Nikolausz

I think Insta360 considers third-party manufacturers as competitors. I've just found out that Easydive has also aluminium housing to X3 and X4 (but no support for X5) https://www.easydive.it/en/underwater-housing/360-video-camera I still use my X2 and not yet motivated to upgrade yet.

I'm sure they will develop a new dive housing for this camera. It's just a matter of creativity and engineering.

That's catch 22 I will stick to my small sensor GoPro

In my opinion, when the 1 inch sensors were introduced, they should have also implemented an AF system into these small cameras. I wouldn't call them action cameras but small content creator cameras. Most of them are not used for sport anyway.

A critical problem, in my opinion, is the minimal focus distance with Mission 1. It is way longer than in the case of the black series due to the larger sensor. It will be OK for reef scapes but CFWA pictures will be not sharp. As moving as close as possible, especially in case of lower visibility, it is important for underwater videography to use an additional correction lens. I'm not sure if existing lenses (non or AOI) were compatible or not.

I absolutely agree with your analysis and I came to a similar conclusion. Due to the crop factor, we can forget the ILS version for wide angle (but the mission 1 pro will be interesting). I played a bit with the idea of building a compact macro system around the ILS version, but honestly, it makes more sense to spend the same money on an MFT camera with a properly communicating macro lens with AF. Not to mention that according some rumours, the new Sony RX100 camera with 1 inch sensor is around the corner. Probably a safer bet to build an underwater camera system around it.

I'm really sorry. It was a really great source of information. I spent lots of time browsing uwpmag issues. I will miss it

They're actually cheaper than I expected

Maybe there will be electronic contacts on the final model, otherwise it's just a missed opportunity.

Many people pointed out on another forum that there are no electronic contacts to the lens (on the prototype), which means that most of the MFT lenses cannot be used.

I can imagine that it would be possible to build an excellent compact macro system around the mission Pro ILS, but it would probably require an external monitor.

I was toying with the same idea, but overall it's not that cheap. I was actually considering a cheap phone in an even cheaper case with DIY wifi connection (coax cable). However, I use Sony A6400 and the remote app (Imaging Edge) is just PITA to use. It would cause probably so much frustration underwater, that I decided not to try this route. Maybe somebody has a better experience.

I still think it was good to warm up this topic, because we know more about the Nauticam housing and maybe somebody already has some first hand experience.

I mainly focus on underwater videography but sometimes I could use some good quality still images. Couple of months ago I saw a video (see below) about using video files to make high resolution still images. I'm quite convinced:

It would be interesting to see a comparison with the original Invisible Dive Case Pro from Insta360. The price difference is huge (890 vs 140 Euro), so Nauticam case should offer something. It looks more durable and the dome ports are glass, but it also heavier (though more compact). For me a decisive factor would be image quality, especially handling stich lines and inner reflections. I'm not sure, if I would pay the extra cost of the Nauticam aluminium housing.