RomiK

IDK if it helps but my experience with blackout on Sony A1 and Shinobi - it was there had resolution set to Auto or 4k30 in camera HDMI settings. When I set the HDMI settings to 1080p60 there was no blackout when switching modes anymore. Apparently camera is negotiating with monitor for the best resolution for given mode. When it doesn't negotiate there is no blackout and 1080p60 works well for both photo and video - no need to have 4k when monitor is 1080p anyway... BUT IDK weefine internals so...

If we accept the notion of being able to see what you get affects the artistic expression then it absolutely matters being able to see what you record in HDR if HDR is intended delivery. Only now I am beginning to understand that I am one of only a few which try to shoot and deliver in rec.2020 and I can tell you in these selected few light conditions where you don't see a thing in rec709 but do see beautiful scenes in 2020 renderings it absolutely matters to see what you get. Scenes which you would pass on in rec709 come to life with 2020 but if you can't see that it will limit your imagination.

I think moving shots with fish eye will always be kinda unpleasant due to a moving distortion. Maybe a fish bowl or a big fish without other objects reference might be tolerable but any wreck or corral will be just unpleasant. Having it on the tripod should be more or less fine.

To me it is a wasted opportunity and it is going to be a sales flop. I can't imagine a videographer excited about placing negative 0.86kg (like 2lb) (!!!) on top of their rig and plus having no option for LUT or at least some kind of generic HDR preview like Atomos offers. To me this launch is some kind of a partnership with scuba lamp or weefine kind of companies which launched similar brick products and they just mill out their own housing and their own version of a power source. If I'd be a Nauticam I'd try to work with likes of Atomos to somewhat adjust their touch base UI to more centralized for use with fewer touch based contact point (after all we rarely adjust our monitors on the fly under water), take that product (Ninja or Shinobi) and run with it. Heck they could charge extra for that software version which is like clear profit... Is there an emoji for frustrated... https://www.nauticam.com/collections/external-monitor-recorder-housings/products/nauticam-7-t7-uw-ultrahd-monitor-hdmi-1-4-input-excl-cables

To chime in no need to use Enelopes - Ikea's Ladda 2450mAh work perfectly, priced at less than $10/4pc and did you know they are made in Japan? (do your own research re: NiMH quality based on factory locations) I always transport and store Retra without batteries to prevent contacts spring board fatigue (see point 3) and also to make the carry on lighter if needed. I learned to use fanny pack for all my batteries (24AA for strobes - always charge spare 8 on liveaboards and change one strobe between dives if needed, then camera, lights and monitor batteries) and if I sense problem I just put these extra 2kg on my waist :-) I had my fair share of issues with contact boards as my strobes (Retra Pro X with superchargers) experienced loss of power. I just couldn't swith them on. First I thought these were fatigued terminals and when I tried to spring them back off course I broke them - NEVER do this (!!). So I bought like 4 extra contact boards from Retra. But the issue could have been - all this time - oxidized contact pins inside of the main body. Because when I couldn't start the strobe last time I had quite fresh contact board so I thought this could not have been the issue - I checked the pins inside and sure enough one of them look not ok so I scratched it with flat screwdriver and voila - the strobe was starting again @Oskar - Retra UWT - because we all use these strobes in oxidation happy environment and these pins inside are so difficult to reach would it be a good idea to come up with some sort of tool better then the flat scredriwer as the pins are rounded... Although if future strobes will be Lion acc powered it may not be an issue anymore.

Oh nooo - 🫣 I thought you are Sony when mentioned 28-70 with WACP… canon’s 28-70 didn’t come up in my recollection of wacp chart… so I take it back as I know nothing about Canon’s 28-70

I would add before you do anything switch 28-70 for 28-60 and see results. If sharpness is the motivation 28-60 is sooo much sharper than 28-70. For wide-angle motivation obviously the choice is clear. I would use Sony TC2x as usability of zoom range in rivers and streams will far outweigh any minuscule feelings about quality. Having said that for ultimate quality I'd skip TC altogether as I am sensing in river and streams you want to bump into your subject anyway so I would leave 8-15 at 15 and just shoot those yellow perches out of the water 🙂. No TC 8-15 performance is stellar both in sharpness and micro contrast all the way from F4. Another benefit from using 140mm I would appreciate in river and streams is the small size. The drawback from 8-15 with 140 and especially TCs is that the rig will be a brick. A1 housing with 8-15 + metabones + TC2x and 140 is negative 1kg (!!) May not matter in rivers and streams though.

The collars seem to fix the issue, I didn't see those before... pretty neat simple and slim

I think making strobes with negative 300g is a big design flaw and that by itself would be a big no for purchase. Unlike video lights where one can use total rig buoyancy and mass as stabilizer - assuming he never ever takes vertical video 😅 or macro - working with strobes require frequent repositioning with great "wingspan" and then with greatly negative endpoints the rig will fight even though it would be neutral as a whole. Sometimes it seems to me like the underwater photography gear would be designed by non photographers or people who don't dive 🤷‍♂️

the chimney?... again, it's a personal preference I get it but in my view there is an artistic expression - intentional distortions - and documentary and educational value. Fisheyes in geometric world is all about expression and this is why we see it mainly on skateboard pics etc above water - hence the reason no mfg is rushing mirrorless versions of these. Just the underwater world seems to be stuck in those in part for technical in part for artistic and in part for trend setters... Just my 2c

It's a personal preference for sure... For me I just don't understand why would anyone shoot wrecks intentionally distorted... To me this fisheye look on anything underwater is a bit of a farce.

I would probably ask Nauticam directly. Here you don't state enough information about your system... F or Z mount to begin with... the differentiator is the base unit and #1 #2 and #3 for FF eq. 90mm -120mm setups. Basically you need to measure the distance from the flat port glass to your lens in your setup and compare it with #1,2,3 options from the chart and lens combo and make decision. It will work, you just need to choose correct base unit.

Thanks! Really loved working with native optics 🤙

After 6 months dentist induced diving coma I was back in the water at Cape Verde this week and what a joy it was to use Sony 20-70 F4 in 180mm glass dome I brought with me. I could have chosen WWL-1B or test 8-15/2x in 140mm instead . But I was never to Atlantic, didn’t know if I would shoot big or small, wanted to take photo and video so I chose to bring this combo which I call the solution ‘for unexpected’ (I also brought 16-35 F4 PZ but didn’t use it) So to give you my take on your question - don’t sell your 14-30 and the dome just yet as it is the right tool for the some jobs. For example for Socorro’s mantas if you want both photos and videos. Fisheyes suck for video and WACPs and WWLs suck also as IBISes rely on lens focal length information which obviously get wrong by slapping these glorious adapted optics in front of native lenses. Also one thing to consider is that with 8-15 and TC and adapters in 140glass your rig buoyancy will change dramatically so you will need to compensate for this. The photos below I took with 20-70.

You're welcomed. Comp samples attached with annotation what is what. Details at 100%. As for 28-60 most reviews note the softness at 60 so my thinking is that it is what it is 🤷‍♂️ And real kicker is what to think of slapping €6500 FCP in front of 28-60 in long end 🙈. Then all of a sudden the €4500 or so for 8-15 TC2x begins to make sense for the quality overall 🤣