ChipBPhoto

Thanks @Davide DB . My only hesitation with 502 is the fact it is several generations old and no longer upgradable. The Kraken 5.5” v2 is the next best option I’m considering. The fact it uses a pair of 21700 batteries makes it interesting as it would be easy to change them in the boat if needed. Their internal cable design seems to be the greatest weakness. Per Kraken, there is no 5.5” beyond the current v2. They are certainly bright at an amazing 3000 nit! It seems the SmallHD has a more user friendly interface, but like anything it would something I would get used to using. Please share any other thoughts or suggestions you may have. I truly appreciate the feedback!

Hi, all, (originally posted in Photography Gear, but I should have posted it here) I am considering moving from Nauticam viewfinders (180 and 45) to an external monitor. Size is a major consideration so I’m focused on a 5”. Cost is also a consideration. Ideally I am looking in the $2Kish range. $5K is out of the budget. I’ve looked at the Kraken 5” v2 due to both cost and compact size. Cable failures seem to be an expectation of any monitor, although I am told the new v2 is noticeably better than the original Kraken cable design. I am, however, hearing issues of button failures, which is concerning. This may be from users not cleaning their gear as well as I do, but it is concerning. One proposed solution is picking up a pre-owned SmallHD 502 Bright monitor (1000 nit) and Nauticam NA-502B housing. Both seem quite solid with pre-owned prices to be around $2500 total. The cables are stronger and the Nauticam buttons are solid. The Nauticam housing has its own vacuum as well. The package size is about that of the Kraken 5”. Battery life with 2 Canon batteries is about 3 hrs. The downside is it is no longer being supported by firmware updates, but probably not an issue as it works well as-is. The SmallHD 503 Bright is still supported with firmware upgrades, but is substantially thicker and heavier than I prefer. The newer SmallHD monitors/housings are out of the budget for now. For those with solid monitor experience, what say you??? Thoughts, comments, recommendations? I am using with a Nauticam Sony a1 rig. I’d appreciate whatever you can share. Thanks! Chip

As an FYI, Saga quoted me €372 for an N100 20mm Nauticam-to-Nauticam extension. (About $434 USD plus shipping)

Hi @DPT Scuba As a reference, I tried installing a7rV in my a1 housing. (Basically same as your sIII housing) It is not a good fit and most of the control buttons do not line up. It’s not a practical option for normal usage. Picking up a pre-owned a1 (v1) and the appropriate new camera mount plate would be the least expensive option as compared to buying a completely separate housing. I also owned an a7rIV. The a1 or a7rV are substantial improvements in just about all areas over the a7rIV. Good luck! Chip

Hi, all, I am considering moving from Nauticam viewfinders (180 and 45) to an external monitor. Size is a major consideration so I’m focused on a 5”. Cost is also a consideration. Ideally I am looking in the $2Kish range. $5K is out of the budget. I’ve looked at the Kraken 5” v2 due to both cost and compact size. Cable failures seem to be an expectation of any monitor, although I am told the new v2 is noticeably better than the original Kraken cable design. I am, however, hearing issues of button failures, which is concerning. This may be from users not cleaning their gear as well as I do, but it is concerning. One proposed solution is picking up a pre-owned SmallHD 502 Bright monitor (1000 nit) and Nauticam NA-502B housing. Both seem quite solid with pre-owned prices to be around $2500 total. The cables are stronger and the Nauticam buttons are solid. The package size is about that of the Kraken 5”. Battery life with 2 Canon batteries is about 3 hrs. The downside is it is no longer being supported by firmware updates, but probably not an issue as it works well as-is. The SmallHD 503 Bright is still supported with firmware upgrades, but is substantially thicker and heavier than I prefer. For those with solid monitor experience, what say you??? Thoughts, comments, recommendations? I am using with a Nauticam Sony a1 rig. I’d appreciate whatever you can share. Thanks! Chip

Hi all, I am looking for a Nauticam NA-502B housing for the SmallHD 502 Bright monitor. Must be clean and fully functioning. Prefer US based seller. Also: WTB SmallHD 502 Bright Monitor in similar condition. Thank you for looking! Chip

Hi, Dave, It appears the Sony a1 (v1) would be a better still camera for the NA-a7sIII housing. There is a camera plate for the NA-a1 housing that allows the a7sIII to be used inside. Perhaps there is a similar option that allows the a1 to be used inside the NA-a7sIII housing. Worth checking. Cheers, Chip

Once again Dave Hicks for the 3D win! Nice results

Nicely done! I always appreciate the quality of your images. My Canon 5Dii struggled above 800. My first uw DSLR was the Canon T2i. Anything above 400 was virtually a crapshoot if it would be usable or not. FYI - Retra just confirmed in a email exchange that they will not make an LSD adapter for the HF-1. They also understand Backscatter has shelved the idea of a snoot for it as well. The reason given was it “is not suitable for shooting.” Too bad, both the LSD and HF-1 are quality pieces.

Great question - I personally do not. I appreciate everyone’s standards are different, but even at 100% on a high res screen they look solid to me. I find any minor noise reduction or sharpening, which is all normal, is easily handled in LR or similar.

In reviewing back, I commonly use ISO 160-320 with my a1. MF-2 power is normally on 5-6. Aiming light varies based on ambient conditions. I use the Nitecore NL2160HP/6000mAh batteries in it. This was approved via an email with Backscatter. *These same batteries work well in the HF-1, but NOT the 4300 video light.

