I have recently seen in Facebook housings from Seafrogs made of full aluminium alloy. I'm about upgrade my equipment to a Canon R6 mk ii and watching the pictures and videos it's an amazing quality and ergonomy, equiparable to Nauticam in all senses. But I can't see any independent review, I would like to have one in my hands or a trustworthy opinion before buying, because although it's half the price (or less) than a Nauticam housing and accesories it's a big investment and I don't want to get wrong. They are not even in their website, but I have already received a quotation trough whatsapp

Honestly, this reminds me when Nauticam popped up in the market with plastic housing prices for high quality aluminum housings. But I'm really hot about buying one of this Seaforgs.

16 minutes ago, atus said:

Honestly, this reminds me when Nauticam popped up in the market with plastic housing prices for high quality aluminum housings. But I'm really hot about buying one of this Seaforgs.

I can definitely see where you are coming from with this analogy. Maybe Seafrogs are giving away almost free crack for future sales 🤣

But competition is always welcome, hopefully they can keep prices low and get fair chunk of marketshare so Nauticam (and Marelux + others) might lower their prices. But thats just wishful thinking.

But going to keep eyes out on future trips for housings by them.

Yes, competition is always good!

Hi @atus

They definitely look lovely don't they!

I know a few underwater photographers who've used Seafrogs housings with their Fuji Mirrorless Systems and haven't had a problem. I used them with my Olympus TG before reverting back to an Olympus Housing, and have never had a problem with them.

One of the key considerations would be that the back is made of plastic and I'm not sure if they would have the same range of add-on diopters, ports, viewfinders, extensions, etc that other brands offer. I've also heard that sometimes you can only get the option of shooting with either Shutter Speed or Aperture Priority by using the dial and then you have to change them in the menu settings.

At the end of the day, it's a great for entry level or those with lower budgets. Just be careful with the plastic screen.

There is an award-winning photographer called @ben.freediver on Insta who uses one, could be worth reaching out to him.

Good luck with the decision-making.

1 hour ago, Maria Munn said:

Hi @atus

They definitely look lovely don't they!

I know a few underwater photographers who've used Seafrogs housings with their Fuji Mirrorless Systems and haven't had a problem. I used them with my Olympus TG before reverting back to an Olympus Housing, and have never had a problem with them.

One of the key considerations would be that the back is made of plastic and I'm not sure if they would have the same range of add-on diopters, ports, viewfinders, extensions, etc that other brands offer. I've also heard that sometimes you can only get the option of shooting with either Shutter Speed or Aperture Priority by using the dial and then you have to change them in the menu settings.

At the end of the day, it's a great for entry level or those with lower budgets. Just be careful with the plastic screen.

There is an award-winning photographer called @ben.freediver on Insta who uses one, could be worth reaching out to him.

Good luck with the decision-making.

Hi Maria, I think you haven't understand me, I knew since long time ago about the Seafrogs plastic housing which i really don't like since it's for more than 15 years that I'm using alluminium housings, such Sea@Sea as Aquatica, so I'm very familiar with high quality housings and before this I had a Fantasea plastic housing for SLR, I don't like Fantasea or 10bar, the same way I don't like Ikelite.

What is relevant right now about Seafrogs is that they have open a new line of housings in full aluminium alloy which looks like really high quality housing like Nauticam, Aquatica, Marelux, etc but half the price or even less.

They certainly have better taste I choosing monitors for which to make housing. What on earth both Nauticam and Marelux were thinking when making housing for touch only monitors from Atomos ... 🤦(save for recorder)

Looking at the matter from a little further away, there is a whole series of Chinese companies that have been in their respective markets for years with basic, simpler products, but have now made a big jump in quality technology. Seafrog is definitely the only one in the housing sector, but how can we not notice what is happening with lenses?

The camera lens market has seen a growing and aggressive presence of Chinese manufacturers, who initially focused on manual focus optics, but are now offering an increasingly wide and competitive range of lenses equipped with autofocus. These brands are making technologies and performance once reserved for higher market segments accessible to a wider audience.

