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Aloha and welcome Señor Duck!

I think the batteries weren't fully charged so the lights weren't at the fullest.

Still have 3 DS125s available.

Cunning plan: Use +1 diopter or extension tube with 90mm Shorten focal distance and enter the realm of super macro The bath beckons

I'm using the MFO3, took it to Lembeh last year and got quite a bit of use out of it. Also using it in Sydney diving. On the same dive I could swap between shooting a gyrating Harlequin sweetlips with 60 and a 500mm long trumpet fish adding on the MFO3. The reason for using it is you have the 60mm capability when you need and can switch pretty quickly to the 36-37mm focal length of the MFO3, you don't get that reach with the 14-42 and macro is more of a challenge. It seems to me there are advantages to be able to shoot the smallest fish with the 60mm over the 14-42. Focusing seems very straight forward with the MFO3, I didn't notice any hunting when using it and if you look at the EXIF you are shooting between 2m and infinity on the lens as reported in the EXIF for the most part (the subject is of course much closer) . This is the range where the 60mm is quite snappy. I would add that the 14-42 once you get to the long end is reported to be not the sharpest knife in he drawer while the MFO3 is sharp across the frame as it corrects for the aberrations caused by shooting through a flat port. At the 36-37mm focal length the 14-42 would be experiencing those aberrations behind a flat port. Here's a brief review of using the MFO3 with the 60mm macro:

uh-oh, nooo! My fault, translation error: DeepL is good, copy/paste without proofreading isn’t. I think the scenery makes it easy for the GoPro to produce good-looking clips. I personally prefer the A6400 videos. From A6400 to A6700 (and hopefully A7 V) the improved image stabilization reduces the benefits of GoPro even further. The only upsides that remain is the size and point&shoot. https://vimeo.com/1167108332

I used AWB on the Sony but I found that GoPro is better with fixed WB, so I tuned according to the video lamps, so I used 5000K, it makes wide footage more rich in blue. Maybe these subjects are not that colourful, but I see a subtle difference bringing out the colours well. This video below is a better examples for the colours of GoPro with external lights (more colourful subjects and available lights are less dominating).

in fact I am going to answer my question myself. I have bought one of these and it looks great and I love the handling and idea of a small rig with no strobe arms for macro Testing underwater (in the bath- living in a very cold rainy UK in February) reveals a few things: minimum focus length of the 90mm macro is 28cm from focal plane so you cannot get very close to the front of the macro port with it for this reason shooting at 1/16 and ISO 200-400 is not quite enough - time and wife allowing - I am going to try further bath tests at iso 800 I'm looking into shorter macro lenses so I can get closer two option appear apt sony e-mount macro 30mm. Cheap but f3.5 maximum 1:1 on e- mount apsc tamron 35mm - slightly more but f2.8 and probably optically better. 1:2 on full frame but on my alpha 6000 apsc it would be more like 2:3 so not far off the Sony unfortunately this would also mandate a new short macro port with the 67mm thread. Any comments on above? I also conducted some in-bath tests with my new 6 inch dome and a tamron 11-20 and a viltrox 9mm 1.8. The close focus ability of both is amazing with the dome port but it is harder to judge how they both cope with a more complex underwater scene. Gearing up for a live-aboard in Komodo later in the year and enjoying doing the research and playing with kit in the meantime.

Hi All, I typically use the Olympus 60mm as my primary lens: I love the lens and shooting fish portraits. But the slight issue I have with it would be the focus hunting of the (hoping it was better but just living with the downside) and sometimes i find the 60mm lens too zoomed in especially for larger subjects. I am now considering getting the Nauticam MFO-3 wet lens to help remedy these two issues. I heard the MFO-3 is basically provides x0.5 magnifications (widens the view) and helps with focusing faster/reducing focus hunting. And like the idea of having it on a flip diopter and can switch between 20° to 33° However, I also have the WWL-1B with the 14-42mm EZ lens which I use for wide-angle shots. I note the FOVs are: Lens/Combo FOV Olympus 60 mm 20° Olympus 60 mm + Nauticam MFO-3 33° Olympus 14-42 mm 29° - 75° Olympus 14-42 mm + Nauticam WWL-1B 50° - 130° The FOVs of the Oly 60mm + MFO-3 combo and the 14-42mm overlap at 33° FOV. The question I have now are: Does it make sense to buy the MFO-3 when the 14-42mm seems to provide the same FOV? Why not just use the 14-42mm lens for those larger subjects when doing fish portraits? Does the MFO-3 bring something else to the table? I am open to hear cases for and against. Thanks, P

