Everything posted by RomiK
-
Epic rendezvous with Orca feeding on sardines in Norway this November
Thank you guys. Orcas are nicknamed as 'pandas of the sea' and it well describes them. They are completely harmless toward human being, they literally shove you away on their way to food. The bigger problem are humpbacks who always crash the party from down below - open their mouth, eat the ball, make the splash and the story start again :-). I happened to be in the splash zone of one of these and THAT's an adrenaline!🤣
-
Sony A1 vs A1ii for underwater
1.1 crop A1 vs 1.5 crop A7R5 in 4k120?
-
Epic rendezvous with Orca feeding on sardines in Norway this November
We were supposed to finish the day. On the way back to the boat I saw some action across the bay about a mile away. Like geyzers popping up all over the place. I talked others to go to check this out and the rest is history. It was the most spectacular action of our trip and as the guides put it they've never seen anything like it in years. Never mind my battery was exhausted before three humpbacks decided to end the party and splash me away :-)
-
Insta360 X5 underwater
Although the Pro dome is much much better than original the x5 footage still isn't good for anything else than vertical socials IMO. There are stitching artifacts usually where it matters :-) and the quality in low light is still poor and mushy. Apart from stitching artifacts - dome reflections - for the documentation I would say yes but then it gets quite big that PRO dome and so It gets in the way... So I would stick to action cam as a B-roll or fun dive camera. Here is link to full frame footage scaled to 4k https://youtu.be/721F2hq9XoQ and here is a screen grab converted to jpeg, the HDR version looks better.
-
New Canon EOS C50 Cinema Camera
power bank! 👍
-
Sony 100 mm macro
... or it is perhaps confirmation that extra 10mm in space between port glass and the lens won't matter (1.4x is 17.4mm while 2x is 27.2mm added length to the lens). Which means that using old port 105 with 30mm port extension might be feasible for new 100mm macro (?)
-
Kraken 5.5" Screen Installation
Awesome! I would be terrific - if you had time - if you could show us the differences on screen. It could be a room scene with window and something behind it (garden, tree, anything) and shot by iPhone in HDR (default) and posted to YouTube so it would show HDR mark after posted. So it would be HDR video. It could also help you to determine best practice while underwater. With my Shinobi I found PQ mapping having the most dynamic range but HLG mapping keeping screen brighter. On my Sony A1 that is. I will try to do something like that later to show example.
-
Kraken 5.5" Screen Installation
This is amazing! What size of battery can you fit in that housing? And Feelworld model?
-
Kraken 5.5" Screen Installation
Does this have HDR mapping in the menu? Which options and do they work? Thanks!
-
Kraken 5.5" Screen Installation
Yes! This is what I mean! What other options it shows under that HDR option beside 709 please?
-
Kraken 5.5" Screen Installation
Very nice! My goal was to place monitor a little away from me - also to access topside buttons easy - and being able to tilt but the fixed bracket has its own advantages. Does this Kraken has HDR PQ or HLG mapping of Slog3 signal available? What I don't like on Shinobi is inability to access settings underwater and what I do like is battery lasting for 6 dives at 1000nits and the HDR screen with that PQ option.
-
Diving Galápagos Islands, Sept 2025
Sail! That! Exactly!🤣 If I may share my way dealing with overexposure... even though A1 has different sensor, also dual gain but maybe different... anyhow - I learned that ISO on A1 doesn't matter. Heck I can go 30000 and as long as I properly (over)expose I see no meaningful effect on noise. So I started to use ISO as gain and with shutter and aperture locked in I mapped (typically shutter) wheel to ISO. I display waveform on my monitor and push it to upper third as high as not to get cutoffs. Sometimes the overexposure is actually 3+ (!). On Nauticam housing that wheel is greatly available for thumb operation which helps me adjust 'gain' on the fly - like when following shark from deep blue to surface background. Not sure how this is going to work for A7S3 sensor but for both A7S3 and A1 all YouTubers were swearing by using base ISO - only for me to find out that it was utter bollock. At least for A1. And of course this wouldn't be possible without external monitor (with HDR conversion switched on). So cheers to sailors 😅
-
Diving Galápagos Islands, Sept 2025
nicely done! we were on Calipso last September and it also was a blast. 3 whale sharks over at Darwin - or one three times on three dives 🤣 Out of curiosity - I see a lot of noise on your footage - especially in the blues. Were you overexposing at all? On my A1 I have to brutally overexpose log footage otherwise I get a lot of noise too. Glad to see somebody else is lugging monitor around too :-) mine is shinobi :-)
-
Sony A1 overheating during video
I assume you did MENU → (Setup) → [Power Setting Option] → [Auto Power OFF Temp.] and select [High] Not to worry, no damage possible Even then the camera produces a lot of heat at 4k100 and so trapped in housing in warm waters - like 28C+ - will cause it overheat. Yes, using external monitor helps but there is tradeoff in terms of size and travel weight. Still totally worth to me.