To name a few: Viltrox, Yongnuo, Meike, TTArtisan, 7Artisan, Sirui, Brightin Star, Laowa.

And staying within our industry, how can we not notice a huge leap in quality and offerings from brands like Kraken, Weefine, AOI, Scubalamp?

The housing is aluminum, but I'd really hesitate if their internal components aren't similarly upgraded.

I own a SeaFrogs salted for A6xxx as my first housing, overall the housing and port does the job but it's how you interact with the camera that isn't well engineered.

43 minutes ago, Grantmac said:

The housing is aluminum, but I'd really hesitate if their internal components aren't similarly upgraded.

I own a SeaFrogs salted for A6xxx as my first housing, overall the housing and port does the job but it's how you interact with the camera that isn't well engineered.

This is what amazes me, watching at these aluminium housings looks like a Nauticam in terms of ergonomics. They have send me the manual of the housing in pdf and there is access to the whole camera... separated lever for focus, side dial for the diaphragm, side dial for the speed, another thumb dial for the iso...everything looks in his place and with easy access to the buttons with thumbs. To be honest I am really about to buy it, but it's a big investment, I have to buy also the camera. I asked them what happens if i'm not agree with the quality once it's in my hands. I'm waiting for the answer...

2 hours ago, atus said:

This is what amazes me, watching at these aluminium housings looks like a Nauticam in terms of ergonomics. They have send me the manual of the housing in pdf and there is access to the whole camera... separated lever for focus, side dial for the diaphragm, side dial for the speed, another thumb dial for the iso...everything looks in his place and with easy access to the buttons with thumbs. To be honest I am really about to buy it, but it's a big investment, I have to buy also the camera. I asked them what happens if i'm not agree with the quality once it's in my hands. I'm waiting for the answer...

One other thing to consider is servicing. If the housings can be serviced easily or even Do It Yourself (DIY), that would be a huge plus. The original Seafrogs plastic housings were fine, but a bit chunky and not the best for ergonomics. I never had one long enough to require servicing.

I will say this SeaFrogs will sell any part at a reasonable price.

I can't get tiny parts from Nauticam at ANY price.

I'll be very interested to hear what you think if you choose to go this path. I have a ton of Nauticam stuff and was intending to stick with Nauticam for my upcoming update, but exploring a new option isn't off the table!

Very interesting subject - but pricing-wise, are they competitive?

Their website lists the Sony A6700 at $2423 USD (love the $3, guess it must be an automatic conversion)
https://www.seafrogs.com/products_details/Sea_Frogs_Aluminum_Alloy_Underwater_Housing_For_Sony_a6700.html
where as the Nauticam NA6700 is at $2300 or so (edit - this is the price in JPY, I guess the low yen is favourable - it's more in the $3000 range apparently)
https://www.nauticam.com/products/na-a6700-housing-for-sony-a6700-camera

and maybe the the Seafrog comes with the port and dome like on the pic?

Edited September 29Sep 29 by bghazzal

1 hour ago, bghazzal said:

and maybe the the Seafrog comes with the port and dome like on the pic?

It says so in the specifications. But the manual says they need to purchased separately.

Looks very much like a copy that has taken elements from other brands. The port locking lever looks pretty much Nauticam, as are other dials and knobs.

What looks good in the housing is that the vacuum is dedicated and still has M14 and M28 ports.

Well, today it's been a busy day as long as there are two different Seafrogs sites, what has been a bit confusing and for a few hours I thought i was about to be scammed. Fortunately it's not the case.

This site https://seafrogs.com.hk/ is the Hong Kong dealer and they do not sell the aluminium housing and they don't know the sales agents in China Mainland which manufacture and sells the Aluminium housings, this is the right website for purchasing aluminium housings www.seafrogs.com.

