Hi everyone,

I'm finally upgrading from my Sony A7R III Ikelite setup to a Nauticam system and trying to decide between two Sony options. I'm a hobby photographer with a focus on nature and wildlife.

Option 1: Sony A7R V

Pros:

• Lower overall cost

• Nauticam Housing would also fit my existing A7 IV, giving me a backup body for an upcoming remote 5-week dive trip to French Polynesia in August.

Cons:

• Older camera

• Electronic shutter not usable

• slow / high rolling shutter
  

Option 2: Sony A7R VI

Pros:

• Latest generation body

• No rolling shutter, good for speed for most photo situation (prob not fast action in Magbay or South Africa)

• Better video

• Probably a better long term option

Cons:

• No backup body (housing only supports one)

• More expensive

My main setup will likely be the WACP-C with the Sony 28-60, as most reviews seem to favor it over the traditional 16-35 + dome combination.

My main questions are the following:

• Would you prioritize having a newer body with the latest specs or having a backup body on a remote trip?

• Is the A7RV still considered a great underwater option in 2026, or would you go straight to the A7R VI?

Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated :) Thanks guys!

Just buy the new one. That is if you can afford it and can get the housing in time for your trip. If you have time, wait for a few weeks for some actual UW reviews on the body.

I wouldnt put any weight on fitting a older body in the housing as backup, there is something seriously wrong if you have to do that and you are probably thinking about that instead of diving.

That being said, A7RV is still a magnificent body and produces great results. Maybe make a compromise and get the A7RV and change WACP-C to WACP-1. Although in Polynesia has alot of split opportunities (blacktips in the shallows with nice beach/ect backgrounds), so the traditional with a dome route might be better (maybe even the Canon 8-15 with TC).

Maybe have a look at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXlG9Fkd1-Y for some ideas. Alex and Matthew has a small video on the A7RVI also.

6 minutes ago, Sokrates said:

Just buy the new one. That is if you can afford it and can get the housing in time for your trip. If you have time, wait for a few weeks for some actual UW reviews on the body.

I wouldnt put any weight on fitting a older body in the housing as backup, there is something seriously wrong if you have to do that and you are probably thinking about that instead of diving.

That being said, A7RV is still a magnificent body and produces great results. Maybe make a compromise and get the A7RV and change WACP-C to WACP-1. Although in Polynesia has alot of split opportunities (blacktips in the shallows with nice beach/ect backgrounds), so the traditional with a dome route might be better (maybe even the Canon 8-15 with TC).

Maybe have a look at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXlG9Fkd1-Y for some ideas. Alex and Matthew has a small video on the A7RVI also.

Thanks for your response it's very much appreciated! I think I agree with you, I get more excited when researching the newer model. I'll be leaving end of august so not sure if underwater reviews will be out on time, I think the nauticam releases the housing end of this month.

Regarding the dome route, I already own the 16-35mm f/2.8 II, so that could definitely be a great option! I don't have the Canon fisheye, and I don’t think I want to invest in one right now. I was actually looking for a versatile middle ground, which is what led me to the WACP-C since it fits my budget perfectly.

I have A7R5 in Nauticam housing. I am very happy with the camera and have no urge to upgrade now. Both A7R5 and (for sure) A7R6 are very capable UW cameras. Even better AF and more DR of A7R6 is certainly tempting..

If buying new, I would go for A7R6, just because of the longer usable span from now (more futureproof). A budget friendly, and also very good, option is to look for a second hand Nauticam housing for R5, maybe together with camera. I guess several people will upgrade now and want so sell (I would not go for a new A7R5 housing now, the price is the same as for R6)...

Wolfgang

P.S.: I do not have a backup camera at present(sooner or later I will have to acquire a second body, since my over water photography is now restricted to the arrival and the last day before departure of a trip, during the rest of the time the camera is integrated into the setup; having one housing that fits both cameras is certainly an advantage )

Edited Sunday at 04:02 PM3 days by Architeuthis

21 minutes ago, Architeuthis said:

I have A7R5 in Nauticam housing. I am very happy with the camera and have no urge to upgrade now. Both A7R5 and (for sure) A7R6 are very capable UW cameras. Even better AF and more DR of A7R6 is certainly tempting..

If buying new, I would go for A7R6, just because of the longer usable span from now (more futureproof). A budget friendly, and also very good, option is to look for a second hand Nauticam housing for R5, maybe together with camera. I guess several people will upgrade now and want so sell (I would not go for a new A7R5 housing now, the price is the same as for R6)...

