Craine

Follow-up for those who are interested and stumble on this thread at some later date. As suggested by @TURTLE-Balage the trigger/flash pin is the problem. You can see in the photos that the pin has completely recessed within the hot-shoe connector and will not come out. It was just barely sticking out when I inspected this at Balage's recommendation, and retracted inside when I tried to grab it with a pair of fine needle nose pliers (rounded end of the pin and all). This being the case I'll probably be in the market for a new flash trigger, since the hot-shoe is a fully integrated piece, and I'll probably destroy it while trying to get the pin unstuck. If anyone (maybe @TURTLE-Balage knows best?) has a good idea of the differences between these three models, I'd appreciate it. Best I can tell, the Mobie's defining feature is the hot-shoe connector being on a ribbon instead of built into the unit, but I'm having trouble with the difference between the first two. Thanks all! s-TURTLE SMART TTL trigger for Sony systems s-TURTLE 2 SMART TTL trigger for Sony systems s-TURTLE MOBIE SMART TTL trigger for Sony systems

Thought I would ask here to see if anyone else had similar issues. I've got a second-hand TRT S-Turtle Smart TTL controller that I been using with my a6400 for a good bit now. It's performed without issue as recently as two weeks ago, but when I was setting up for my dives this past weekend I found I was unable to get more than one shot out of the trigger before it would … die? Disappear? I've charged the battery, checked it against the s-TURTLE Smart Loader software, checked all the pins on the hot shoe connector, tried it on another camera body (my A7IV), all with the same results. I get one shot/flash, and then it disappears/dies/is no longer recognized by the camera. The only way to get it back online is to cycle the on/off switch on the controller, which is a bit impractical 60 feet under. Has anyone else had similar issues with their controller in the past? Were you able to get it resolved? Any tips?

I did find that it hunted a bit if the focus was pretty far off initially, like switching from a fish portrait to a macro subject. But overall it was pretty manageable. The a6400 isn’t the snappiest driving some of these older lenses, but I’m not usually trying to shoot fast moving subjects with it, so it doesn’t bother me.

So I've recently gotten a few dives in with my recently acquired Canon 60m Macro. I shoot a Sony a6400 in a SeaFrogs housing, and have been looking at different macro lens options (see here), and decided to pick up that lens and a Metabones T-Smart EF-E mkIV adapter. Unfortunately for me, the flat ports I have do not fit the combination. Notably the Flat Short Port with 67m threads meant for the Zeiss macro is about 2-3mm too short, so you cannot properly close up the housing. I'm not planning on buying any more items for SeaFrogs, so I ended up shooting behind the 8" acrylic dome I use for wide angle. While it wasn't perfect, it got the job done, and honestly may have been a good thing for some of the fish portraits I managed to get. Gear List: Sony a6400 Canon EF-S 60mm macro USM Metabones T Smart Adapter Canon EF to Sony E IV SeaFrogs SaltedLine A6xxx housing SeaFrogs 8" acrylic dome Dual Iron D200 Type 2 (one with Inon's snoot package) A few samples are below, with the rest of the best in this gallery. Social feather duster Seaweed Blenny Christmas Tree Worms in various colors Leopard Toadfish

I'll second the Samyang 12mm AF f/2.0 lens for wide angle on Sony APS-C. I use it on my a6400, in a Seafrogs housing and behind their 8" acrylic dome. I've been pretty happy with the results to date. I'm sure if you're switching to Nauticam someone could help with the correct spacers you need to fit it behind one of their domes. I threw some samples into an album here: Samyang 12mm AF f2 I'll add more as I get more.

I mean, the Samyang has a MFD of 20cm and a reproduction ratio of 1:8.3 (.12x) versus the 25cm and 1:10 (.1x) ratio of the Sony 14mm GM. So if that one focuses too far then so does the 14GM. And sure, the IQ of the GM may be better, but it also costs $1,500 vs $530. That’s not something anyone should just shrug off. Not all of us are chasing the absolute best image quality, because if we’re being honest, the sensor can’t resolve the differences, we don’t notice the differences on a screen (unless we’re pixel peeping), and the prints we make won’t show the difference at normal sizes. At any rate, this thread is supposed to be a collection of the lenses foremost. And once we have that, we can start posting actual, real-life experiences with the combo of camera, lens, housing, and port combinations.

On Sony there are also the following: - Samyang/Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 AF. Sony Alpha Blog review Lens DB entry I have actually been looking at this lens as an option and am curious how it performs underwater, and if anyone has any experience with it. - Sony 12-24mm f/4 G [SEL1224G] Sony Alpha Blog review Lens DB entry - Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 Lens DB entry

Thanks! I’m happy with how they turned out. I went with Salty Divers. It was my first time with them, and would go back. Smaller boat, space for 8-9 divers, but overall it was a good experience. Thank you! I sat out the third dive of the day (I got too cold on dives 1 & 2) which was on the Jupiter wreck trek, and my group came up raving about the hammer they saw, in addition to the lemons, nurses, and one particularly friendly Goliath grouper. As for the types I saw, I’m pretty positive that we didn’t have any tigers on dive 1, but I’ll have to go back and look over the photos towards the end where I have all 8 in a few shots. Dive 2 we saw one bull who came to check things out from a distance, but only stayed about 2 minutes before leaving. Unfortunately we didn’t see any other sharks on that dive.

