Tino Dietsche

The prototype of my latest computer mount. I'll make a couple of adjustments for the next version, but basically the part fits.

3 minutes ago, fruehaufsteher2 said:

Depends on the camera-lens combination. Sony-28-60 works really well with the Nauticam-solutions made for smaller sensors (WACP-C, WWL-C). AFAIK other combinations doesn't work as well.

Thanks for the feedback. I would also use the Sony 28-60.

I'm currently using the Sony 16-35 F4 behind a 180mm dome. The combination is already weak at the edges and based on various tests and images I would have better quality and edge sharpness with the 28-60 with WWL-1 or WWL-C. Plus 130° instead of just 107°.
 

I already have the 28-60 here, but I haven't bought the port yet.
 

In that case you could choose a WWL-C instead of the WWL-1 without any problems if you got one at a good price?

What do others think about this?

Hello everyone,
Since this is about the WWL-C and it is used here together with various full-format cameras and lenses, I wanted to ask how the lens basically performs? Does anyone have any experience comparing the WWL-1?

The WWL-C is basically developed for smaller sensors?

Thank you for your feedback,
Tino

Hello everyone,

For two ideas I'm looking for "empty" M14 bulkheads with a protective cap. Does anyone have an idea where I can get something like this?

Thanks for your help,

Tino

Hi,

I have been using a monitor housing since the end of 2020 (self-built project). I have two versions for assembly that work very well.

For macro photography, I have the monitor at the back of the housing directly in front of the camera display. So I'm in the optical axis and have no problems finding the subjects. To work close to the ground, I simply swivel the monitor upwards and can therefore work comfortably from above.

For wide angles, I place the monitor above the housing, as here the setup is, if possible, completely neutrally balanced. In addition to being able to take photos comfortably, I can also film very well and move the camera nicely in front of me.

I mounted the monitor with two clamps, which in my opinion makes it a little more flexible than just one clamp. I also tared the housing of the monitor itself so that it was as neutral and upright as possible in the water.

Hope this helps you find an optimal solution for you.

Attached are a few more pictures.

Greetings from Switzerland,

Tino

Macro

Macro

Wide-Angle (Copyright by Robert Hansen)

Power Only Version for RX100II to be able to charge the camera between two dives. The USB-C socket mentioned in the posts above is basically the same. In principle, the idea is not new.

Inside a Sony A7II Housing from Nauticam, with a cable for power and data.

The S6 Connector to the "Underwater-Powerpack" from an old flash cable.

The USB-Powerpack inside the old housing of an diving light.

4 hours ago, bghazzal said:

Wow - I didn't know these existed - I've found a DC coupler (dummy battery) for the LX10 (link) - could this be used with an external battery pack to power the compact?

Anything giving more battery life underwater would be fantastic.
When you were working with the RX100 series, what external battery pack were you using, and how did it compare to standard batteries when shooting video?

Thanks!

Ben

Hi Ben,
I don't know about your camera, the Sony cameras can be charged via USB while in use. For this reason, my solution didn't require battery dummies or anything like that. A USB connection to the USB power bank to the camera was sufficient.

With the offset Connector from Nauticam, it should actually be possible. USB-Powerbank to USB-Connection in the housing or USB-Powerbank to your dummy-battery. 

With a little courage you can build the whole thing yourself relatively easily. Soldering iron, the necessary cables and some time. Different things would be possible for the housing for the power bank, old diving lamp, old underwater housing...

The simplest solution is without plug connections and a permanently cast or sealed cable connection. If I prefer to have a plug so that the whole thing can be used without the extra power supply, I would use old electrical lightning cables and sockets.
I'm looking for two more pictures to illustrate the whole thing or give an idea.

Tino

3 hours ago, bghazzal said:

Unfortunately I think it's a no-go - the NA-LX10 only has one M14 port, used by the vaccum valve.
Not sure what the flash socket is  - I do have unused optical fibre holes.

The only way in this case is the Nauticam Offset Connector with Vacuum Vavle.

Inside an RX100V Housing.

10 hours ago, bghazzal said:

Hi Tino - and wow!
I'm very interested in this underwater-powerpack, as battery life is not good on my compact (LX10), with which I shoot video - the camera can work powered by a slave battery, but there's no room in the housing.

