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We put this up yesterday. Neither of us have tried the camera - but we were online when the Sony announcement video came out - and were going to discuss it between ourselves - so recorded an episode about it.

Ha! I went on a Amboseli Kenya Safari in the dry season and let me tell you it was DUSTY! I needed to clean off everything every night, and don't even think about changing a lens in the field.

That did it. Sent you a test message.

On a lighter note, This guy doesn't need a rinse tank 🤣 https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXEJuNWDhaL/?igsh=MXVvc2oyY2ZmandjMg==

It should be ok now

Hi Dave, let me check Ciao

Like with the release of the A1 II Sony is putting four years between the high end cameras so A1 users who passed on the A1 II will not be seeing an A1 III until their cameras are quite dated. That is not necessarily a bad thing many folks are still using DSLR's like D850 and EOS 5D. Having used Sony A1 and Sony A1 II extensively I can assure you that the II is an upgrade over the I for U/W users, the question is will that difference be enough to make you want to switch. Sony A7R V users will be in the same spot of deciding if the extra AF and shutter speeds along with a verity of other improvements outweighs the cost of a new body, housing and spare batteries. Sony is the top contender in the U/W space with four great contenders the A1 I/II, A7R V/VI, A7C II/R and the often overlooked A7 V an excellent camera at 33MP.

Regarding mounting the strobes directly to the housing grips this is something I started doing decades ago with 4/3 cameras and the Olympus 8mm fisheye lenses. The secret is to keep the strobes well behind the small (100/140mm) dome port. If you have a set of a bit longer clamps this becomes easer. Advantages are allowing you to have less drag in strong currents, getting in small spaces like moving through a wreck or cave, quickly moving between landscape and portrait orientations and more. Downsides are less ability to configure strobes to where you may want light coming from different angles, some like buoyancy arms to offset the weight of the housing/port system and more. A photo of my most used configuration with eight and six inch arms is attached. Eight inch on the housing coupled with six inch to the strobes using Ultralight clamps.

Mailbox is full, but i don't want to empty it. Can this limit be raised, or can you suggest a solution so o don't lose data? Export perhaps?

The new Canon 24-50 is very close to the Sony FE 20-70 F/4 for full frame with the main difference being the Canon is internal zoom. The both have the same minimum focus distance and magnification so the results should be very close. I have used the Sony 20-70 extensively with Marelux 180, 210 and 230 ports. In my tests the 140mm port it was a bust in terms of corners and not really recommended. I have attached the front page of the review I did (in UWP back issues) along with photos at 20mm and close to 50mm (45ish) to give an idea of the range, both with the 180mm port. The Marelux 210mm acrylic port fits into the same case as the 180mm port and is a little bit lighter and works better for splits so it is my travel dome. The PZ feature on the Canon 20-50 saves the cost of a zoom gear and it has worked well for me on the Sony FE 16-35 PZ. Regarding use behind a flat port with Nauticam/Marelux wet lenses this remains to be seen. More likely to work with dry lenses like WACP-1 and Aquista 135D which is coming soon.

Yes I used it last week, and will again tonight. Works fine. I made it for someone who requested it for cold water use. It certainly helps.

Dave, Did you get a chance to test out the Atom Knob? Even for warm water, it can be difficult to turn the knob especially with fat fingers. Adrian

Nice idea for my a7V Nauticam housing. Just still need the same for my s-TURTLE 3 SMART TTL trigger and housing can stay closed forever :) Has anyone experience on the turtle trigger battery duration ? I have still only a few dives with the setup, so difficult to figure out...

I can only confirm the posts above how useful a 45° viewfinder in combination with EFV of the camera is. No problem with image review UW. The seldom problem I have is, when I intend to make a photo directly 90° downwards (e.g. for "circular" panning). Then I can use the "C1" custom button on my Sony A7R5 to toggle to the screen, but it is better not to use the 45° viewfinder on the rig in such a case, as it is an obstacle for viewing the screen...

Welcome aboard! We hope you enjoy the forum! Ciao

I have a 45-deg viewfinder too. When reviewing images on the back of the camera on DSLR, I had to rotate the camera forward just to see the display under the viewfinder. Reviewing through the EVF is much better, especially for supermacro critters that are tough to find in the first place.

I second your EVF + 45deg experience. Its amazing and the real mirrorless super power. I use a Nikon Z8 and can easily do 3 dives and 600 photos with about 25-50% charge remaining.

Battery life might be another big win here... My daughter shoots with the A7RV - battery life is "challenging" at times. We're also hoping for a similar increase in AF speed as we saw from the A7RIV ->A7RV. If so, then paired with the (somewhat) new 100mm macro lens we might have a winning combination for blackwater dives. In Lembeh at the moment, and the Nikon D850 with the 60mm lens (the combination my son is shooting with) is still unbeatable for blackwater. There are lots of workable solutions, but this is combination is both fast and error free. First night I shot the Z8 with the older 60mm lens (and the Nikon FTZ). Tomorrow I'm going to shoot the Z105 lens with the MFO-3. Hoping to get a feel for which combination is better specifically for blackwater shooting with the Z8.

It will be interesting to see the actual "real-world" underwater performance differences between this new model and the a7rV. As an example, the advances in the a1II over the original a1 were solid, but did not impact the underwater experience. One promising update appears to be a better heat management design for in-camera video recording. This would be a win for both video and hybrid photogs. I look forward to the actual usage comparisons once they make it to the ocean.

Here is a tread about using the Canon 8-15mm f/4 fisheye with TCs: It seems to me that for a Canon FF camera the Kenko Teleplus HD pro 1.4x DGX TC is the best (Kenko also has the Teleplus HD 1.4x DGX TC, but this one is optically inferior): https://kenkoglobal.com/product/teleplus_hd_pro_1_4x_dgx/

I'm a Sony user with the 45 degree viewfinder, and I find reviewing everything through the viewfinder works best for me. For macro, it's not even a contest as it removes the need to back off the subject and then have to reposition again afterwards. All the info you need is there for you without having to move. I don't do a huge amount of wide angle but I'm that tuned into reviewing through the viewfinder now it just comes naturally I do find though that I change batteries after most dives unless it's been really unproductive. After an average much dive I'm usually around the 50% mark at the surface interval

PetaPixelSony a7R VI Review: The High-Resolution Camera to Rule Th...Sony's lead in the high-res camera segment has widened significantly.https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-a7r-vi-review

Canon appears the same. It's one or the other. Not both and not different things on each screen.

This looks interesting, I never have dared to set my rig up like this... Are there certain conditions/circumstances were you use the "short" configuration vs. long arms (= are the long arms just superfluos ballast)?

Very clever! I don't know why I didn't even consider putting the lanyard holders inside. I put them between the handle and the face of the clamp like the ULCS product page shows.