bghazzal

I only do video, not stills, but use the 100mm and MFO3 for blackwater-like shooting (bonfire dives, hovering in the water column at night). My go-to setup on the A7SIII is the 100mm, MFO1 and MFO3 - I actually have a triple-flip, which I like for having the option to add a diopter for super macro for regular macro dives, but actually only use two lenses for blackwater-type shooting, as it's very difficult to find subjects static enough to go beyond the magnification given by the 100mm + MFO1 combo, and 80% of the footage is shot with the MFO3. As Dave mentioned, the 90mm is fine (I chose the 100mm as it does have some advantages for video AF) - however, a double-flip could be handy with these lenses, so you have more options than MFO3 or the bare lens (diopters for super macro or MFO1)

Yeah, all good here, thanks - Okinawa's really built for typhoons, with most places having a fortress-like concrete based brutalist architectural design. Typhoon 13 / Dolphin was supposed to be a strong one, so we really bunkered up, but it just turned out to be very long (3 days) and strange. The north of main island (Nago) was hit harder, apparently, but we just had strong winds, no power cuts, which is the main issue here. I still see unusual swell from the window as I type this today. Just one note: typhoons started early (June), and the direction is a little unusual. There's also a strong El Niño on top of the usual climate breakdown, so everything is combining to give us extreme weather for the next couple of years, and probably a few monster typhoons. Typhoon season is typically June to October in Japan (especially Okinawa, Kyushu, Shikoku and Honshu's Pacific coast, where Mikomoto is), with late-season typhoons being stronger than earlier ones, so plan accordingly. Current typhoon situation this morning (it's like a pinball machine) :

The locked position is sufficient to hold the MFO3, CMC1 and MFO1 in this position underwater. I enter the water with the lenses in this position as well. It's the same design as on standard single and dual Nauticam flips, and I don't think users are having issues with the lenses flapping around, unless the flip gets old perhaps.

Yes, it has a "locked" position, like this: All the other positions are not locked in place, but this is a sort of retaining position, and is quite sturdy.

I have the Nauticam triple flip holder, no problem yet (with the MFO3, MFO1 and a +12.5 diopter) in positions I've tried. Only issue I found so far is that the central flip isn't compatible with the 100mm port's cold shoe mount - you can mount the triple flip + a cold-shoe ball mount attachement for instance, but the flip's central hinge is partially blocked by the ball mount's screw (one solution would be to mount the triple flip upside down, so that the central flip is under the housing, but it's not the safest for diopters)

Interesting - I've heard that it was lighter, cheaper than the MFO3 and that it has a flat front element vs. a more concave one for the MFO3, but hadn't heard anything about sharpness or AF improvements of one over the other

Do keep in mind that I only shoot video - AF on the 50mm AF might be workeable for stills, but not really for video, unless shooting manual on static subjects. Video AF is a different beast altogether. Super slow AF aquisition is a no-go, even with backbutton focus for "manual AF", as you need it to snap back into focus as quickly as possible.

I've now been using the MFO-3 with the Sony 100mm macro f2.8 GM on the A7SIII for video, and it works great. I was warned that it could cause issues with the lens stabilisation when shooting video, so I turned OSS off on the 100mm and haven't seen any weirdness in the footage. Haven't tried it with OSS on, if anyone has a chance to do it without losing a dive, would love to know. It's a fantastic tool, mainly because, as others have pointed out, Sony doesn't have a solid 50/60mm macro lens with workable AF. It's also a great option for people like me who primarily shoot macro and supermacro with a default 90mm or 100mm lens, but occasionally want access to a more medium field of view, rather than use a wider lens and use diopters for occasional macro. Combined with a snappy lens like the Sony 100mm, video AF works great, even on an ageing system like the A7SIII, and image quality is excellent (much better than I expected). I'm using it primarily in blackwater like situations (shore-based bonfire dives), and it's much more practical than the 100mm, basically the ideal baseline fov. Reduced minimum focus distance is also very nice! The main downside so far is the overall length. The 100mm port + MFO-3 combination becomes something of a canon-like contraption... That's probably less of an issue for stills with powerful strobe lighting, but for our weaker video lights it means longer, more outstretched arms to get the light where it's needed. And this outstretched lighting position is an issue when a BW subject decides to come close to the glass, which is fine focus wise but requires serious light repositioning... The other downside is protecting that large front element. The Nauticam rubber cap seems to have been designed to get lost underwater, and is just not practical as is. I have my MFO-3 mounted on a triple flip and currently keep a large neoprene pouch over it. I think there have also been a few 3D-printed caps with lanyards floating around. cheers

So it's confirmed... that's really not great news for UW applications, especially for wide-angle.

Thanks. I find HLG3 with a Rec.709 colour gamut (instead of Rec.2020, since I don't deliver in HDR) works great so far. No colour space conversion is needed other than the automatic HDR-to-SDR mapping, and there's plenty of headroom for grading. I have set a custom WB to 4900K, which is what is required with my mixed light setups after testing. This is a recent HLG-3 Rec709 clip, shot on a murky bonfire dive, on the Sony 100mm macro with the MFO-3: I'm definitely saving S-LOG 3 for ambient light work, or more precisely mixed lighting.

That's great, thanks - now I have a new DIY project!

