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I'm not talking about macro videography, but a normal scene, or fish videos hugely benefit from a better close focus ability of an action camera. For real macro videography I use a Sony A6400 with appropriate macro lenses (but it's still lots of fiddling around).

The older viewfinders will require an adapter that fits through the plexiglass on the back of the housing. I had to do that with for my Nauticam A7c housing. I think monitors are a great but bulky choice. I’m looking at trying one, as I am also trying to shoot more video.

Aloha and welcome @Olli !

The cost of servicing most housings is quite expensive now, and it does take quite a lot of work. Maybe look up the recommended service intervals for your brand @Olli ? Nauticam generally recommends 200 dives or two years, or longer for select housings. I’d be quite happy if my usual servicing company said to wait for 500!

No action camera is designed for close-up or macro photography. If you want to take macro photos regularly, an action camera is not the right choice for you! Before you start equipping your action camera with close-up lenses, etc., you're better off getting a camera that is designed for this purpose. I also had close-up lenses and filters on my GoPro so that I would be prepared for all shooting situations (Flip system from Backscatter). However, fiddling around underwater and, above all, the poor quality of the recordings despite everything annoyed me so much that I got rid of it all.

Matthias Lebo made a quite extensive comparison of the recent action cameras: I made the following comment: "DJI has really bad corners (otherwise colours look good), iPhone is the most versatile and it has a bit more background separation, Insta clips straight out of the camera are the best, but GoPro is surprisingly good, when there is enough light (but I would use a default -0.5 correction)" My opinion hasn't changed. I can still spot the bad corners of the DJI videos. Another overlooked feature is the close focus ability (or lack of it). Yes, they are fixed focus cameras; therefore, the way the focus is set is very important. Many youtubers complained that even from an arm length their face is not sharp. Underwater, it's very important to move very close to the subject, so actually the smaller sensor of the GoPro is an advantage due to the larger DOF and better close focus ability (especially if we used video lights and marginally better noise is not an issue). This close focus feature can be improved with add on lenses (Inon or AOI). Now, you can use those lenses on Insta360 and DJI cameras, but they were originally designed to GoPros, so I guess they work better with GoPro. I used many action cameras including Yi 4K+, Firefly 8SE, various Insta360 and GoPro cameras (also tried DJI). Currently I use GoPro Hero 12. In my opinion, the difference in video quality among those cameras are not that big and the quality of the light, camera positioning and movement, quality of the water (visibility) have much bigger effects on the final quality. So those are all very capable cameras. My next camera will also be a GoPro, or an action camera with AF or some basic focusing change option.

Hi to all, we are just planning our trip to North-Sulawesi in April and as my housing now is 6 years old and has about 230 dives I intended to make a complete revision at our local shop. Surprisingly they recommended a revision after 500 dives and as long as everything works it is not necessary yet. Now Im torn back an forth if I should wait a little bit longer or do it right now for my peace of mind. By the way: Shouldnt equipment like viewfinders also be serviced? Would be great to hear other opinions about servicing. Tanks in advance, Oliver

Olympus / OM System M.Zuiko 12–50mm + Nauticam Port + Nauticam Zoom Gear For sale is a complete underwater setup including the M.Zuiko 12–50mm f/3.5–6.3, the Nauticam port, and the Nauticam Zoom Gear — a combination whose level of versatility is absolutely unique within the Micro Four Thirds system. A range no other setup can matchThis setup enables underwater capabilities that no other lens in this system can offer: True macro, with electronic macro activation Mid-range and fish portraits Wide-angle, when paired with premium wet lenses such as the WWL-1 or WWL-C Being able to shoot super macro, portrait, and wide-angle all in a single dive is something only this lens/gear combination can achieve. There is literally no other setup in the MFT world with this level of flexibility. This versatility has personally helped me win photography awards. All the images here have been shot with this lens. Rarity & ValueThe 12–50mm lens is no longer being produced, is sold out everywhere, and has become increasingly hard to find. Original price for lens + port + zoom gear was around €1,300. Condition & NotesEverything works perfectly A section of the Nauticam Zoom Gear was carefully shaved down to ensure perfect fit inside a Nauticam OM-1 housing → full functionality, no limitations Optics are clean, no scratches Macro switching works flawlessly IncludedM.Zuiko 12–50mm f/3.5–6.3 Nauticam Port Nauticam Zoom Gear (modified, fully functional) A proven, extremely rare, and uniquely versatile setup — ideal for anyone wanting to shoot macro to wide-angle on a single dive, with no need to change lenses. 500 €

