ColdDarkDiver

I'm wondering about how the video lights are on the Maxi and haven't seen it discussed much. From the layout, it seems they would not have an even light pattern at all. I assume they are not Keldan quality but are they really just dive lights or are they usable for video? Love to hear impression's of those who got them with the 6k video lights.

And the text that goes with it Bluewater PhotoSea & Sea YS-D130R Underwater Strobe ReviewSea & Sea's newest flagship strobe, the YS-D130R, is a powerful 130 ws wide angle strobe with a recycle time of 0.8 seconds at full power. This strobe is a Bluewater staff pick. I would love to see see quality of light compared (beam evenness) to the Retra Maxi and Max II, as well as tests that are from users.

I saw this on Social. Looks like a competition for WACP. But which one I am not sure. MareluxAquista 135D Wide Angle LensAquista 135D Wide Angle Lens Anyone have any further information on it? @Phil Rudin - have you used this? Or do you know when a port chart for it is coming out?

Thanks for the great images and review. I was wondering if you could elaborate on stacking reduction rings with the warming filter. Are both of these the standard ones from Retra and can you put them in series? I also dive in meh visibility water and so was wondering how to lower the color temp while also reducing backscatter. Thanks!

Like the 8-15mm, it is really just a 14mm prime with a party trick. The circular images are really fun, but I also noticed in some of the example images the ring of color cast/distortion (chromatic aberation?) at the edges which I was hoping to not be present in this new lens, is there. Plus 190 degrees may just not work on a housing. Yes - extending would be nice to add in zoom functionality. No IS, kinda a bummer. I am interested in its EVU/ VR utility application and if that would work underwater for landscape experiences. Looking forward to underwater tests, and while excited - it would need to bring some real improved gains to get rid of my 8-15mm to see if it is worthwhile.

As yet another new strobe on the market, I am intrigued by the Sea and Sea YSD130R strobe. I haven't seen it mentioned but overall specs seem nice: -Circular Flash Tube -5600k (so a little cooler than Retra but warmer than many) -Works with a Li-Ion battery or AAs. -Not cheap but not insane either at 1k USD I've seen two reviews - One in UWP (with a link from the Sea and Sea website) https://www.seaandsea.jp/pdf/20260115_uwp.pdf and a little from Blue Water Photo, but as far as I can tell it is just some images. If anyone has some hands on experience, it would be great to see how it compares in beam evenness and impressions of the strobe beam quality.

I find that the procase is usable for more than just Social, although it is hard to judge when it will have an artifact from the case or will be usable. In particular, in the shallows there seems to be some reflection/refraction that it can't always deal with. So after the fact, it can produce some nice footage. Here is a clip showing what it looks like in a darker situation (exported to 4k in non-360) - https://youtu.be/SPpYkaQvh1Y Not amazing but sooooo much better than with the regular case. That was with Pure mode on and for context - to similarly expose the ice with a still shot @ F/10 and 1/50th - I was shooting ISO 8000. So dark.

I will add that if you do get the X5, the Pro case is a must have. It has more float but the images from it are not bad, unlike the normal case.

And for some examples (since it was asked): Marelux R5 w/ 140 Marelux dome: F/8 - 100% corner crop F/11 -100% corner And - while corner sharpness is not astounding at f/8 - I realized when trying to find these examples that I shoot at f/8 a lot on that lens and don't even notice the meh sharp corners. I also think it is important that it is the very corner that is not sharp, just a wee bit from the edge and it is so the image is often just fine. I also really like the compactness of the 140 compared to a 230 or even 180 dome. I shoot the 15-30 at f/11 and greater (up to f/14) and also find the corner sharpness completely acceptable.

I also shoot this (Marelux 140 dome) - I still shoot it stopped down but it is my go to lens. I shoot at f/11-13 and sometimes down to f/8. I don't find the corner sharpness distracting at f/9 but prefer it at a smaller aperture. The only reason I don't shoot it is if I am not looking for the fisheye look on that dive. I also own the 14-35 F4L and shot it underwater for 2 years with great some success - however, the 15-30 is a superior lens underwater and I can shoot it wider open with more sharp results. My 14-35 is now only for above water use (where it is superb). I would suggest you think about trying the 15-30 with your current dome and the proper port extensions - you may not need anything else. I would love to see someone really show me that some of the WACP or WWL options work for canon as well as they do for Sony - I am so tempted by them. Even if the 15-30 works only at 28 and 30, I don't mind shooting prime above water or below.

Anyone get their hands on one to see if it might work in an R6 ii housing? Since Nauticam released a specific housing for it - it makes me think that the III won't fit in the II housing.

To follow up on this thread - the Pro casing is night and day from the other (non-pro) casing for the Insta360. Here are a few frame grabs from the pro in dark conditions. Relatively sharp at most distances and pleasing to watch - unlike the non-pro case. I find putting a few smaller weights at the end of the selfie stick balances the float a little bit so it can be moved easily while diving.

I don't know about 4-6 hours but the upgraded batteries to the LP-E6NH is worth a try. I get at least 2 -1 hour dives in at 28F with those on canon mirrorless, and occasionally the housing sits well below freezing for a day between those dives. I do try and change the batteries between dives when possible. I frequently have the cameras just living at -10 go -20 F for a few days and am surprised at how long the batteries last.

The video is not as obviously bad if viewed on a small screen or a corner of a browsing window. It still does not focus close at all and there does seem to be a certain distance that it is able to get a sharper image. When the stitching is off it is just as if not more obvious and in that case it is sort of like two 180 cameras some of the time, and 1 360 cam another time and you don't know until you download the footage at the end of the dive.

To hopefully help people see what normal quality looks like from the X5 and non-pro video housing here are some screenshots. They look fine if viewed on a phone but as soon as one starts to look in closer, they are just very soft and really obvious stitching depending on the sun angle... and maybe if there is something close for it to focus on? Not sure as there didn't seem to be a rhyme or reason. These were shot on pure video. It could also be that my particular camera was not having a good day as it did fry itself half way through the dive (Insta360 did replace it without hesitation, although that was after I returned from the trip). This is the best of (and we do large scale experiments on the seafloor to understand the impact of nutrient polution and fishing on coral reef ecosystems - those are the cages you are seeing in some of the images): I uploaded these at full size so you can see how it looks. That is the best one. Here you can see what it looks like when close to things. A non-smooth stitch that would sometimes happen. And how it sometimes looks with the 'invisible' stick. @RomiK - I hope you don't mind me adding these as further examples to your threads. I do like the story telling in your video. You can see in all of the 360 promo videos that they play with the 360 aspect by zooming around (which is really fun) but also masks the soft nature of the camera in the housing itself. Hope this sets expectations correctly for anyone who may be purchasing this camera and housing.