Wolfgang

P.S.: I do not have a backup camera at present(sooner or later I will have to acquire a second body, since my over water photography is now restricted to the arrival and the last day before departure of a trip, during the rest of the time the camera is integrated into the setup; having one housing that fits both cameras is certainly an advantage )

Thanks for your response! Totally agree, I am a bit limited on time as we leave at the end of July for our 5-week trip. If I didn't already have the A7 IV, this would be an easier decision for me. Now I already have a backup available in case I go for the A7R V, which is definitely nice for peace of mind on a 5-week remote trip. Then again, the A7R VI does excite me more...

Just circling back to the A7IV in other housing, i think it can function also in the A7R VI housing, atleast on some level. Its not 1:1 with the A7R V either.

And A7R VI with A7 IV:

Yes there are differences, but there might be a small possibility that most buttons align.

Just buy the A7R VI and you wont be thinking any what if's with the brand spankers new camera.

New camera to fail critically without it being somewhat due to the housing, the odds are super small. If its due to the housing like it most likely will be, you dont want to stick your old camera in either.

Edited Sunday at 04:37 PM3 days by Sokrates

2 hours ago, Sokrates said:

Just circling back to the A7IV in other housing, i think it can function also in the A7R VI housing, atleast on some level. Its not 1:1 with the A7R V either.

And A7R VI with A7 IV:

Yes there are differences, but there might be a small possibility that most buttons align.

Just buy the A7R VI and you wont be thinking any what if's with the brand spankers new camera.

New camera to fail critically without it being somewhat due to the housing, the odds are super small. If its due to the housing like it most likely will be, you dont want to stick your old camera in either.

Thanks again for your reply. Nauticam has a conversion kit to make the A7IV work in the A7RV housing.

3 hours ago, AlexUW26 said:

Thanks for your response! Totally agree, I am a bit limited on time as we leave at the end of July for our 5-week trip. If I didn't already have the A7 IV, this would be an easier decision for me. Now I already have a backup available in case I go for the A7R V, which is definitely nice for peace of mind on a 5-week remote trip. Then again, the A7R VI does excite me more...

Maybe you should not let stress yourself by this single trip. It seems that up to now you were happily making photos with your A7R3 (If I had an A7R3, I also would consider an upgrade)? If no good bargain shows up, why not wait and make the next trip with the camera you already have and upgrade afterwards?

Within the next half year, prices for new A7R6 will drop considerably, as well as Nauticam housings for A7R5 will appear on the second hand market...

Pretty sure they could make conversion kit for any Sony model with these 1mm differences and buttons in same spots, but thats not good business now is it?

But thats for another topic.

Just buy the new one ;)

2 hours ago, Sokrates said:

Pretty sure they could make conversion kit for any Sony model with these 1mm differences and buttons in same spots, but thats not good business now is it?

But thats for another topic.

Just buy the new one ;)

Haha good point :)

9 hours ago, Architeuthis said:

Maybe you should not let stress yourself by this single trip. It seems that up to now you were happily making photos with your A7R3 (If I had an A7R3, I also would consider an upgrade)? If no good bargain shows up, why not wait and make the next trip with the camera you already have and upgrade afterwards?

Within the next half year, prices for new A7R6 will drop considerably, as well as Nauticam housings for A7R5 will appear on the second hand market...

The A7RIII was good, but the autofocus was lacking, but my biggest issue was the Ikelite housing. The buttons would often get stuck at depth, so I never felt it was reliable enough. Since this upcoming trip is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I'd like to bring some new gear that I can trust.

12 hours ago, Sokrates said:

Pretty sure they could make conversion kit for any Sony model with these 1mm differences and buttons in same spots, but thats not good business now is it?

But thats for another topic.

Just buy the new one ;)

This is so much the truth. Between the camera manufacturers moving things by 1mm and the housing manufacturers not doing conversions it's enough to make you pull your hair out (what is left of it).

My concern would be the rushed decision. You are coming from Ikelite so nothing will carry over. Do you want to go with Nauticam? Isotta will be somewhat cheaper but you would have to wait for the A7RVI to appear, in particular their ports and extension rings are quite a bit cheaper. To use a WACP-C based on prices from UW camera store the housing zoom ring and adapter come to 3873 euro with Isotta and 4550 euro in Nauticam. You would need to add the WACP port, lens, camera etc to that total

The Isotta housing will be more compact and uses B120 ports while the Nauticam is N100 and requires the pricey N100-N120 adapter for many lens combinations. Isotta have published a port chart for using Nauticam wet lenses on their housings here:

https://www.backscatter.com/images/article/content/Port-Charts/Isotta-port-chart-Nauticam-Lenses.pdf

Your other option in this regard might be a WWL with the 28-60, somewhat cheaper to purchase and reported to have very similar optical quality. You could do this in Isotta as well.

