Tino Dietsche

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)

Hello everyone,
I have a question about the SeaFrogs VPS-100 Vacuum System, I don't use it myself, but a colleague has an Isotta housing and his daughter bought one for her new SeaFrogs housing. Randomly I saw today that, according to the manufacturer, the system is designed purely for a check before a dive and should be removed from the housing afterwards. According to the manufacturer's website, it is not allowed into the water.

This fact is new to me, or even though I have seen the system two or three times, I have never noticed it. I only found the reference directly at SeaFrogs. Not at other dealers.

Who here knows the system and perhaps uses it themselves? How do you handle the whole thing? I know that my colleague kept it securely attached to the housing on the few dives where it was used.
Since the whole thing isn't really practical in my opinion, I'm wondering what alternatives there are in a similar price range?

What alternatives would you recommend if it was to be installed in SeaFrog's housing without M14 or M16? SeaFrogs is M10 I think.

Greetings from switzerland

Tino

Hello everyone,

So that the topic of fresh water comes into play a little more here, I would like to link two videos of mine.

I hope you enjoy it.

Tino

Sony A7III, Sony FE16-35 F4 in Nauticam housing, Monitor-Housing from UK-Germany, BigBlue Lamps

Sony A7III, Sony FE16-35 F4 in Nauticam housing, Monitor-Housing from UK-Germany, two BigBlue VLT3800

Hello everyone,

For the last trip to the Red Sea in 2019, I transported some of the equipment in a Peli case as checked luggage and the other part in a camera backpack suitable for hand luggage. It worked so well and I will definitely do it again this year.

Because we are traveling as a family and the airline we have chosen allows us to register extra sports luggage free of charge, we don't have any problems with the weight.

This is what everything looked like in 2019:

Pelicase with, small stuff like arms and clamps, one flash, Dome-Port....

Photo backpack with the housing, camera (inside the housing), lenses (in the ports)

Hello everyone,

I would like to show a few pictures of my different tripod variants here:

Version 1:

Nauticam NA-A7rII housing with Sony A7rII and 90mm Macro. DIY-USB-Powerpack on top, also used as bracket for the dive computer. Front legs of the tripod are attached to the normal ball-mounts. Back leg via tripod screw on the ground of the housing.

Version 2:

Nauticam NA-A7rII housing with Sony A7rII and 90mm Macro, but with a ground plate for the attachment of the tripod legs.

Version 3:

Nauticam NA-A7rIII housing with Sony A7II and 90mm Macro, for this housing i use the tripod mount set from Nauticam.

Greetings from Switzerland,

Tino

8 hours ago, fruehaufsteher2 said:

in my opinion the A7IV is equally or better than A7VR with regards to AF

https://mirrorlesscomparison.com/best/mirrorless-cameras-for-birds-in-flight/

 

I own the A7 IV but sometimes miss some additional MP. Otherwise the only step forward would be the A1

The Sony A7IV is a great camera, that's definitely the case. The step from the A7III series to the 4 series was already huge.

Based on the many tests and reports that I have looked at all over the web, the difference between the autofocus of the A7IV and the A7rV is certainly not extremely huge, but it is in favor of the A7rV because it has the AI processing unit in it. This is still missing from the A7IV.

For me, the 33 megapixels that the A7CII and the A7IV have are actually exactly right. There are certainly situations in which a few more megapixels would certainly be cool. But the A1 is clearly way too expensive! 😥

In this case, do you also use the A7IV for underwater?

Greetings from the Swiss-Lake Constance side to Germany,

Tino

Thank you very much for your feedbacks!

I think from my point of view the Sony A7CII is the camera that makes the most sense for me personally.

It has the same 33 megapixel sensor as the A7IV that I use above water. At the same time, it has the autofocus including AI from the Sony A7rV.
Of course there are also drawbacks compared to the A7IV, such as only one card slot, worse and smaller viewfinder, but I can absolutely live with that. What I find less cool is the fact that the A7C series no longer has a Sony Multi USB port and therefore can no longer be triggered via external cable releases. Since I photograph thunderstorms and lightning, especially in summer, this is painful. But if I buy the A7CII, it will be used for filming or time-lapse and the A7IV will be triggered via the special flash trigger.
If I look at the A7CII again for underwater use, in contrast to the current Sony A7III system I benefit from a little less weight and am also a little smaller in size/volume

The A7IV is already too old again and it makes no sense to invest in a corresponding housing. The same applies to the A7C, which would be relatively cheap, but offers hardly any improvements compared to my current A7III, which I use underwater .
The A7rV is certainly a top camera, but I don't need the 61 megapixels and I'm not willing to spend the extra money.