Yes, the format is really impressive. I was just pointing out that, even with the highest compression, the files are still about five times larger than what I currently get from my A7S III. That's already a significant jump in storage requirements. As tempting as RAW is, coming back from each dive with 100–200 GB of footage on average is quite something to manage, especially when diving frequently. Saved for special projects I guess.

I would love to see a picture of that contraption, as I also now shoot on an A7SIII and also use a partial Ultralight sled. I've been shooting in artificial light but it woulds way more practical than stretching a whibal card out with one arm like I used to on the previous camera. which comes at a price of a minimum of 65-80 GB of data for 10 minutes of footage in the lightest X-OCN LT 4k 60fps....

One thing to look out for is that, for regular users (say, diving more than once a week), Weefine and Kraken products are indeed well made and do work well (despite some design quirks like button ergonomics), but unfortunately they do not seem to last very long. I've had repeated issues with Kraken Hydras, as have a lot of other users I've met, and unfortunately they are not really reliable in the long run.The first year or year and a half is fine, but after that repeated button issues, electronics issues, and leaks are quite common. It's as if the material used for some parts is just not resistant enough for regular underwater use. And this is comming from someone who does everything he can to maintain his equipment. Seafrogs product seem very similar in design, but in a slightly lower quality tier from what I've seen, so this could be even worse. It's annoying because I really like Kraken and Weefine products, and the price is acceptable, but if you have to factor in a longevity/reliability of under two years, pricing becomes unviable unless you're sponsored by them for replacements.

As an update, I now have 2 Wurkkos DL40 for bonfire diving (I wanted beam lights to point out, Japanese "light trap" style). Quality is ok, as is power/battery life (they use two 26650 batteries per light). I contacted Wurkkos to buy from them directly but they were unable to match Wurkkos Aliexpress prices shipped. This seems to be a constant with Chinese brands btw, the "official store" on Aliexpress (eg. Seafrog) is cheaper shipped than the manufacturer's website price / direct. We'll see how long they last.

I'd be happy to but unfortunately I only shoot video, so I'm probably not the ideal tester. I could only submit image captures from video clips, rather than actual pics.

Last year, I managed to get samples of 80 kg/m³ and 100 kg/m³ density PVC foam, rated to reliably withstand pressures of 0.6 MPa. They work great, but sourcing this type of material in Japan was a nightmare (mine eventually came from Chinese manufacturers instead, and that was not easy). I gave up on fishing floats, as it was impossible to find proper technical specifications locally. I spent a lot of time searching on AliExpress and Alibaba, but without success. I tried shipyards and marine supplies, no luck. Given the value of this kind of material for underwater imaging applications, it would be great to share supplier information, especially from companies willing to ship non-industrial quantities internationally. Given the links above, it seems to be easier to source in the EU somehow.

As I mentioned here I got largely over 2 hours of continuous runtime with the Weefine WED-5 Pro HD with the monitor at 30% display brightness. This is in 26° water with a new 21700 battery, at 1080p HDMI output. Official specs give 90 minutes, but I suspect this is at a higher brightness. At 3200 nits, it's very bright and 30% was fine for Okinawan sunshine in the shallows. cheers

Thanks! we do get a lot of pigmy squid here, but there's also a strong possibility that this is a blue-ring octopus paralarva. It's a very tricky subject as most cephalopod paralavae haven't been ID'ed properly yet

In Japan, for a Mexico visit an individual would need to make a refundable cash deposit of roughly 50% of the value of the equipment for an ATA Carnet if they do not qualify for JCAA's guarantee scheme criteria 😅 The carnet itself isn't that bad - around €200 for €20,000 worth of equipment - but that would mean a €10,000 refundable deposit! I think Mexico must be one of the only countries in the world to tax personal diving and imaging equipment brought in by recreational diving tourists in this way. ¡Chingón!

Have you checked out this thread? https://waterpixels.net/forums/topic/2417-list-of-underwater-monitors/ I currently use the Weefine WED-5 Pro on an A7SIII - i don't dive on a reb but regularly do two hour+ shallow dives for macro videography. Depending on the brightness settings and how you use it (on all the time or not), I can confirm the WED-5 Pro lasts more than two hours. It's very bright and I usually have it on 30% to 50% display max here in sunny Okinawa. The first day testing it with the camera I did 2x two hour dives, leaving the monitor on, display at 30%. Monitor battery ran out 40 minutes into the second dive, so a runtime of 160 minutes at 30% . Monitor output was 1080p, on almost all the time, in 26°C water. This is pretty good for a single 21700 battery. Turning it off, when travelling for instance, would extend battery life further. hope this helps! cheers

ah I see thanks - Yes, cinetone is nice, I also like cine2. At the moment I've returned to HLG-3 as I've realized I could set the colour gamut to Rec.709 directly in camera, so no conversion needed, and it's nice. Otherwise I've narrowed it down to cine2, cinetone and HLG-3 or PP off for workeable non-log profiles. I also just got and NLE upgrade yesterday so can edit on FCPX12 or Resolve Studio, which broadens possibilites!

Thanks for the the update. Would you have a link to the post? Unfortunately Robert isn't on here (big Bobetc fan here), but feel free to link this thread on the BW group as well - the more talk there is the better! cheers

Thanks, I think I'll stay away. He's asking for roughly $150 USD, which is a bit much given the issue....

Yes - I was actually wondering if it might not be possible to rethread it with a spacer ring or filter mount. The issue is the vendor says nothing can be screwed on, and I'm not sure how much force he used when trying.