10 hours ago, Chris Ross said:

My concern would be the rushed decision. You are coming from Ikelite so nothing will carry over. Do you want to go with Nauticam? Isotta will be somewhat cheaper but you would have to wait for the A7RVI to appear, in particular their ports and extension rings are quite a bit cheaper. To use a WACP-C based on prices from UW camera store the housing zoom ring and adapter come to 3873 euro with Isotta and 4550 euro in Nauticam. You would need to add the WACP port, lens, camera etc to that total

The Isotta housing will be more compact and uses B120 ports while the Nauticam is N100 and requires the pricey N100-N120 adapter for many lens combinations. Isotta have published a port chart for using Nauticam wet lenses on their housings here:

https://www.backscatter.com/images/article/content/Port-Charts/Isotta-port-chart-Nauticam-Lenses.pdf

Your other option in this regard might be a WWL with the 28-60, somewhat cheaper to purchase and reported to have very similar optical quality. You could do this in Isotta as well.

Hey Chris,

Thanks for the response!

I've been looking at alternatives for quite a while now. Initially, I was planning to go with the A7R V and AOI housing, but I couldn't find enough reviews online, and there wasn't much information available regarding long-term commitment to the Sony system. That was quite important for me before investing in a specific UW lens/ port setup.

I also looked at Isotta and even had the chance to handle one to check the ergonomics. Here in the Netherlands, the price difference between Isotta and Nauticam was around €300 for the A7RV. For me personally, I'd rather invest that extra money into better ergonomics. The Isotta felt extremely reliable and sturdy, but the handling and overall user experience felt better with Nauticam.

Regarding the WACP-C, I've been told that the image quality is significantly better than the 16-35mm behind a dome port. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to test this myself yet. The price difference between the WACP-C setup and a 230mm glass dome was actually quite similar. I could go with a cheaper acrylic dome, but that might compromise image quality?

I also considered the WWL, which is a more affordable option. However, since I'll be doing a lot of humpback whale photography where I need to enter the water quickly, I was a bit concerned about potential bubbles between the lens and the wet optic.

All in all, I'm fairly certain that I want to invest in Nauticam. I'm still not 100% convinced on the camera body, though. And yes, because I'd like to bring it on this trip, I'm kind of forced into making a rushed decision..... So it's basically a choice between going for the more expensive option, which may be the better long-term investment, or choosing the less expensive body and having a backup camera on the trip, while potentially wanting to upgrade the camera body sooner.

If you are going Nauticam then the Metabones/Canon 8-15 and 2x TC is an option.

6 hours ago, AlexUW26 said:

I also looked at Isotta and even had the chance to handle one to check the ergonomics. Here in the Netherlands, the price difference between Isotta and Nauticam was around €300 for the A7RV. For me personally, I'd rather invest that extra money into better ergonomics. The Isotta felt extremely reliable and sturdy, but the handling and overall user experience felt better with Nauticam.

Regarding the WACP-C, I've been told that the image quality is significantly better than the 16-35mm behind a dome port. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to test this myself yet. The price difference between the WACP-C setup and a 230mm glass dome was actually quite similar. I could go with a cheaper acrylic dome, but that might compromise image quality?

Fair enough, though I would add that ports for Isotta seem to be a quite a bit cheaper and particularly extension rings when you look at the prices for the type II rings from Nauticam - that's a long term cost if you add more lenses later.

The Canon 8-15 with metabones and Sony 2x is also a fine option, about as good a quality as WACP-C according to posts on here and combines a 180° diagonal fisheye, the field of a 14-28 rectilinear and the wider end of the WACP. You can use it behind a Nauticam 140mm dome among other options such as Nauticam 4.33"acrylic dome and even the tiny Zen 100mm dome (at the cost of some corner performance). In Isotta you don't need the N100-N120 adapter and you could use it with the 4.5"glass dome.

17 hours ago, Chris Ross said:

Fair enough, though I would add that ports for Isotta seem to be a quite a bit cheaper and particularly extension rings when you look at the prices for the type II rings from Nauticam - that's a long term cost if you add more lenses later.

The Canon 8-15 with metabones and Sony 2x is also a fine option, about as good a quality as WACP-C according to posts on here and combines a 180° diagonal fisheye, the field of a 14-28 rectilinear and the wider end of the WACP. You can use it behind a Nauticam 140mm dome among other options such as Nauticam 4.33"acrylic dome and even the tiny Zen 100mm dome (at the cost of some corner performance). In Isotta you don't need the N100-N120 adapter and you could use it with the 4.5"glass dome.

That could be an interesting option as well. So if I understand correctly, by adding the 2x converter, you get a fisheye effect on the wide end and roughly a 28mm equivalent on the long end, right?

What are the downsides? Is it mainly that the lens isn't native, so autofocus performance might suffer a bit, or are there other compromises? I do usually prefer to stick with same lens brand haha, but open to suggestions.

Out of curiosity, what setup are you shooting with?