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I'm just getting started shooting this lens on an A7RIII and the hunting is a challenge. I don't really want to go down the focus limiter route since I do occasionally want to shoot larger subjects. I find myself right at the limits of close focus regularly which then tends to make the lens go to maximum focal length when it hunts. Would a mild diopter help?

This site might be helpful. Coryphopterus tortugae: https://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/caribbean/en/thefishes/species/4746 Goldspot: https://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/caribbean/en/thefishes/species/4170 The only specie I see with a vertical bar through the eye in the "this species" or "similar species" links for either of these is the goldspot. Your picture doesn't show the spot near the gill cover but there are some pictures in the "this species" link for the goldspot that don't show it either.

Nice project! Unfortunately, I have two original Nauticam blocks, but they're too thick and don't fit the 8-15 or your design. For now, I've cut a piece of rubber to size and it's working, even if it sometimes shifts a little. It would be great if you could recreate that piece in 3D as well; everyone would really appreciate it

Yes, crowded is the word, hectic and downright sketchy when speedboats from Male join in... It's one of the reasons we left quickly when we were working there in 2021-22. On the plus side you do see them diving quite often as well on certain sites, which can be a nicer experience. The're also attracted to lights of liveaboard mooring at night in the Maamigili area, and tend to hang around there.

I haven't updated the initial post in a while. Now I should have included all the projects I've posted. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for this project!

South Ari atol in Maldives is organised snorkelling trips not diving Can also get crowded -about 6 boats when we were there 2024

@Vitaly My daughter has shot the 90mm on the A7III, the A7RIV, and now the A7RV. With each body upgrade the lens AF response has gotten a little better, but still not a "world class" macro lens for anyone who has shot with a Cannon or Nikon previously. The A1 helps quite a bit more, however the lens still hunts at times. The new Sony 100mm macro lens is significantly better in cutting down the hunting. Some of the best practices (with the 90mm) that people use include "pre-focusing" in a narrow range for your subject (focus on something a similar distance away, then focus on your subject); utilize back button focus; leverage the focus limiter switch; utilize the rocking back and forth focus method, and use a high-lumen focus light. With these techiques you can get the best out of this lens, which can provide tack sharp images (when it focuses on what you want to shoot). An MFO-1 does help a bit (by reducing the focus range). Others here will tell you the lens is "fine." If you use several of the techniques above the lens can be quite good. However, if you've shot a camera like a Nikon D500, D850, or any of the better Cannon bodies (along with the 105mm for Nikon or 100mm for Cannon macro lens) you notice the difference. The Sony 90mm just hunts more... The new Sony 100mm lens seems to be significantly better... we've tried it locally, taking it to Indonesia in May to give it the full test.

One can snorkel with whalesharks also in Tansania/Mafia island, near the delta of the Rufiji river. I have been there 2024 and 2025. On one excursion it was approx. 15 individuals. The excursion with the least whalesharks was 3 individuals. Several boats with snorkelers are usually present, but the activity was still o.k. (maybe one dozend of snorkelers around)... I returned on Sunday, 29.3. from the Maledives (Omadhoo island in Ari Atoll). Also there whaleshark excursions are offered, also from other close islands and resorts. According to divers, who have participated, at these spots there are around appox. 150 snorkelers plus several groups of scubadivers UW, producing a lot of airbubbles. We gratefully declined from participation in such an excursion... Wolfgang

Welcome aboard - fellow Melburnian here, though not a native 😁

Hi, any coatings on UW- ports are on the inner surface. Br Markus

My monitor is able for Adobe RGB and the water looks nicer when I view and process in Adobe RGB. Since my main device for viewing (a 2K projector) and internet are not able to display Adobe RGB correctly, I process and store all photos in sRGB (with few exceptions, when I know that the output will be in Adobe RGB). Also this photo is entirely sRGB...

Tbh A1 shouldnt be the problem. I assume you have latest firmware installed? There has been AF improvements in the updates. Maybe some settings are wrong? Theres couple of YouTube videos by Alex Mustard (probably others also) about UW settings on the A1. In my opinion MFO-1 should not be the solution, it should be an addition or enhancement.