This switched all my alarms on and I didn't keep on going dealing with until was clear I was dealing with the right people. That said

I am also sticked to Aquatica Housings as long as I have dome ports, macro ports, extension rings, zoom gears...a lot of money in accesories, but I want to upgrade to the Canon R6 mk II and Aquatica does not manufacture it. They do the R5 mkii, the price for the housing is ok, but the camera on itself is very expensive and I should have to also change my computer to move such big files. And I am on a budget, so, I still do not have the final price for all the rig because I have been adding and deleting things. But the housing, 1 glass 8" dome port, 1 macro port, 1 zoom ring for the 8-15 lens, 2 extension rings, 1 extension ring with focus gear, 2 fiber optic cables, 1 flash trigger, 3 extra 1" balls...calculated with import duties to Spain...less than 4000 euros. If you put this everything in Nauticam p.ex would be about 7-8.000 euros.

Things that i don't like, their port chart is very short and it doesn't include the more used combination in wide angle FF, 8-15 fisheye plus Kenko 1.4x

They don't have a 4" dome port, instead they have 6" glass dome port which i don't like, for me it's in the middle of nowhere. They also have a 6" plastic dome port but i am waiting for the answer to see if it's compatible with the aluminum housing, if so, i'll get it, it's only about 220 euros.

As long as they don't manufacture the 4" dome port, and this the dome port that I like the most, I will manufacture it on myself, I already have done it for my Aquatica rig.

Thanks for the info Atus,

Just out of curiosity, is the Sea Frogs housing compatible with for example Inon viewfinder?

The port chart is indeed very short, for example for Nikon Z8 only Nikon z 14-30 and 14-24 listed? No macro?

37 minutes ago, canislupus said:

Thanks for the info Atus,

Just out of curiosity, is the Sea Frogs housing compatible with for example Inon viewfinder?

The port chart is indeed very short, for example for Nikon Z8 only Nikon z 14-30 and 14-24 listed? No macro?

Like most Chinese companies, the website is not as good or updated like we are used to. There is macro port for Nikon/Z8.

But i am impressed by the aggressive pricing, and like i said before seems like most products are copies, but cant see too much new innovation to be made in housings anymore. They also have range of video lights (15k lumen for 530$), strobes, floats ect ect, all reasonably priced.

Maybe they will be at next BOOT show, looks like they were in 2024.

Edited September 30Sep 30 by Sokrates

I was able to get my hands on the aluminum Seafrogs housings over a year ago at the Boot trade fair in Düsseldorf, Germany. They look like Nauticam clones, but they also come with a hefty price tag. Milling housing shells from a block of aluminum using CNC is certainly not a very complex process, especially when you have a proven model that you can copy 1:1.

It will be interesting to see the long-term results. The question is really how well the seals, buttons, and surface will hold up in a few years.

What I also couldn't tell is whether they were able to replicate such an excellently functioning and battery-saving vacuum system.

In the end, it's like the cell phone market: with Apple, you pay extra for the entire ecosystem to be perfectly coordinated and thought out down to the last detail. The other providers have caught up considerably and sometimes work very well.

11 hours ago, atus said:

Well, today it's been a busy day as long as there are two different Seafrogs sites, what has been a bit confusing and for a few hours I thought i was about to be scammed. Fortunately it's not the case.

This site https://seafrogs.com.hk/ is the Hong Kong dealer and they do not sell the aluminium housing and they don't know the sales agents in China Mainland which manufacture and sells the Aluminium housings, this is the right website for purchasing aluminium housings www.seafrogs.com.