-
Sony 100 mm macro
I would disagree on a problem - current N100 90mm port doesn't fit the lens with cap so it sits pretty tight. I am estimating worst case scenario with 30mm extension is the gap of like 20mm between the front element and the port glass so it shouldn't even vignette and certainly it won't be able to focus on front glass. The EMWL implications are unclear to me - if any, I just can't picture what kind of woodoo the focus unit does. Canon 100mmRF lists both #2 and #3 for its FOV but what kind of effect the extra 20mm between the lens and the focus unit will have I just can't picture 🤷
-
Sony 100 mm macro
Nice! I'd like to think that 30mm N100 extension which I use for WACP-C will work also with existing N100 macro port! New lens is 19mm longer than the old one. And for TC when TC if TC just another extension. Keeping travel light! 😁 The questions is how EMWL will work with this?🤷
-
New full aluminum Seafrogs housings
They certainly have better taste I choosing monitors for which to make housing. What on earth both Nauticam and Marelux were thinking when making housing for touch only monitors from Atomos ... 🤦(save for recorder)
-
Diving South West Halmahera from Sali Bay resort - August 2025
Yep, from the marine life composition through corrals - we did dive the same location! 😄 Nice pictures!
-
Diving South West Halmahera from Sali Bay resort - August 2025
Excellent pictures Luko, you've captured the essence of Halmahera! We were passing on liveaboard mid July this year and can confirm everything and above from your report as for that place. The only thing I'd add are the humphead parrotfishes, this one from Pokal island next to Sali Bay. Other than that you were spot on with diving and weather conditions. Mostly grey above water and vis so so there. But no wonder - you were staying in middle of river! Imagine the sheer volume of water passing through the strait with unpredictable tide schedule combined with the effect of islands blocking that straight and you easily change your opinion on guides not letting you go when they deemed currents too strong :-) It's not as much about the divers skills but rather about the unpredictability and sheer strength of these currents. On one dive in there a current hit us so strong it almost ripped my A1 rig out of my hands. I bet your R7 setup is not smaller :-) Can't really take pictures in that :-) On another dive our group was split in half with one part making a circle finishing where we started - all the while in big current - and the other half ended a quarter mile down the road... Funny for us but not so much for the dive operations :-) For me Halmahera trip (we started Lembeh, moved across and also explored islands near Halmahera, was terrific. The corrals were so rich I found myself taking one picture after another just to look at the previews on my monitor! I honestly think the best way to enjoy Halmahera for non-photographers is to have like 15K lumen floodlight and enjoy the colours this way :-) True, shoal fish can be seen only at middle of the Molucca sea at Gureda island - Pula Tifore but we've also encountered sardines at that Pokal place I think the hype - if there is any - is that it is so remote and so new for many people. And also perhaps fun in some currents situation. And I think it is well deserved due to combination of colours and variability of marine life - I will skip my macro life pictures as I do not want to hijack this excellent report thread :-)
-
Insta360 X5 underwater
Interesting question indeed. 2nd gen AKA pro version of I360 housing has larger dome right? So the problem might be in the distance of virtual image perhaps? Perhaps it is unsolvable until someone creates diopter corrected lens either for camera or housing which could play with camera and virtual image better... questions no answers...
-
WACP-C vs WWL-1B for Sony Nauticam setup
Get WACP-C and don't look back. From some reason WWL-1B is a bit soft at the long and while WACP-C is razor sharp. Plus not dealing with bubbles especially when you do freediving is an enormous plus. I lost so many opportunities at Galapagos with sharks present at the drop but I had to burp lens first... I would dismiss adapted 8-15 for your application. You need perfect AF. These pictures are with WACP-C and at 60mm from Indonesia this summer. I got better quality and clarity from WACP than from 90mm (!!). It is one image - the whole frame and the crop. You can't believe this unless you see it!!!
-
New Nikon ZR Cinema Camera
I think both Canon C50 and Nikon ZR are like dream come through for recreational UW videographers. Especially ZR with 24-70 2.8ii paired with WACP-C would be a killer pocket rocket provided that Nauticam makes N100 housing for it and Nikon allows for IBIS focal length definition and there is fast access to manual WB and that WB is actually good. Uff too many conditions :-) For me it is DOA for lack of mechanical shutter (I do like taking stills with flash :-). I absolutely love bigger screens on both. So c'mon Sony, bring FX3 ii with 8k60, mechanical shutter and 5inch screen and my money are yours 😆
-
Insta360 X5 underwater
Video will be as better as smaller screen to watch will be and as larger portion of 8k footage you can cram on it. I got 360 a bit naive to think it could at least document the dive - and it can if you can bear watching the footage out of it - but now I think its good for like those special effects if you building memories video and nothing much cinematic :-) . Like this instagram bait :-)
-
Nauticam EMWL - strong reflection in final picture
I agree, the front element of 130 is bulging out and the light source could have come from literally anywhere... perhaps even caused by the shrimp... it definitely is not camera lens reflection, the construction of EMWL system wouldn't allow it. I have the same system - A1 and 130 - and time to time the reflections appear... rarely but they do. With the shade you won't be able to get this close to shrimp though and anemone would quite suffer. I would say with taking several pictures there would be a good chance to have at least one of them clean. Great example of a good use of 130 btw!👏
-
Canon RF 11-55mm for Full Frame
I dunno, I've found using rectilinear 14/1.8 challenging UW so 11mm the corners will stretch a lot. And not to put a cold water on this rumour but isn't R7 ii crop camera also coming out with that range perhaps more fitting for it... 😉