A1 body. I talked to Backscatter, and they also mentioned the MFO-1, but I’ve read some mixed feedback about how much it actually helps with focusing.

This is an issue with older Sony bodies if i remember correctly. I dont remember it being a problem with my A7RV and 90mm. Which one are you using? Maybe MFO-1 helps little bit?

I recently got the Sony 90mm and took it underwater last weekend. The focus hunting was pretty frustrating. How do people deal with that?

I was told the glass has a coating, so any polishing compound might damage or remove it.

I shoot the same lenswith the AOI 4 inch glass dome. I have not had any issues with stray reflections with that combo.

Hi, I use Ceroxid (Cerium (IV) oxide). It is a powder widely used as a high performance polishing agent in the glass industry. I bought some stuff on ebay but it shoud be available on internet shops as well. Watermarks are easily to remove and I was even able to remove small scratches with. I do it without polishing machine, so it takes a bit of time. But worth to do it. Br Markus

I have a Panasonic 8mm and I used it in a Zen 100mmglass dome and didn't notice any reflections. There is no white lettering upfront which is the usual culprit with lenses causing reflections and the petals have cast in lines which are designed so that the lens sees the shaded underside of the lines. I can't see it being a problem.

Allowing water to evaporate on the glass is what causes this, the salts concentrate and it will eventually etch the glass, the same with anodizing on the housings. If you can't remove it with glass cleaner then it appears the glass has become etched. You can replace the port glass. The solution is prevention. I keep my housing covered after dives and it gets a long soak after each days diving before being dried off. I'm using a blower now from wolfbox, the high velocity blows the water off rather than letting it evaporate.

Dry the port and water-contact optics after rinsing to avoid this, using a lint-free cloth. I try but it's not always top of mind after a dive. Can we really see water spots on a lens when shooting underwater?

I see the same on my housings. I was told it is the coating. I was also told to ignore it. YRMV.

I noticed some spots on the glass of my Nauticam flat port. They look like thin mineral deposits and I can’t get them off. I always rinse the port with fresh water after dives, but usually don’t dry or wipe it afterward. Any suggestions on how to clean them, or are they permanent? Thank you, Vitaly

Hey everyone, I’m currently shooting the Olympus OM-1 with the Panasonic 8mm fisheye in an AOI DLP-06 acrylic dome. I haven’t had enough bottom time with this setup yet to know if internal reflections will be an issue, but looking at the port hood petals, I'm curious: does anyone proactively line the inside of the petals with matte tape or similar materials to kill stray light? Is this a known quirk with the DLP-06/8mm combo, or am I overthinking it before seeing the files? Would love to hear if anyone uses flocking or gaffer tape here. Cheers!

Do you see a difference after editing the image in Lightroom and then converting it to sRGB? Or do you make a proof in Lightroom (--> sRGB)? Lightroom always develops in Pro Photo RGB, which is a much larger color space than Adobe RGB. Blue water generally looks somewhat "sick" in sRGB because important cyan components are missing - assuming a wide gamut display is used. Of your images, I find the first one a lot of and the third one a bit too magenta-heavy; the others look relatively 'realistic' - without knowing the exact situation. DCI-P3 also lacks a potentially important cyan range compared to Adobe RGB, but your monitors can only display 95% of that range anyway, and probably a maximum of 90% of Adobe RGB. My starting point for image development in Lightroom is always the camera's default profile - okay, it works better sometimes and worse at other times. Personally, I find the HSL sliders in Lightroom in combination with the white balance tool extremely powerful and I don't feel like I'm missing anything when I want to influence the color of the blue water. However, after converting from Adobe RGB to sRGB, I regularly feel like throwing up. No, it's exactly the other way around: a strobe with 4800K is significantly warmer than one with 6500K - I know it's confusing. May I ask if the image was uploaded in Adobe RGB? To me, it doesn't look like sRGB.