dentrock

Looking forward to you testing it Phil, and seeing if you can get good corners and no vignetting! I can get one or the other, but not both, with the manual version, which is 185 degrees (140 dome, no shade).

A few further comments: Re Sony 50 macro, I like it a lot! Especially behind a dome, where it gives excellent sharpness right across the frame, even at say, f5.6. And I'm not the only one. Alex Mustard has a very interesting clip on 'curved ports' which features this lens. I have good pics of fast moving pelagics with it. But others call it a dog... They are cheap, so suggest you get one, or buy a used one and flog it if you don't like it. It's my 'go to' lens with the dome, and I don't bother with flat ports for this lens, as they destroy the corners. Downside is 1:1 is very close to the dome. Re 20-70, an excellent choice for general photography, especially at the 70 end, but for the smaller stuff, the big 180 port required for the full zoom range gets in the way a bit (subject can move before you find it again in the VF). I have had good results with the now defunct very compact Nauticam 4" WA dome, but the zoom range is limited to 45-70. I haven't tried it with a flat port, but I would expect a similar zoom range, with poor corner sharpness. It has very fast AF, and I can get 1:2.7 mag with it. Re strobes, I use 2 x Inon S220 now, and used S2000 for many years before that. Reason is small size, and perfect for macro, although I use them for everything else as well. I wouldn't go back to a single strobe, unless solely shooting small fish in mid water. 2 x is always better... Unlike seemingly everyone else I come across, I use the shortest strobe arms that will do the job ( 1 x 20cm each side, with 2 x ball joints). Great for shooting in caves or crevices.

The OP wants to photograph a range of fish sizes on the one dive, but doesn't mention if he is time limited (surveys?), or if the aim is solely fish photography. There is a world of difference between having to get any shot of say, a juvenile wrasse for later ID, then quickly moving on to continue a survey; vs a dive where you can chase your damsels and wrasses as much as you like. Several of the options suggested could work for the latter case; but if time limited, flip-flops and other water contact options won't cut it, so a macro lens is the best option. The OP didn't mention his typical dive conditions. In good viz, a 100mm macro should do the job on FF, but will not be much good in low viz; say 2-7m, so a 50-60mm macro makes more sense for FF there. Assuming as an ichthyologist he dives all over, then he will need both lenses; or at least the 100mm + the MFO-3, if he doesn't mind the extra length. The 100 may also prove a bit of an issue to physically track those damsels and wrasses. Physical tracking is certainly easier with more FOV, especially if you are time limited. And I get what others say about not cropping; but the fact remains that you can get good images allowing scale and fin counts even heavily cropping 60+ mpx sensors, including of 20mm gobies. We would all like not to crop, but it's not illegal! Not sure which housing system he is leaning towards, but if he favours Sony APS-C, I would steer clear of Nauticam, as the N85 port system is a curse. On the other hand, if size is a big consideration, then Sony A7CR is worth a look, as it is hardly bigger than the A6700, and he can still shoot APS-C if he wishes. More to the point, the Nauticam housings for these are similar size and weight; but you get the big advantage of the N100 port system with the A7CR housing, plus better fibre optic connections; something that the influencers never mention... When I owned both Nauticam rigs for Sony A7CR and A7RV, I measured the weight difference at 1.1 kgs (housing + body), with corresponding size difference. If size is not an option, then Canon and Nikon may offer macro options that perform better than Sony, though I haven't seen much of a size / weight difference between FF and APS-C rigs with those brands, so FF will make sense. As a working fish nerd myself, I don't find the quoted Sony 1/160 synch speed limiting, and it is in any case 1/200 in practice.

Christopher Frost is also worth viewing. Usefully he follows the same format for every review, and shows test charts separately for the centre and corners. If you open multiple browser windows, you can directly compare results for different lenses. However he doesn't measure field curvature - but then, who does?

I look up best on-line prices then go straight to my local bricks and mortar store - Camera House in Geelong. They always match the best price if it's Australian stock and not some dodgy code discount. I reckon support your local store if you have one. It's the only place you can go to see some gear before buying.

I use Sony C-AF (with tracking) all the time underwater, and mostly BBF. I could be mistaken, but I sense that BBF makes it quicker to acquire focus in tricky situations. On land I rarely use BBF, because the Sony ergs are not so good for that. In the end, it's whatever maximises your keepers.

