Proteus

The folks at BlueWater suggested a Canon EOS R50 in the Nauticam NA-R50 housing. Looks interesting. Has anyone tried this? I would be interested if someone, like me, is downscaling and has tried it. The key, as you all have written, is how it looks to someone who has used high end gear. Gary

bump

If you decide you want high output lights, I have a pair of Kraken 18K lights for sale in the Classifieds. Gary

Thanks to everyone who wrote with their opinions. Dave, you won't remember this but you were behind my first (Ikelite) housing. You were (I think) in sales with someone and I was an engineer with Square D in Raleigh NC. You suggested the Ikelite housing with a Nikon (film) camera and I have gone forward from there. Thank you! I think I'll stay away from phone based housings. I was worried about the limitations and, based on the posts, I'm sure I would be bothered. No flash ... no aperture control ... it would be too limiting. I enjoy the creative effects one gets from playing with these things and I don't want to just document that "I was here". I'm going to give some real thought to the small machines, such as the Canon. Maybe I can find a middle. As it is now the housing, strobe arms, Retra strobes, dome, balance floats ... well you all know how it gets when traveling. That said, I'm hooked on the 6/500 photo that just give you chills. Thanks again to all, and to any who post with more thoughts. Gary

I've been shooting big iron for years but I'm starting to think small .... Currently I have an A7R5 in a Nauticam housing. I've got a variety of lenses and ports such as the WWL-1B, 140mm port, 180mm, a macro port, and related lenses. So I've got all the big iron stuff, know how to use it, and enjoy it when I'm in the water. All that considered, I HATE packing carrying, and ferrying all the "stuff". Yes, I could just suck it up BUT now I'm wondering about going small ... meaning an iPhone 15 Pro Max in a capable housing. I'm sure there are those who have made the transition before me. I am seeking your opinions about the change and would appreciate any words you might care of share. I'll be (maybe) using the rig in the 40-160 foot depth range and will be shooting wide angle, fish portraits, and macro. Thanks in advance, Gary

Two Kraken Solar Flare lights, purchased for a project but never used. The lights are complete with boxes, accessories, etc. Battery life should be perfect as they were never used. The lights are about one year old. Buy one or both, any one $700, or both $1300. Buyer pays shipping, payment via PayPal. Gary

I have one for sale (a 1B), if you are still interested.

I'd guess the same as Chris, with the same caution about the gear. In my case I just bought the new 100-120 adapter and sold the old one on eBay. Gary

The older one is incompatible with (at least) the Sony housings. I ran into this when upgrading from my A7RIII to the A7RV. To my surprise, I couldn't mount the 37303. It turned out that Nauticam "bumped" the newer housing out a bit and this created an interference. They resolved this by making the 37305. Can't speak to any other models, but it is for sure an issue with the A7RV housing. Gary

I'd be interested in a rebreather section, as I often dive rebreather + solo. Of the two, however, solo is much more important. I tend to go crazy when I find a really good subject and only have 30 seconds to shoot. Take pictures ... race to rejoin the group .... take pictures ... race to rejoin the group. Repeat for 60 minutes ....

I too am not a fan of the size and weight of the larger housings, but can add my story to some of the others. A few years back a had a D850 in a Nauticam housing. As said above, I hated the size and weight (but was extraordinarily pleased with the photos / usability). To "fix" the issue, I moved to an A7RIII hoping to reduce size. It was smaller, but when I added strobes and a dome port life was much the same. Yes, it was smaller, but not in a really important way. So now I'm wishing for an integrated solution the size of a GoPro. It would include a 13mm rectilinear lens (water convertible to fisheye and macro), Retra strobes with combined 10K video lamps, and Sony A1 performance. Somehow I think I'm going to be disappointed .... 😥 Gary

Yes, they are sold. Sorry ...

Same here. The videos are done well, and the content is great! Gary

Does anybody have a similar method to create Type A cards? I have a Sony A7RV and, as best I know, they only take Type A. I bought one, but was surprised at the limited sizes and much higher cost. Gary

In your review you say, "so far the Tamron 17-28 held the prime spot" but I cannot find a Tamron review on your site. Am I missing it? I'd like to see the tests (or posts) that led to your opinion as I'd like to compare with your detailed 16-35 work. Gary

Thanks again to Interceptor121! I enjoy reading the articles, and the detailed testing (and photos) really helps one to see the differences in a controlled environment. Prior, I've struggled to separate lens performance from all the other variables that are changing in the "wild". Your. work is much appreciated. Gary

Price reduced to $450, including battery.

I'm glad we're having this discussion, because I could "swear" that I'm getting better images from the 20-70! And yes, I understand the AOV and corner compromises. There is no "science" behind my impression. Given that I've never done side by side, or equivalent settings comparisons I would be the first to defer to those that have done that kind of work. That said, I am really liking the 20-70 and am thinking that it may become my "go-to" lens, especially in uncertain visibilities. I had planned to use the 28-60 / WWL-1B for this, but now I'm wondering ... Gary

I'd like to offer my thanks, as well. I was (and am) a little blown away at how well the transition was implemented. Great work from the team! Gary

Forgot to add one more picture.

Selling my Sony 16-35 F4 lens. The lens is in excellent condition and I'm including the Nautical zoom and focus gears. I've decided to move into some other lenses, hence the sale. The lenses seem to be selling for about $450-$500 on eBay, so I'm asking $650 for the lens with the additional gears. As you'll see in the picture, I'm including the box, paperwork, and accessories that Sony supplies. null

Forgot to mention that I too have a Canon 8-15 that I use for wide angle, and mostly CFWA use in places like Cayman. I'm finding that I can segment my use into use cases where the 20-70 is "good enough" for most wide angle, and the 8-15 covers the other types of use. The big win, for me, is the flexibility to go from "wide angle" to fish portraits. I never know what visibility I'm going to get on the bottom - especially here in North Carolina. It's quite common to have 80 foot blue water visibility from the surface until 20 feet from the bottom, then 20 foot visibility to the bottom in green water .... or maybe .... blue water all the way down. The 20-70 can cover both use cases. Gary

I've been wondering about the WWL-1B versus domes as well. I have an A7RV in a Nauticam housing and can use it with either a WWL-1B / Sony 28-60 mm or a 180mm dome / Sony 20-70 mm f4 lens (I have both). I've been comparing the two and, from a sharpness / saturation perspective I like the 20-70 more! I realize this runs counter to much of what I've read and am wondering what other folks think - hence this post. For those who have used both setups, which do you like more and why? To be clear, I don't look at corners much. My judgment is based on the center area. I really don't mind if the corners blur as all my attention is on the central area that I'm favoring as a subject, rather than a wide area/vista. I realize both lenses are f4 lenses, but I never plan to shoot less than F8 anyway to maintain DOF and whatever corner sharpness I am getting. Hopefully this answers Bronson's question, in part. I'd love to hear about how others view the tradeoffs between these two setups. I've never done A vs. B pool tests, as Interceptor121 does, so my opinion is based on very subjective fuzzy impressions! Gary

I followed the links / references in Tim's article and was able to order all the materials yesterday. I now have shipping notices from each vendor so everything was in stock. Gary

I would really appreciate a port / lens article, and I'm sure others would as well. I've enjoyed reading the threads where this has been discussed, but have wished for more. Thanks in advance for anything the community creates. Gary