I think I'll get the port for the 28-60mm in the coming weeks, unless other housing manufacturers suddenly come up with exciting alternatives to Nauticam. Ikelite is certainly exciting in terms of price, but for cold water and weekly dives an aluminum housing is more suitable for me.

So then, I'm looking forward to more conversations  around the “should I buy something new” party. 😂

Greetings from Switzerland,
Tino

Hello everyone,

If it's OK, I'll join in on the topic.

4 years ago I upgraded my former Sony A7rII underwater setup to the Sony A7III. Both times in the Nauticam housing.

Basically I'm happy with my current Sony A7III setup, but on the other hand I would often like to benefit from better autofocus. I use a Sony A7IV for above water, and the difference in autofocus is extremely noticeable. The comparison with the Sony FE 90mm Macro is extreme.

For this reason, I'm thinking about switching my underwater setup to a Sony A7CII. This has the same sensor as my Sony A7IV, and at the same time the autofocus of the larger Sony A7rV.

What do you think? Does the change make sense or would you wait another generation?

A Sony A7CII setup would probably be slightly smaller and also a little lighter. Instead of the Sony 16-35 F4 I'm currently using, I would prefer a solution with a Sony 28-60mm and WWL-1, as this would often be a bit more flexible in freshwater, especially for me in Lake Constance.

When it comes to housing, the selection for the Sony A7CII series is currently very limited. Nauticam and Ikelite are only in the running after me and from the other manufacturers such as Marelux (I asked and am waiting for an answer) or Isotta (which would be absolutely exciting in my opinion, but others have already asked and received no feedback ), there is currently no case on the market.

I'm looking forward to your feedback and opinions.

Best greetings from Switzerland,

Tino

Hello everyone,

I currently use the Nauticam LED trigger for my Sony A7III in the Nauticam housing. But I've been interested in a TTL trigger for a long time. The flashes I use are INON, Z-240, D-2000 and Mini-Flash-2.

Which trigger would you prefer for a Sony setup? If possible, the trigger should be able to continue to be used without any problems if the housing is changed. I'm thinking about replacing my Sony A7III with a Sony A7CII, but I'm still undecided about the housing.

Thanks for your feedback,
Tino

Hello everyone,

Many thanks for your responses. Currently it's mainly about the setup of a colleague who recently bought a Sony A7C with 28-60mm kit lens to replace her TG-6. She got the underwater housing from SeaFrogs with the standard port for the 28-60mm. The port has a 67mm thread from what I see on the web.

Recommendations for possibly attaching a WWL-1 or similar to the SeaFrog Port would be exciting at this point.

Thank you for your help,

Tino

15 hours ago, Troporobo said:

What happens to edits you did while traveling?

If I only use my iPad and import, edit, etc., all developments are also written to the cloud. Of course only if I have internet. But you can also do it on the go without any internet.

Once I have the Internet (which can also be at home), the original files are loaded into the Adobe Cloud, including developments, etc. If I then start my Lightroom Classic, it in turn loads the original files from the cloud locally onto the computer and the developments etc. also come with it. I can then store these images in my file structure within LR.

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

Of course it's possible to create a new catalog for the holidays; that's what I've always done in the past. I then imported this into my main catalog after the holidays.

However, I have said goodbye to this strategy and now really only work with one main catalog, which is the only way I can use the full range of functions including synchronization options etc. and, for example, as mentioned, only be able to travel with the iPad.
I incorporated some very valuable input on the topic into my workflow from this YouTube video, for example.

For shorter trips, my workflow with just a single catalog even allows me to use just the iPad.

I can then import, sort, develop, etc. images directly onto the iPad. If I have an internet connection, the original RAW files are loaded onto the Adobe server and I also have a backup straight away. When I get home and start my LR Classic, the original RAW files are loaded onto my computer and I just have to move them to the NAS within my file structure.

Tino

In your case, I would possibly save the catalog on an external SSD and use this SSD for both computers. This means you always only have one catalog, which in my opinion makes things a lot easier.

I used to use the variant with an extra catalog for the holidays and subsequent import into the main catalog. However, I couldn't use the synchronization of collections etc. because this only works with a catalog.

Tino

I work only with an MacBook Pro and use Lightroom since many years. In the last year i have switched to one catalog only.

In this catalog are all pictures since 2000, during work or holiday i import new pictures direct to the SSD from my MacBook. (external SSD's are also possible) As soon i'm back at home, and i have done some work with the newest pictures, i move the original RAW files to my NAS-System. 

On longer trips i have an extra SSD with me for backup. At home make some backups of my NAS every week.

With this workflow i can see every pictures from my catalog any time. With a lot of different collections i have also the possibility to access a lot of pictures with reduced resolution from any place.

Hope this helps to find a good way for you!

Greetings from Switzerland,
Tino