Did you make this work with the RX100 Nauticam housing? if so, how did you get the cable in?
I only have on bulkhead port used for the vaccum valve, but do not use any flash - no idea how these ports work however.

I did the whole thing for various Nauticam housings. RX100III, RX100IV, RX100V, Sony A7II series. It was always important to have a free M16 or M14 hole on the housing. Access to the housing is via a converted N6 flash socket.

I would be  look for a few pictures in the archive and possibly make a post in the DIY section.

 

2 hours ago, Nikolausz said:

There are few exceptions, but in my opinion, it could be a standard. The extra space requires some new designs but it would be not that much extra cost (you may correct me, I have no experience in UW housing production) and the extra power banks are also not that expensive (and can be used also above water). I like Tino's DIY solution, but it's too complicated for most, and a correct housing design would make it unnecessary.

Making the housing so much larger that there is room for an additional power supply wouldn't be complicated at all, but the bottom line is that people who travel a lot more than most probably need this. That's why it won't have any priority or benefit for the housing builders at that moment.

With newer cameras and usually much better battery performance, the topic is becoming more and more in the background.
Since I've been using the third and fourth generation Sony A7 series, for example, I haven't had the problems anymore. I'll have to see if I make some more videos again and see if it becomes an issue. If so, I will definitely build a new external power supply.

Hello everyone,

I also had the problem with too little battery power a few years ago with the Sony A7II series. This annoyed me so much at the time that I built an underwater power supply myself. The whole thing consisted of S6 flash sockets, an old S6 flash cable, and an old diving lamp. The lamp body served as a housing for a USB power pack and also carried my dive computer.

I was also able to transfer the images to the computer or an iPad during two dives via the S6 socket and charge the battery without losing the vacuum in the housing. Everything was completely sealed.

I even made a few different versions of the “Surface Interval Cable” for the Sony A7 series and RX100 housings, some of which are still in use today. Partly just to charge the camera between two dives, i.e. only with power and partly with power and data.

With newer cameras and USB-C, such a part would be relatively simple and easy to build.

Greetings from Lake Constance,
Tino

on land

In the water with the "Underwater-Powerback"

Hello everyone,

I just saw that I didn't even include the final price in the post. So here is the current price:

CHF 1550.-

-----------------------------

Hallo Zusammen,

Habe gerade gesehen dass ich den finalen Preis gar nicht im Post drin hatte. Deshalb hier der aktuelle Preis:

CHF 1550.-

Gruss Tino

I recently took a quick look at the monitor housing at a specialist dealer. It was still a test device from the manufacturer and the specialist dealer was very satisfied. Unfortunately there were no batteries in the device at the moment, so I didn't see the functions myself.

However, the part is relatively compact and makes a very high-quality impression. The HDMI cables are also pretty well solved; there are various adapters for the housing. The specialist dealer had the monitor on a Nauticam A7CR housing and there were no problems with the space for the cabling.

Greetings from Switzerland,

Tino

Hello Rick,
Unfortunately, I can't help with any experience with the SeaLink Kit. I actually wanted to try it out, but haven't managed it yet.

The idea behind it is certainly a good one, especially because the DiveFolk housing makes it possible to work with any app and there are no restrictions.

I'm just not sure how reliable the connection actually is in water, but you really have to test it carefully.
The topic is very current for me at the moment, I have a monitor housing (self-made project), but since things started going wrong again with certain apps, I've been thinking about a new monitor housing project. Especially with the newer Sony cameras, the connection to apps like Monitor +, Cascable or Sony's own Creators's app via USB-C would be very exciting.

The dream at that moment would be a smartphone housing like DiveFolk has, but with an M14 or M16 socket...

Let's see how committed I am to the idea and the project in the coming time or whether I can find a way to operate a smartphone in a self-made housing that is sufficient.

When it comes to attaching the monitor housing to the housing, a bracket as mentioned by Barmaglot is certainly a possible variant. I have mounted an additional ball on my housing on which I have a 3-pin clamp. From there I go backwards with a short arm and have the monitor directly at the back of the housing. When I'm using a wide angle lens, I turn the monitor up over the housing.

Greetings Tino

Selling Nauticam wide angle combination for the Sony 16-35mm F4 consisting of:

• Nauticam N100 to N120 Adapter I
• Nauticam Extension Ring 50
• Nauticam Zoom Ring Sony 16-35 F4
• Nauticam 180mm glass dome

Condition is very good, the glass has no scratches, the setup was only used in freshwater.

new price CHF 2100.-

Sales within Switzerland are preferred. Collection possible in Goldach SG on Lake Constance. Shipping only against advance payment plus additional costs for postage and packaging.

