idea if I can fit a newer A6 body in there?

 

Battery life was atrocious on my A6400 before I switched to an external flash trigger. Once I did that I could eke out two dives on one charge. 

 

As for the bodies, I know with the SeaFrogs/Salted Line housings, they use the same one for a6000/a6100/a6300/a6400/a6500. The majority of the button placements are the same/similar enough, but the rub is the physical dimensions. The 6000 is noticeably thinner front to back than the rest of them (approx. 26mm vs 31mm, as measured on the orange line). SeaFrogs gets around this by using a kit that essentially "shims" some of the dials so they touch the body. I don't know if you'd have that flexibility with the Nauticam housing, especially since the change is dimensions is going the other way (thicker camera in a thinner housing).  

 

[humu9679]

@Craine@Lewis88 Thanks folks. I've always wondered about making the Nauticam work with the A6xxx series since SeaFrogs could do it. The bulkhead charging is genius.