It's interesting that you favoured GoPro footage. Have you watched it on phone or on a large monitor? I think it makes a big difference, but I agree that the difference is not that big and when the conditions are good for GoPro shooting with a large camera doesn't bring too much.

That looks like an excellent approach! I was looking at NYA-EVO bags and getting sticker shock, plus I'm guessing they are pretty heavy as well. EDIT: Just looked it up, at $450 and 5+lbs empty for the 60I think I'll pass.

Welcome Mr. Duck! You have me beat by a couple years--I got my basic in 1980 and AOW/Rescue in 1981, so another old fart here!

Very interesting, thanks for this. The results are very nice in terms of IQ for wider shots, but WB struggles on both, with a really strong cast. How do you WB for the A6400, and what WB settings are you on for the GoPro? The lights don't seem to be making much difference on these shots, I guess the shots are too wide for available light power. This is timely - after years of holding on to the GoPro7, a 2nd hand GoPro 13 just arrived from MapCamera this very morning, so I plan to experiment with it as well. I'm really looking forward to 10bit colour, and to testing it with filters for mixed-lighting scenarios and WA. At first it will be with the LX10, but I'm also in the process of upgrading it to an Sony A7SIII rig (bought the Nauticam housing, but assembling the full kit will take a bit of time), so I'll be able to offer A7SIII + GoPro13 tests in a few months, hopefully. My A7SIII rig will be a macro rig at first, but I will have the GoPro13 on there for WA shots, and will test mixed-lighting with both on local reefs. Mixed-lighting tests on the LX10 were very promising (I use Keldan SF -1.5 filter on the lens plus Dreifish recipe "Dreifilters" on the lights) allowing to setting the WB to ambient light and getting closeup highlights (one way to describe it like having a bit of "directional sunlight" at your disposal). Maybe it's something you could look into? Regarding mixed lighting an action cams, here's an nice example of mixed lighting with the GoPro12 (GoPro Hero 12 with lens filter 2x Kraken Solarflare 10k Video Lights with Kraken Blue Filters) : https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=786913180869855 cheers b

For me, it's a bit like comparing a cell phone to a DSLM. Only in specific applications does the large camera really perform better. The advantage of GoPro & Co is the wide focus range, but of course you can't isolate the subject by specifically selecting the focus range. In my opinion, the videos shown are more favorable to the GoPro, but they also illustrate the general dilemma well: only those who really use the unique features of crop or full-frame cameras will actually get better pictures. In-camera-stabilisation is way better in teh GoPro, but with the A6700 they are nearly on par. After our trip to Galapagos my wife and I discussed the optimal setup: We decided, that the Gopro has its place for "point and shoot" - we wouldn't have gotten the Orcas if we had to rely only on the big cameras. Thanks for sharing!

Hey Water Duck We’re delighted to welcome another Old Fart to Waterpixels. Great to have you with us. We hope you enjoy the forum. Best wishes from another OF.

In shallow water or with proper light these action cameras can produce really good results, especially with the AOI (or Inon) wide correction lens. I always praised the close focus improvement by the AOI UWL-03 but it's more prone to show the particles close to the lens than the AF lens with shallower depth of field. Shooting towards the sun is also more complicated with the AOI but under ideal conditions I'm pretty happy with the results from the GoPro.

yes these action cameras are getting ridiculously good. Paired with good optics and light they provide excellent results. Where they suffer is inability to tune in custom white balance so at 15m the reds are simply not there and low light situations where they will get grainy and mushy really quickly. So it depends on use case. Having said that I got my wife Action6 with AOI housing and UWL-03Pro for upcoming Malpelo trip. And I am sensing i will be borrowing a lot of her footage😅 (my A1 is mostly in photo mode)

Hello All, I'm looking forward to learning and asking travel diving questions. I was certified in 1979 (Old Fart yes), I enjoying underwater photography and struggle with post processing. I shoot a Sony A7rv. I like live-a-boards, wood working, black smithing and the Banjo. Yes I'm an Geek.