Hi to everyone, my Name is Oliver Im a 51 years old diver and passionate underwater photographer since about 10 years. I love diving i the tropics but also do frequently diving in the temperated waters around home like the baltic sea. Equipped with a EM1 mk2, Isotta housing and 2 Inon 240´s. Looking forward to getting part of the waterixel-community. Best regards, Oliver

Hi Luko, yes it was around 7 cm, not too big. Thank you for the input.

To the best of my knowledge, action cams have fixed focus lenses and, therefore, cannot lose focus. Osmo Action has a larger sensor than others and therefore a larger minimum distance to take your footages.

I cannot comment on Osmo Action 6, I got Version 5. I had several GoPros before and never will get one again based on above mentioned reasons. I don’t know AcePro but I remember that I read some not-so-great reviews during my research in order to decide between Osmo and AcePro. Both are likely to have their advantages.

To me it looks like a juvenile Rhinopias. How big was it ? I would guess around 7-8 cm. Juve snouts are not as developped as fully grown ones, reminds me one I've seen in Padang Bai, we spotted it by chance in the algae, while I was trying to fiddle with my camera focus : it was less than 4cm. <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="" title="Juvenile Weedy Rhinopias">

Looks like the Full sensor marketing of Dji Action6 dont keep their promises.... Fiming in 1:1 or 4:3 the imaged is cropped

Another video

stop and zoom, Acepro 2 look much better

Dji Osmo action 6 from this video is looks inferior to Insta360 ace pro 2 released one year ago The Osmo Action 6 loses focus and appears to have less detail

Thank you Chris, Your image is very different indeed. I also thought about it could be an ambon scorpionfish, but in my image there are not supraorbital tentacles.🤔

I use my original 45deg viewfinder with a Z8 which has the same warning about size and clipping the EVF. However the Z8 had a "shrink EVF" option that reduces it slightly. With this setting the EVF if fully viewable with the old 45. Some Sony models have a similar option. Look it up for your camera. No doubt the newer model is better, but is it $2000 better?

If someone is not satisfied with the SMC-3, I'm here 😀

Hi, I have a question regarding the Nauticam 45° viewfinder NA-32203 and I’m unsure what it actually looks like in real use. According to my research, the viewfinder is compatible with my Nauticam NA-A7CII housing, but it may require an additional adapter. However, my research also indicates that these viewfinders are less optimal for cameras like my A7CII, and that the viewfinder image may not be fully sharp or may appear soft at the edges. My question is whether anyone can provide more detailed information about this. I’m currently using an underwater monitor, but the topic of viewfinders still interests me from time to time, and in my opinion, it takes several dives to really find out what would work best. Therefore, I’m grateful for any feedback. Tino

The MFO3 turns a 90 into a 50 and a 105 into a 60mm They report the Olympus lens becomes the equivalent of about a 35-37mm range of lens, which matches my experience.

This is my shot of a Rhinopias frondosa: https://www.aus-natural.com/Underwater/Diver%20Lodge%20Lembeh%20-Sulawesi/Lembeh%20Selects/slides/Weedy-Rhinopia.html The dorsal fin looks quite different to yours, though it is fading into shadow in teh shot, it looks like a regular dorsal fin rather tahn a series of flag like spines. It is showing the start of the spotty pattern they have though. Inaturalist thinks it might be an ambon scorpionfish, but I'm not sure,