This switched all my alarms on and I didn't keep on going dealing with until was clear I was dealing with the right people. That said

I am also sticked to Aquatica Housings as long as I have dome ports, macro ports, extension rings, zoom gears...a lot of money in accesories, but I want to upgrade to the Canon R6 mk II and Aquatica does not manufacture it. They do the R5 mkii, the price for the housing is ok, but the camera on itself is very expensive and I should have to also change my computer to move such big files. And I am on a budget, so, I still do not have the final price for all the rig because I have been adding and deleting things. But the housing, 1 glass 8" dome port, 1 macro port, 1 zoom ring for the 8-15 lens, 2 extension rings, 1 extension ring with focus gear, 2 fiber optic cables, 1 flash trigger, 3 extra 1" balls...calculated with import duties to Spain...less than 4000 euros. If you put this everything in Nauticam p.ex would be about 7-8.000 euros.

Things that i don't like, their port chart is very short and it doesn't include the more used combination in wide angle FF, 8-15 fisheye plus Kenko 1.4x

They don't have a 4" dome port, instead they have 6" glass dome port which i don't like, for me it's in the middle of nowhere. They also have a 6" plastic dome port but i am waiting for the answer to see if it's compatible with the aluminum housing, if so, i'll get it, it's only about 220 euros.

As long as they don't manufacture the 4" dome port, and this the dome port that I like the most, I will manufacture it on myself, I already have done it for my Aquatica rig.

The most economical route is often to retain your ports and accesories, probably a number of ways to do this. In Aquatica, would you spend less buying an R5 body than buying all new ports. Alternatively Isotta makes an R6 II housing and they also sell an Isotta housing to Aquatica port adapter, so you can keep our ports and use them with the new housing. You would need to talk to Isotta about confirming if extensions needed are the same for your lenses and you'd probably need new focus/zoom gears. That may the most economical route potentially?

9 hours ago, canislupus said:

Thanks for the info Atus,

Just out of curiosity, is the Sea Frogs housing compatible with for example Inon viewfinder?

The port chart is indeed very short, for example for Nikon Z8 only Nikon z 14-30 and 14-24 listed? No macro?

I still don't know, I was waiting to receive the housing, if I finally buy it the plan is to call Saga in Spain, to make and adapter. The port chart is really short and with a lot of combinations of lens missing.

I'd love to be able to adapt Seafrogs ports to Nauticam. Maybe I need to do some designing.

9 hours ago, Chris Ross said:

The most economical route is often to retain your ports and accesories, probably a number of ways to do this. In Aquatica, would you spend less buying an R5 body than buying all new ports. Alternatively Isotta makes an R6 II housing and they also sell an Isotta housing to Aquatica port adapter, so you can keep our ports and use them with the new housing. You would need to talk to Isotta about confirming if extensions needed are the same for your lenses and you'd probably need new focus/zoom gears. That may the most economical route potentially?

I guess I'm going to follow your advice, I didn't have in mind to buy an Isotta housing with an adapter for my ports.

Fortunately I know the dealer in Spain and I have his phone number. I have asked a for a Quatation for all that I need and it looks like it's going to be pretty much the same than buying the Seafrogs with its all new gears and ports. Another pro is that being an italian housing in case of need for the service it's going to be a lot quicker than in China. And still better, I go for a Trip to Similan islands at the end of November, so it will arrive on time for the trip for sure. And about the zoom gears, etc...no worries, I have done my own ones for Aquatica with the 3d printer and i'm pretty sure I can do the same with the Isotta ones.

Well, I finally fhe Chris Ross advice and i have bought the Isotta housing with the ring to fit all my Aquatica Ports, The price is more or less the same than buying the Seafrog housing with new ports, extension rings, zoom gears..But i have the manufacturer in Europe with european warranty, that means that in case of failure my housing can be ready in days. And still more important, I'll have the new camera and housing ready for my next trip to Similan Islands in November.

But if I had to start from 0, I would probably buy that Seafrogs.

I discovered that in their new aluminum housing line they have a GH7 housing and many all but I couldn't find a Panasonic lens chart. 5h3 new macro ports are not listed even on the OM lens chart. Furthermore I found their extensions in another leaflet.

I couldn't understand if they have one post size for all. The GH7 housing has a huge port lens opening.

https://www.seafrogs.com/Products/GH7.html