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You can buy a 3d printer for what Nauticam is charging for Zoom Gears these days! If you have access to a printer (say your local library or a friend), you can make one for nothing. If you don't have a printer, let me know and I'd be happy to send you a 24-50z zoom gear. https://makerworld.com/en/models/612361-nauticam-zoom-gear-for-nikon-24-50mm-z-mount-lens#profileId-1820683

Don't pay $450 for a 24-50z. They go for about $250 on the secondary market in excellent shape. I buy lenses from KEH.com whenever possible.

Cheers, glad you enjoyed it 😀 Thanks Evan, appreciate it 🙏

Thanks Craig. Yes, it’s still in Cinelike D. The main change I’ve made is lowering the Kelvin setting when shooting artificial light. The Backscatter MW4300 has a low CRI and adds a yellow cast to the footage when combined with the Hydras. I ran some tests recently, and lowering the Kelvin value gets rid of that, which is nice. Yes, this little guy was really cooperative! If you look closely, the gills have a pattern that looks a bit like the branches of a stinging hydroid!

Ben, This is stunning video! Thank you for sharing! Evan

Nauticam claims the MFO3 turns a 90 mm into a ~60mm. Does that mean it would turn a 60mm into ~45mm?

For uw usage, I don’t really see a downside to the a7rV or any huge upside to the a1 over it. I do use the a1 for high speed action above the waves such as air shows, etc. It really shines there, although the new ai focus on the a7rV is also pretty amazing. Both are exceptional; no wrong choices here.

Yep, the z24-50. It is a kit lens and a bit ”plastic” but it is sharp. So optically very good. Just be careful handling it.

What a great sequence. Thanks for sharing Ben!

Thanks Chip, the A7rV was also a little in the back of my mind and on sale here for a pretty good discount right now. It is a really tough decision.

Thanks, I had read that article. I am leaning more towards the A1

I don't shoot either one but did read a few articles on the differences. This one is worth a read: https://interceptor121.com/2025/03/26/1263-reasons-not-to-get-a-sony-a1-ii-for-underwater-photography/

I think my main problem was the material. As it was public library, no choice in material only colour. So both parts are same and no idea what. But hey, it was free and i got them to fit, so all good 🤣

Great design! It was a bit tight to install for me too, but I managed in the end. Thanks!

It was a great trip aboard the Damai II. Very comfortable boat, well laid out camera room and dive deck. Service was impeccable and food is some of the best. Note, the Damai II can take up to 14divers but there were only 6 of us on the boat, we were spoiled. It was wonderful to see healthy reefs with bountiful small, juvenile fish populations. We were there during a full moon cycle resulting in decent currents which made stopping to set up a shot a bit of a challenge. I will note we did not see many adult versions of angel and butterfly fish. In addition no mantas and very few sharks. I admit I struggled framing shots...it reminded me of shooting wheat fields in Eastern Washington, beautiful in their way but how to capture a unique very wide angle image? With the currents we did not take as many images as typical. Shooting a RX100IV in Nauticam housing. Video is a Cannon HF G40 in a Gates housing.

Amazing macro details. The gills are incredible!

That’s very cool. Still shooting in Cinelike D?

would you all use the 1.4x or/and 2x ... for underwater exclusively?

There's one on Abebooks for 463 USD 😱

Hello all, Well, I’ve been giving in to the times and working on vertical-format edits, even though I’m not really phone-oriented (I know, I know, O tempora, o mores! 😢). I thought I’d share this one here, as I’m happy with the shots - the pipefish itself is about as vertical as they come, and it was cooperative enough to let me get close for some nice details. I find the eyes, gills and tiny swimming fins rather fascinating. For the boomers and purists in the back row, a more traditional and civilised UHD edit - horizontal like nature intended - is also viewable here 😁: https://youtu.be/za96mthi8xE Gear-wise, this was shot on the ol' Lumix LX10 in 4K 30fps, with a Nauticam CMC-1 diopter, two Kraken Hydra 8000V2 lights and a Backscatter MW4300. This was filmed last week at Kin Bay, on the Pacific side of Okinawa’s main island. Cheers! Ben

Hi, due to short time cancellation (less then 1 day before departure) of our liveaboard (planned Magbay & Socorro) we reorganized our Mexico trip and dived La Paz, MagBay & Cabo Pulmo landbased end October/beginning November. MagBay diving from Puerto san Carlos is possible but quite exhausting. You will leave early morning 06.-07.00 am and will be back arround 04-05.00 pm. Ride to the Sardine spots arround 2-3 hours depending on waves/weather condition. We stayed arround 4-5 hours at the supposed sardine rn area to find action spots. We booked our own boat so we were independet & we were able to choose most of the times spots just for us. San Carlos has 2 diving operators but the thing at MagBay is to snorkel. No fun to put on diving equipment and get in/out of the water xxxxxx- times per day. Even things happen very fast so you must be quick in the water. So no diving operators necessary just tour operators organizing a suitible boat with good skipper knows were the action takes place. Puerto san Carlos has a wide range of reasonable accomodation. Good food/restaurants are also widely available. Preparing current trip report so there will be more infos & photos, but will take some time. Any Question just let me know. Br Markus

Do you have some clip to see it in action?

I have a copy of this book, I have been told there are some inaccuracies in it, I think from one of the Nudibranch ID facebok groups and also that a lot of species have changed names like all the Chromodoris sp. that are now Goniobranchis for example. I still use to get a starting point and cross check by googling the species name.

To follow up on this thread - the Pro casing is night and day from the other (non-pro) casing for the Insta360. Here are a few frame grabs from the pro in dark conditions. Relatively sharp at most distances and pleasing to watch - unlike the non-pro case. I find putting a few smaller weights at the end of the selfie stick balances the float a little bit so it can be moved easily while diving.

As the R7 is APS-C you can approach the range available with the WWL by adding the kenko 1.4x to the 8-15 lens As a bare lens it is usable between about 10mm to 15mm and adding a 1.4x it is still wider than the WWL at the widest setting. The horizontal fields I find are best for comparing lenses as this defines the size of subject you can fill the frame with. This table shows the calculated horzontal fields of view of the 8-15/8-15 with 1.4x/18-45 with WWL along with the approximate rectilinear equivalent focal length. 8-15 Horiz- field Equivalent FL 10 141 fisheye 15 83 20 with 1.4x 11.2 114 12 21 59 32 18-45 - WWL 18 106 14 45 50 38 The barrel distortion in the fisheye zoom and WWL will be very close to the same at the same field of view, As you crop in by zooming the barrel distortion reduces progressively. The other point to note is I believe the WWL will have a little less depth of field at the same field of view, this was discussed on a thread on the forum recently. The 8-15 with 1.4x gives close to the same flexibility as the WWL combination, which has slightly more reach at the long end. Of course it doesn't allow adding a closeup lens.