It’s either snoot or diffuser, not both at the same time. Both are easily removable / changeable during the dive. I have a clip on my snoot so I can clip it off on my rig when I’m not using it. The diffuser is on a string which allows it to also be connected to my rig when I mount the snoot.

Hi, all, I use the MF-2 exclusively for my macro dives with a high-res FF rig. In fact, I normally dive with only one MF-2 with wonderful results. I typically add the OS-1 snoot for 60%+ of my macro images. I find the built in aiming light to be essential! I use the diffuser when not snooting. Bear in mind this is highly dependent on the water clarity and overall brightness of the scene. Like others have said throughout the following is required: Verify the strobe is aimed correctly: The significantly smaller physical size of the strobe lens requires much more accuracy in aiming than a substantially larger sized light. Bring the strobe closer to the subject: The goal of macro is to light small subjects within a small area. This often requires the light source to be closer to the subject to ensure it is properly lit to highlight it from the surrounding scene. Don't be afraid of higher ISOs: While we have been trained to use the lowest possible ISO, modern digital systems play nicely in higher settings. ISO 200-400, or even higher, is an extremely comfortable range for current systems. And of course everything I shared above is meant to be changed or 'broken' to fit the particular scene and end artistic goal. I find the MF-2 to be an exceptionally well made piece of gear and a key tool in my macro kit. Enjoy! chip

Admittedly, I don’t use HSS very often due my camera’s 1/400 ability. But the times I’ve used it, no I have not noticed it.

Hey @Nemrod Regarding the UWT and HF-1s, yes they are HSS compatible…kind of. (I use this setup) Yes, HF-1s do HSS, but there is no real on-strobe power control to dial them up or down while doing HSS. They will sync with high shutter speeds, but the overall amount of light in the scene must be controlled via camera settings. (ISO, shutter, aperture) Adjusting the power knob in HSS has no impact on the light power. So far, only the Backscatter trigger will allow power control on the HF-1s in HSS. It’s a little quirk with an otherwise solid package. Retras appear to consistently have the best experience with UWT triggers, but there is the price delta. Hope this helps, Chip

Hi @aquabluedreams - congrats on your upcoming new laptop! The new ones are very impressive. I totally get being in a budget. With that said, sadly we cannot upgrade the drive space later. I always carry additional external SSD drives, but it is convenient to have some drive space even if you don’t have your extra drive with you. For that reason, invest in the 512GB drive. It may hurt a bit initially, but you’ll be happy over the long run. After all, this is not a frequent purchase. Your last laptop lasted you 11 years. The larger drive now will help you maximize the longevity of your new machine as well. Enjoy! Chip

Exactly! Very useful tool for the right situation, but bit too much hype.

This is definitely one of the perks to the MFO-3. Like the MFO-1, the 3 will only be able to focus within a limited close distance to the subject.

A little better price than buying from a local US dealer….

Unfortunately, the R5 has had this known issue since it arrived. One of the biggest upgrades to the R5II centered around improved video cooling. As @Davide DB outlined, using the most recent firmware (which you have, although there is now a 2.1.0 for battery compatibility and IBIS, but nothing around heating) and reducing the data transfer via codec selection are the best options you have to use it as is. Most divers I know who use the R5 for mostly video tend to end up with an external monitor/recorder. Moving the recording aspect to an external device removes the heat generating components from the sensor area. While this basically eliminates the common R5 video heat issue, it unfortunately is not a cheap solution.

I have found this to be correct. The only time I have found auto ISO super useful is if I’m on the surface and want to grab a quick frame of the approaching boat, etc. and don’t have time to readjust the manual settings for the bright ambient light.

I’m still using my original Stix Jumbo set from 2011. While they most likely may have lost a bit of their buoyancy from the repetitive compression, they still work great!

Very cool, Dave! You are definitely the master of printing that which others don’t make.

The 180 is a very fine dome made with high-quality glass. It does very well with a rectilinear lens such as the Fuji 10-24 or similar. The Canon fisheye lens is a different design due to the 180 degree FoV. Like @RomiK shared, it has to do with the curvature of the dome glass and how light passes through. That is why you do not see it as a recommended dome for fisheye lenses. When a TC is added to a fisheye, it removes some of the native fisheye effect and starts to approach what a wide rectilinear lens will produce. Again, the 180 dome is high quality. It just doesn’t have the correct curvature for a true fisheye lens.

Hi @chemsdiving , I use the Canon 8-15 and Kenko 1.4x TC with a FF body. The 140 works very well as it is both small for travel and hemispherical. The 30mm extension is needed for the lens with an additional 20mm needed for the TC. Unfortunately, different zoom gears are required for the lens alone vs the added TC. I tried the lens with the 180 dome. Like others have said, it’s not the best choice due to the curvature. The 230 dome has traditionally been the go-to larger option. It also allows the best chance of clean split frames if that’s an interest. Yes, Zen does make a 100 mini dome for the 8-15, but take note it is not the same dome as that for the Tokina 10-17. The 8-15 model is specifically designed for the 8-15. As a bonus, it also has a shade that is removable and replaceable underwater when you may decide to make a circular frame. One big note, the Zen 100 is not at all a good choice for use with a TC. The edges smear badly which often ruins the image. Hope this help! Chip