-----------------------------

Verkaufe Nauticam-Weitwinkel Kombination für das Sony 16-35mm F4 bestehend aus:

• Nauticam N100 to N120 Adapter Typ I
• Nauticam Extension Ring 50
• Nauticam Zoom Ring Sony 16-35 F4
• Nauticam 180mm Glas Dome

Zustand ist sehr gut, das Glas hat keine Kratzer, das Setup wurde nur im Süsswasser verwendet.

Neupreis CHF 2100.-

Ein Verkauf innerhalb der Schweiz wird bevorzugt. Abholung in Goldach SG am Bodensee möglich. Versand nur gegen Vorauskasse plus Zusatzkosten für Porto und Verpackung.

14 hours ago, Phil Rudin said:

Regarding all the talk about the max sync speed of 1/160th you could buy the UWTechnics Sony A7C/R flash trigger for Nauticam housing which is about $190.00US more than the Nauticam trigger and get HSS with your MF-2'S, Apollo III or Retra strobes using fiber plus other features like TTL with many other strobes. You need the same trigger to get above 1/250th with the A7R V so not a bad future upgrade.

For me the sync time isn't such a huge problem, you can deal with that too. Since I almost exclusively spend time in freshwater in Switzerland, I don't have to struggle with too much sunlight under the surface of the water.

Despite everything, I bought the Turtle with TTL for the flash trigger. It can also do HSS. My MF-2 can do this too. At the moment I'm still wondering whether sooner or later I'll replace my old INON's with two new flashes that can also handle HSS, TTL etc.

Until now I only had the manual Nauticam trigger. Especially for macro I would like to test TTL with the new Turtle, I think that should work with my two old INON's (Z-240 and D-2000) and the Turtle trigger.

I did it! And last night I was in the water for the first time...

Sony A7CII, Sony 90mm Macro F2.8G, Nauticam-Housing, MF-2 Flash

5 hours ago, Keith Johnson said:

Hi everyone. I recently bought the A7CR and have just come back from diving with it in the Caribbean. I upgraded from M43 so don't have a comparison with the other Sony FF options. However, my experience was fantastic. My understanding is that this has exactly the same sensor, process and AF as the A7RV. It clearly has the lower 1/160th sync speed given it has the EFC shutter. I found the AF to be excellent and the animal eye detect astonishing. I have the Nauticam housing which is amazingly small light and compact. It's smaller than my previous EM5Mk3 housing. Taking the camera and housing together there's a significant cost saving over A7RV. Happy to share more of my experiences.

Thank you for your feedback! The slower flash sync speed of 1/160 shouldn't be a big problem for me either.
Which lenses did you choose?

Greetings from switzerland,

Tino

2 hours ago, Interceptor121 said:

The A7C cameras are nowhere near the A1 or A7R V in low light auto focus

they have many modes but in real life I have had plenty of situations where the A7C II wont focus but the A1 has no issue

using a monitor to take photos is generally a bad idea 

the a1 has a monitor mode however you dont see where the camera is focussing so you end up doing a full output and that lags 

consider these cameras read already slow you dont need lag on top

to finish the C series have micro hdmi which are not nice to handle and not very robust 

A7 IV has a decent viewfinder and that would be my way to go

Thank you for your feedback, even if it is rather critical.

It is absolutely clear to me that there are certain differences between the A1 / A7rV and the A7CII / A7CR when it comes to autofocus. The price difference between the cameras is also clear, and you shouldn't forget that either.

Of course an A1 or the A7rV would be absolutely great, but they are simply too expensive for my photography.
In Switzerland, the A1 currently costs more than three times as much as an A7CII, and the A7rV also costs almost twice as much. The A7IV is only slightly higher in price.

On the subject of taking photos with a monitor, I have been working this way for more than three years now and have done over 160 dives with the setup. When I take photos, I see the image from the camera display 1:1 on the monitor. When I'm filming, I no longer have the settings, but I work with fixed settings and MF focus and that worked perfectly for me.
The alternative to the monitor would of course be a 45° angle viewfinder. But from my point of view, this cannot be used as flexibly as the monitor.
I also have Micro-HDMI on my A7III, so it's not new to me and hasn't been a problem to this day. In my opinion, the cable routing inside the camera is crucial.

