bghazzal

Ouch - really sorry to hear that man, really sad to hear that people would take advantage of such a situation, when divers are still in the water. This is a long (and very delicate) shot, but if you have a local contact from the area you were diving in, maybe try to get in touch with the Banjar? Since the people who picked up the camera are known and are local, the banjar they belong to might be able to intervene (factor in a donation fee...). Bombarded with fishing lines from the shore you say? What the hell?

Glad you and everyone on board made it out ok. Material loss is terrible, but it clearly could have been much worse. And thanks for the experienced advice. I didn’t know that about fibreglass, even though I’ve worked on boats. Definitely something to keep in mind. Thanks again, and best of luck with everything ahead.

Still up for me at the moment...

That would be truly fantastic Dave. I'm sure a lot of Sony shooters will be interested in something for the new Sony 100mm, especially with a flip, as it will be quite nose heavy to begin with. Housing is here, camera body and lens are ordered, last piece of the puzzle are Nauticam goodies (125 port and MFO3 + MFO1) It's perfect timing as I'll be spending a lot of time on balance and buoyancy, and was really wondering how I'd go about balancing out the port + flip combo.

Wow fantastic I've just started looking into float option for the N100 Macro Port n125 (for a Sony FE 100mm F2.8), and this looks so clean compared to a float collar! I'd really need a solution like this as I will have a double flip (if not a triple) on the lens as well...

I'm now looking into similar solutions for my future A7SIII rig - I would need a bit more depth under the housing for floats though. May I ask what are the cheese plates you sourced on Amazon? I've been looking around a bit on Amazon Japan but can only find two types of smallrig cheese plates. Thanks! Ben

To revive this thread (and steer it slightly off-topic): is anyone using the Kraken USB-C bulkhead now? The Nauticam NA-A1 housing has an M24 bulkhead (currently occupied by a HDMI adapter, though I don’t have an external monitor yet and probably won’t for a while), so Kraken’s direct M24 compatibility and higher PD charging specs are tempting. As far as I understand, the A7SIII uses USB-C rather than Micro USB for power delivery/data, so no adapter for me. And are there still compelling reasons to stay with the Nauticam solution despite the adapter requirement and lower reported transfer speeds?

Thanks Chris Yes, agreed. I also find it quite surprising since - from what I understood in the original product presentation - it was initally designed to allow users of 90mm / 100mm / 105mm fast AF macro lenses to shoot wider subjects while retaining the autofocus advantages these lenses offer. This is especially true for Sony shooters, where there is no 50/60mm macro lens with strong AF capabilities. As for effects on IQ, I haven’t heard of any major drop.

Quick question - I plan on using the MF03 with the Sony 100mm F2.8 Macro on the A7SIII. Today I was told by a photographer who shoots mainly blackwater that he had given up on going the MF03 way for now, as according to feedback he had received from someone using it, still photos ended up being quite blurry, to the point that they stopped using it... I do not know what lens or setup the original user was using. I had never heard this before regarding the MF03, so I was a little surprised by this comment. I was wondering if other MF03 users could comment on their experience with image quality and sharpness in different usage scenarios. (I'm particulary interesed in blackwater or mid-range macro work) cheers

Great, thanks - I'll double-check with them for mine. I tried polishing an AOI wet diopter (UCL 05-N) - it's coated glass. The coating is now off on the central part but I can't seem to remove on the edges - not sure how this affects images (the diopter was already pretty much unuseable, which is why i gave it a spin).

How did it go with the coating? I bought a Japanese cerium oxide paste ( Yanase YGC-C30 ) which is premixed and tried it on an AOI wetlens and the coating removal is really visible. From what I understood Nauticam flat ports are also coated on the outside - did it remove the coating on yours?

Welcome to the forum Hotaru! 😀

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.

Let us know how it goes. I’m in Japan as well, but as a resident I don’t get the 10% tax discounts. In my situation, buying direct from Nauticam HK, where import taxes and duties are calculated at checkout, is usually cheaper than going through Fisheye, even after shipping. But compared to European or North-American prices it will probably be worth it, especially for Japanese brands.

Never had an issue as well, but have heard a couple of stories over the years, mostly related to work permits (suspected undeclared professional work projects in Indonesia) more than actual imaging gear. Other than that blackwater photographer's post I reposted, looking into it I did find these AI-flavoured wise-words by Mr. Lucas White on... alibaba.com 😅 https://www.alibaba.com/product-insights/how-to-pack-a-dslr-without-looking-like-you-re-smuggling-gear-through-customs-in-bali.html But yeah, doesn't really seem like the dreaded Mexican custom extortion is spreading, luckily.