I used to be a half press guy, but now I've joined the dark side with BBF, since Nauticam ergs are very good for BBF. But I haven't disabled AF with shutter, so it's there if I need it.

Well it does. But depends a bit on the skill of the photographer I suppose. But don't take my word - check out Alex Mustard's clip on "Curved Ports". He is quite a fan of the Sony 50 macro - especially behind a dome - as am I.

Sorry, I meant a shorter ext of course, to position the lens further into the dome... Compromise reached was 45mm total inc adapter (no shade). At 35mm, shade vignetted, but not the dome. At 55mm, dome vignetted badly (no shade) - not water tested. It is possible that in addition to fixed aperture, you might get away with fixed focus (at f11), provided you aren't trying to do CFWA... I also tested this lens with the 8.5" dome, but vignetting is worse, as expected, since the OC is approx 25mm behind the port flange. I won't be buying the AF version until / unless others can show it works well without vignetting, on FF. The Laowa 8-15 AF is still on the cards, so hopefully it won't be quite as wide FOV as this 7 Artisans. Over to you, Phil, if you are getting one!

I bought the manual version of this lens for E mount recently for under AUD 400. It arrived with very faint distance and aperture markings on the lens, and without the advertised glow in the dark ability. I would have returned it except optically it seems quite good. However after experimenting with it underwater, I'm not convinced manual is worth the trouble (for underwater), partly because the zoom gear I cobbled up was a Nauticam N120 size, which meant the lens has to be removed first, to remove the camera from the housing. You also have to recalibrate the focus scale, which requires a bit of careful maths, and the result is hard to read underwater. So an AF version is welcome... except for one potential problem: The manual version is 185 degrees diagonal. I could not exactly align the lens' EP with the optical centre for the Nauticam 140 dome, without vignetting caused by the dome itself, and that's with the shade removed. So I couldn't improve on an approx 30mm diameter circle centre sharpness at f11, and that's with a small amount of the vignetting. A longer extension to remove the vignetting reduced the sharp centre circle to just under 24mm, which is not great. So be prepared to crop if the AF version is also 185 degrees...

Since its been covered extensively in the links above and various threads, no need to repeat the process description. Probably quickest to spell out the particular lens / camera / housing / dome combo you are interested in, and ask if anyone is using / can advise on how it goes. There are many possible 'off piste' (off port chart) rigs, some of which work very well... and some which don't!

It is not a full hemisphere. The optical centre for the 140 is approx 7mm behind the mounting flange. I understand the only full hemisphere ports you can buy are custom jobs.

Not sure if your interest in the (presumably Nauticam) 230 dome was for the 16-25, but I found that lens works well even with the small 140 dome (radius 70mm), and not much further improvement with the 180 dome (radius 110mm). I used 25 adapter + 35 ext with the 140. Central area of sharpness when viewed at 100% was between 24 and 36mm diameter at f11. So if you are OK with f11 and this FOV range, it's a good compact rig. The Nauticam zoom ring for the 24-50 fits this lens, since they are made as a complementary pair. I'm not aware of a version "II" for this lens, so if it exists, disregard this post.

I reckon it's worth your trying to pick up a used old-style 20mm N120 extension. There are now at least 2 different styles for the N120 extensions, with the latest one super expensive as Chris says. But you should be able to buy the older one for $100-150 used. Look in the classifieds or place a WTB ad. Also, be warned: you are about to go down the rabbit hole of Nauticam accessories! I have acquired a massive collection over the years and can now at least test almost any lens combo. Re the compact port base stuff: yes it's old school flat port combos (I have some). I used to use it for different macro lenses, before I changed to domes for those. I don't think they ever made a screw thread dome to suit. Most likely they discontinued the screw thread experiment because threads can get very difficult to dismantle unless you carefully maintain them. Pre-digital Aquatica ports had the same issue - you needed a pair of strap wrenches in your kit!

I only happened on this topic out of boredom! I had a Nikon F90X and Subal housing, in prehistoric times. Both long gone, BUT.... I kept the viewfinder as pictured above! It screws into the camera eyepiece. I think I kept it because I got such a lousy price for the housing. Perhaps it's even my housing you have. Can't be many of them about in Oz. So, given that you seem to be in Australia I could probably be persuaded to sell it, so message me with an offer by all means. Btw, the housing performed quite well. The main problem was forgetting to nip up the locking screws with the supplied wrench, as I used to store it with the screws slackened off. I suffered one flood as a result, plus a couple of near misses.