I come from the A7II and A7III series, so anything newer is guaranteed to be faster than what I had before.

12 minutes ago, Interceptor121 said:

it is a nice little camera with slow synch speed that I would not take underwater

both the evf and lcd resolution is low by today standards

I would not have any reservations on the A7IV that looks almost perfect for underwater use solid and cost effective 

Thank you very much for your feedback. I'm aware of the lower flash synchronization time. Since I've had these slow times with other systems in the past, it's not that tragic for me.

I'm also aware of LCD and EVF, but it's secondary for my use underwater since I work almost exclusively with an external monitor.

I've already been using the A7IV, it's been on the market since December 2021 and is without a doubt a great camera. The camera and its AF system are therefore still below the newer Sony A7rV etc. And the AF system in particular is one of the things that makes the A7CII very exciting for me. The A7CII and A7CR have the AF module of the A7rV and thus also the new autofocus, which is also highly praised for underwater in relation to the A7rV. I'm hoping for a significant improvement in this area in particular with the 90mm Macro.
For this reason, I no longer included the A7IV in my considerations.

Tino

Hello everyone,

Since I would like to switch from the Sony A7III to the A7CII for my underwater photography soon, I wanted to ask if there are already people here who take underwater photos with the A7CII or A7CR.

Your experiences etc. would be exciting. What kind of housing are you using, which camera have you switched from and why?

I would appreciate any feedback, whether positive or negative!

Many thanks and greetings from Switzerland,
Tino 

58 minutes ago, Proteus said:

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.

Thanks for the valuable input! Good to know!
Is the older adapter (37303) compatible with other housings, e.g. the Nauticam NA-AC7 and the NA-A7CII, or do they also need the newer adapter?

Tino

Due to the planned switch to a new camera, my Nauticam UW housing for Sony A7rIII and A7III is for sale.

The case is in very good condition.

The following is included in the price:

• Nauticam NA-A7rIII housing including transport bag, instructions and tools
• Nauticam ball set for tripod legs Nauticam
• 1" ball with M10 thread

Optional:

• Nauticam M14 vacuum valve
• Nauticam Flash Trigger for Sony (only manual)

Wide angle setup for Sony 16-35 F4:

•  Nauticam N100 to N120 adapter
• Nauticam Extension Ring 50
• Nauticam 180mm glass dome
• Zoom ring for Sony FE 16-35 F4

If you are interested, I would be happy to send more pictures of the setup or it can also be viewed in the Rorschach SG area.

A test dive is also possible upon request. Price plus minus is negotiable, but only realistic inquiries please. Sales within Switzerland preferred, sales to countries near the border possible by arrangement. (Shipping possible within the EU)

8 hours ago, waterpixel said:

That being said, flash triggers are too expensive for what they do and i'm keen to get my hands on that one when I can

https://www.fun-in.com.tw/en/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=4043

Has anyone ever tested the part live? Absolutely exciting in terms of price and should probably be compatible with all A7, A9 and A1 housings from Nauticam.

Hi,

I had the same thoughts a few years ago and then discarded them after initial research. The products available on the market at that time were generally for recorders, large and heavy and extremely expensive.

In 2020 I wanted to know again and did a lot of research again, but a pure monitor housing was not available. I then sat down with a colleague who had been building underwater housings for many years and we built a small series of monitor housings. The aim was to not let the whole thing become too big or too heavy.

I have been using the housing since 2021 and have done around 150 dives with it. I primarily take photographs, but I also occasionally filming.

I've never used an angle viewfinder myself, so I can't really say much about it. But I wouldn't give away the monitor anymore. For wide angle, I have the monitor above the housing and can look at the camera from above at a very comfortable angle and can also take photos and films close to the ground without any problems. For macro, I have the monitor at the back of the housing and can also adjust the angle so that I can have a good view of the viewfinder image depending on the situation.

A possible alternative today would actually be a smartphone in an appropriate housing; as already described, there are certain solutions for this. For me personally, the WLAN version would not be optimal; I would rather have a cable connection.

Greetings from Switzerland,
Tino

my buddy with his Z-6 and the monitor housing

me during a dive with a wide angle setup (image copyright by Robert Hansen)