Phil Rudin

Hi Nick, you may also want to post in the Industry section.

Hi @Aquatica you may also want to join the Industry forum.

I have tested both the AOI and WWL-1 side by side on the same camera system and image quality wise you will see little difference. I like the AOI buoyancy collar best because it is split in half and can be mounted more easily onto the lens. It is also easer to pack because it is two sections rather than one large round ring. That being said the new WWL-1B with the built in buoyancy collar and bayonet mounting system would be a better choice between the AOI and Nauticam offerings at the price point.

That would be light coming from above the jetty

Twin spot goby, (Signigobius biocellatus), Pemuteran Jetty, Bali, Indonesia. Under the Jetty, with the Sony A7R V and 90 macro lens, Marelux housing and port, two MF-2 strobes, ISO-160, F/14, 1/250th sec. View 1 commentnull

ZEN Underwater offers remote triggers.

I agree, most strobes that do HSS say third party trigger required in the manual and let the buyer figure out the rest. I spoke with Marelux today and suggested an update of the manual to include a note on which strobe features require a third party flash trigger. Third party flash trigger is a requirement for TTL, RC, HSS and MTL. This differs from camera to camera. With my Sony cameras the setting remains the same as it I was using the manual LED flash trigger from Marelux. I would suggest that anyone wanting to use HSS should go to your search engine and look for explanations on why mechanical shutter and global shutter can do HSS and electronic can not. Rule of thumb is that full frame cameras with electronic shutter can get to around 1/200th and APS-C can get to around 1/250th. The smaller sensor size allows for the extra 1/50th just like with the Sony A1 where you can get 1/400th in FF and 1/500th in APS-C with the Marelux manual trigger with 1/250th for other cameras in the A7 line. The UWT trigger I see says it works with Apollo III 2.0 for R6 II and I assume it has its own setting but again that varies from strobe to strobe. For Sony it is #3 on the number wheel. I would suggest trying something other than the Retra profile because that is not the same on my UWT trigger. For those using Turtle it may be another setting. This is why the strobe manufactures don't provide this information. LumiLink simply can't past the signal as fast as fiber optic cords and again will be different for some cameras. I love Lumilink for off camera strobe operation where you may want to back light a subject without needing an on camera flash to trigger a slave like with other strobes. TTL/RC (Olympus TTL) does not work with Lumilink.

It appears the S&S may help but I need to look at more images at different F/numbers. Also the 30mm extension without the S&S. I first tried a 20mm extension when I got the lens and they were bad but also shot at F/8. I really need to start all over and evaluate any gain with S&S.

So this is the Laowa 10mm with Marelux Sony A1 housing, 140mm dome port and 30mm extension. These were shot using the S&S conversion lens. My copy is the same 77mm as the lens soI thought I would give it a try. All were at F13 and the split is at F/22. First image is with the shade installed and you can Clearly see the shade at the top and bottom. Marelux shade is bayonet mount so it can be removed and reinstalled very quickly. These were shot with the standard Marelux flash trigger using Apollo III strobes for fill at 1/400th sec. You may also notice that the steps and tile are every bit as wide as the many shots I have posted with a verity of wet lenses with the same 130 degree AOV at 28mm and the same distance to subject. In fact they look wider than some wet 130 degree lenses I have tested.

Perhaps I was not clear, Apollo III version II has a B in front of the last three numbers in the serial number. The A2D at the beginning is the same for both versions. Apollo S has the same Type II features but starts with M2D and has the A before the last three numbers. With Apollo III V,II and Apollo S both work with the same flash trigger (in my case) UWTechnics to do HSS, MTL and TTL with fiber cords. With LumiLink V.II you get 1/250th sync, HSS and MTL support.

Hi BC, are you using the auto focus version or the Manual focus version?

So my math is not that great but using your chart of 58.8cm for R5C with no adapter and 27mm for A7R V plus 35.5 adapter you get a total of 62.5 or a 3.7mm difference if I am understanding correctly. I don't own any precision tool but when I use a ruler the distance from the lens mounting ring to the top of the Marelux housing where the port seats against the front of the housing is close to 30mm +/-1mm. So Sony A7RV/A1 30mm + 35mm of extension for the 140mm dome port is 65mm. So the N100 to N120 35.5+15mm equals 50.5 plus 27 for Sony RV equals 77.5mm. So neither the 15 or 10mm extensions will work well. To get to 65mm for the Nauticam 140mm port it would be the 27mm for A7R V + 38mm of extension. So it seems that 35.5mm N100 to N120 would be as close as you can get. Also the 35mm distance is the same for both my Sony A7R V and A1 housings so no variations between housings. Also the Marelux 140mm port with bayonet shade sits flat against the port extension. I don't remember if Nauticam has the same design so any differences would need to be taken into considerations. I will test again using 30mm's of extension rather than 35mm and see if I find any improvement. Also if someone has a more precise measurement for Marelux Sony housings please post.

I have ask Marelux direct and will let you know when I hear back.

So for Aquatica 230mm/9.25" and 152mm/6" ports the extension is 39.5mm (#48462) when using the Canon 8-15mm Fisheye zoom with adapter. For Marelux using the 230mm and 140mm ports the extension is 40mm for the Canon 8-15mm with adapter, very close to the Aquatica. With Nauticam using 230mm and 140mm ports the extension is 65.5 or N100 to N120 35.5 + N120 30mm extension II using the Canon 8-15mm with adapter. Unfortunately Aquatica does not list the length of extension #48461 used with the eight inch acrylic port for the same lens. Extrapolate from this what you will or you can compare other like lenses, ports and extensions. Also be aware that the Aquatica 8" acrylic is not a fisheye type port so likely to be less forgiving.

As I have said on several occasions I do old-school testing and basically come up with the same results without all the math. First I have said back several pages the 180mm dome is a buster Laowa 10mm, just not worth the effort. For travel with both the Sony FE 20-70mm and the Laowa 10mm F/2.8 the best two choices are the 140mm port with the shade removed and the 230mm port with shade. Any of the Matty Smith domes also work well. Port extension varies depending on the housing brand you are using and the available extension lengths. Regarding Nauticam the 140mm & 230mm ports are N120 and the shortest N100 to N120 port adapter is the expensive 25mm specifically designed for use with the WACP-2 and Sony FE 14mm F/1.8 lens. The next choice is the recommended 35.5mm port adapter which should vignette. With the Marelux housing I am using 35mm's of extension a 20mm + 15mm. The closest equivalent in Nauticam would be an N100 to N120 15mm extension which does not exist. Best choice will be the over $700.00 N100 to N120 25mm with some vignetting or to contact SAGADIVE.com and have a custom extension in the 15mm range made which will cost less than the NA-25mm option. Please feel free to correct me if my Nauticam conversion is wrong. Photos are the Sony FE 20-70mm in the Marelux 140mm dome with shade. The block with the currency is closest focus at 70mm. The pool light is 20mm at closest focus. The steps and split are both at 20mm. I am using 75mm's of extension with the Marelux housing for these test photos. Marelux setup with the Laowa 10mm and 35mm's of extension. null