Went to see some Lemon sharks off of Jupiter this weekend. I've only edited a handful of photos, but I think they've turned out pretty well so far. Would love to hear what others think. Gear list: Sony a6400 Samyang 12mm f/2 AF TRT Electronics s-TURTLE Smart SeaFrogs/Salted Line A6xxx housing with 8" acrylic dome 2x Inon D200 Type 2 strobes All images were taken at 1/160, f/8, ISO400. Edited for light and color in Lightroom CC.

I picked up an S-Turtle Smart (v1) secondhand on ScubaBoard about a month ago and used it for the first time on some dives at BHB over the holidays. It worked very well and was much better on the battery of my Sony a6400 than the built in flash ever was. Overall I would recommend the TRT. Initial setup was pretty fiddly as a Mac user, but once I had it set configuration was simple. I'm running macOS 14.2.1, and while I had the S-Turtle app installed through the App Store, it took some hunting and trial/error to find the correct FTDI driver package and get it installed, as the instructions on TRT's website are a bit confusing. Maybe I ought to do a writeup somewhere.

I think this is the lens Phil is referring to: https://fstoppers.com/gear/venus-optics-debuts-their-first-full-frame-autofocus-lens-10mm-f28-zero-654283 SonyAddict had a couple articles on it stating the official announcement date was Dec 29, 2023, but I don't see it listed on their shop yet, nor can I find an actual press release. That being said, the specs look impressive. Autofocus, 130 degree FoV, and an MFD of .12m. Physical dimensions have it at 70.8mm long, but it's using a 77mm filter so probably not going to fit within an N85 or a DLM port. I'll be really curious to see what domes it ends up fitting behind for each housing manufacturer. I've seen very good reviews of recent lenses from the "newer" lens manufacturers like Laowa, Viltrox, etc. Laowa in particular is known for their extensive lineup of macro lenses. Like Phil said, maybe we'll get lucky and they'll turn or more of them into an AF lens.

Yep, that's one of them, thank you. And after re-reading through it, and looking at used prices for the Canon 60mm and a metabones adapter, I might go that route instead of the Zeiss. If my math is right (which is questionable at times), the Canon plus Metabones adapter gives 86mm of working distance at MFD. [70mm lens length + 44mm flange distance == 114mm total length. 200mm MFD leaves 86mm working distance.] Take away some distance for the port, and it still leaves a decent amount of working distance for lighting and/or wet diopters. Now I'll just have to figure out if that combo will fit behind my existing port, or if I'd need to buy a new one (prior to me buying a whole new housing, but that's another story altogether).

Thanks @Chris Ross. I've seen that article before, and it's honestly one of the reasons I asked the question here. If the 50mm Sony struggles on the A1, I have concerns about how well it would perform with my older, much less advanced a6400. But admittedly I don't know this for sure, so I'm hoping for first-hand knowledge from users of the older Sony APS-C bodies.

Right... as I said in my OP, I am interested in APS-C macro lenses because I don't shoot macro on my FF topside. That is why I was asking about the Zeiss, since it's short(er) focal length, internal focusing, and is an APS-C lens.

Hi all, It's time for me to upgrade to a proper macro lens for my Sony a6400. Unfortunately there's a bit of a dearth of native E-mount macro lenses, and especially for APS-C, and doubly especially ones that are suitable for going behind a port in a housing (i.e. are internally focusing). The list of internal focusing, native E-mount macro lenses is the following: Sigma 105mm F/2.8 DG DN Macro | A Sony FE 90mm F/2.8 Macro G Zeiss Touit Makro Planar T* 50mm F/2.8 Sony E 30mm F/3.5 Macro My two primary concerns with choosing a lens are 1) autofocus performance, and 2) working distance/FoV. While I see lots of very positive reviews of the Sony 90mm Macro, I am hesitant to grab it for underwater use, mostly based on focal length. 90mm is pretty long on an APS-C system, and I won't be bringing my FF camera underwater any time soon (unless some housing manufacturer wants to start sponsoring all my gear…), so there's not really a benefit to me getting this for "future-proofing" (and I'm not a macro photographer topside). Same goes for the Sigma. That leaves the Zeiss 50mm and the Sony 30mm. I've read somewhere (maybe on WetPixel?) that @Phil Rudin's go to for a while was the Zeiss Touit 50mm Makro. I'd be interested to hear his and anyone else's experience using this lens on a Sony crop sensor camera. Was the autofocus quick or did it hunt a lot? Did you find the 50mm focal length fit for purpose? Am I overblowing concerns on how a 90mm lens on a crop sensor will be? I'm entirely fine with subjective opinions on how you felt this lens worked for your situation. Thanks all!

Two photos stand out for me for 2023. The first photo is my first ever seahorse, which I found on an early morning dive at the Blue Heron Bridge, in Riviera Beach, FL. The second photo was on a drift dive on Breakers Reef. While not the most technically great shot, I use it as the background for my phone, so I must like it well enough. Sony a6400 with Sony 28-70mm in a SeaFrogs Salted Line A6XXX housing with a flat port, 2x Inon D200 strobes. 1/160 sec, f/5.6, 28mm FL Sony a6400 with Samyang 12mm in a SeaFrogs Salted Line A6XXX housing and 8 in acrylic dome, 2x Inon D200 strobes. 1/160 sec, f/8.0

Hey everyone. I’m Craine (same name over on wetpixel), based out of Largo, FL. Glad to be here now.