I like the gopro 12 footage, less expensive, excellent result. Bravo

This is a matched pair of Retra Pro Max I (not the Pro Max II models) underwater flash units with Booster Extended Battery Packs. The first-generation Pro Max models pack 140Ws of power providing fantastic lighting for both wide angle and macro photography. The feature that makes the Pro Max series a top-tier underwater flash, is Retra’s famed circler flash tube, redesigned battery compartment and backlit LCD display that shows you all the necessary information in one spot. The battery compartment allows the use of 4 AA Batteries with the standard battery door or double the number AA batteries from 4 to 8 via Retra’s Battery Booster. The Booster is a single piece battery door that allows 4 additional AA batteries to be placed internally in the flash to double the shooting the duration of the Flash unit. Among the list features – TTL and High-Speed Sync (HSS), the Pro Max include a built-in water leakage detection in the battery compartment. Like all Retra flashes, the Pro Max features Fiber Optic Connection and accepts all Retra series Reduction Rings / Beam restrictors and Wide-Angle Diffusers as well as Retra’s Light Shaping Devices with the Retra mount. Each Strobe comes with the Following: 1” Mounting ball 4 Spare O-rings for the battery compartment 2 Tube of Retra silicone grease 24 Eneloop Pro AA 2600mAh 1.2V Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) Batteries 2 HiQuick battery chargee for 8 AA rechargeable batteries In addition to their great cosmetic appearance (see photos) both Pro Max strobes work in perfect order. Total Trigger Count on Retra Pro Max (Serial # T4B3) via the Retra App is 16,085 firings with Retra Pro Max (Serial # 4ETV) coming in at 15,751 total firings. Firmware on both strobes have been updated to the latest 2.2 firmware. Brand new, Retra Pro Max (SKU: # rt-flash-pro-max with SKU: # rt-booster) retailed $1800 each. My Selling price $2200 for the pair.

Davide, If you haven’t already bought a monitor you might want to check out the ASUS PA32UCXR. It has 4k and HDR capability, and this tester got 89% of rec 2020 in addition to 99% DCI-P3 and aRGB albeit on the PA32UCXP not the “R” I ordered (the P model has improved off-axis viewing). I found a PA32UCXR $800 off on Amazon. It seems to check a lot of boxes. I wanted a 6k monitor, but I didn’t find one that had all the other capabilities that this has. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CDF83MXM?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1 Evan

You can buy currently the GoPro set-up around 600 euro, while the cheapest wide-angle option for Sony A6400 (with this zoom lens) is 1750 euro when a Saltedline housing (400 euro with 6" dome port) is used and not the more expensive Nauticam case (there would be not much optical optical improvement going for the more expensive housing).

During my last trip to Raja Ampat I had the chance to compare a Sony A6400 with the 10-18mm f/4 lens to the GoPro12 with AOI UWL-5 wide lens for videos. My original plan was to use the Sony camera mainly for macro and have the GoPro setup for wide angle. However, most of the dives were more appropriate for wide scene videography. So I used both camera very similarly, therefore, I produced many similar footage, which is a good opportunity for comparison. I tried to max out both systems. Sony was on XAVC S 4K, 25p 100M, while GoPro was used with GoPro Labs (4K 60p, highest bitrate). You can see the setup below: I've uploaded two videos with many footage on my YT channel. The perspective is a bit different but they can be compared. There was a recent thread about the "cinematic" application of action cameras. I think the GoPro is not that bad but I observed many optical errors. What do you think about the results?

Awesome ! I cannot believe this was created with a GoPro. Proof it is the skill of diver/videographer/editor that matters most.