humu9679

I'm using Sony in a Nauticam housing, and to me, there are a few choices. You can still use your Tokina 10-17mm with an APS-c body with a 140mm dome. There are other primes / zooms you can use with larger domes. Then there's the WWL, Inon, Kraken, et al wet lenses, and in a league of their own, the WACP-1, 2 and C (which has fewer APS-c options). If I had extra dollars, I might go the WACP route, but I'm happy with the portability of the wet lenses. You can travel with one port, the WWL and close up lenses.

I have the original WWL-1, and it works fine with the USD $45 replaceable float collar. Same glass. Much cheaper.

@Wags Welcome! You’ll find some newer people, too. There’s also been some discussion about the Action 4 of late.

Thanks @PeterN That was great!

I think weighing the whole rig in with a luggage scale in a tub or pool is the way to go. My preference is to be slightly negative, and not tipping upwards or down. Then, I add buoyancy offsets, say with Stix floats (jumbo are +181g each; large are +96g), or buoyancy arms.

Logical. I didn't think it through.

@bghazzal The minimum focusing distance for the following lenses: Sony FE 50mm f1.8: 45 cm. Sony FE 50mm f2.8 macro: 16 cm. Zeiss Touit 50mm f2.8 macro: 15 cm. Sony 90mm macro: 28 cm. Typically measured from the film/sensor plane.

Ben - Just remember 50mm is a 75mm FF equivalent on Sony APS-c (1.6x on Canons) which is a bit looser than your 98.2mm on 1" sensor. For the way you are shooting then, it should be fine for 10-20 cm creatures, and okay for smaller creatures - as long as you can get within working distance and light the things. I have not had the Zeiss 50mm in hand, so its focusing speed and manual focusing feel are best guesses, though it's always nice to have a well-regarded opinion to read. It does seem to be the leading alternative to the Sony 90mm for APS-c. There are several manual focus lenses out there, but I really want an autofocus lens as I don't generally shoot only dedicated macro. I do agree a flip diopter holder is very nice to use, and won't make your kit too front heavy, unlike the 90 macro, for which I use ring floats around the port. The CMC-2 is much more forgiving but provides less magnification than the 1. You can try stacking as you know. I have the Inon 165, which I've stacked but it doesn't render things as nicely as the CMC lenses. Best, Craig

That CMC-2 magnification on the chart appears wrong. Agreed.

As a fellow video novice, here are things I noticed on the nudibranch short: cool subject; solid lighting; okay music. Didn't like the movement of the camera. And vertical framing seems like forcing an object into an unnatural frame. We naturally take in the world horizontally, and verticals come from an inability to turn the camera horizontally 😉

@bghazzal If you're doing exclusively macro, I think a dedicated macro is the way to go (maybe Zeiss Touit 50mm - 75mm FF equivalent), plus a CMC-2 (easier to work with) and CMC-1 (more magnification) - or equivalents. The 16-50mm would give more flexibility if you use a wet wide lens and close up lenses, but it's very pedestrian for close focusing on its own, unlike the FF 20-70mm or Olympus' 12-40/45 lenses. The 90 macro on APS-c is a 135mm FF equivalent - a bit unwieldy and tight with its narrow angle of view - probably not good for BW. I have a FF A7c and a 90 macro. Had and sold the Sony 50 macro. Looking to try a Zeiss Touit 50 macro on an APS-c body in the future. Probably the A6700. I traveled with the FF Sony 50 macro, which worked okay with the A7c in terms of locking on and tracking for general photos. The combo did not work well for me with BW. I was autofocusing, locking and tracking - but the photographer - or the combo - was too slow. Manual focusing with both the Sony and Zeiss may be a chore with their relatively long throws (turn, turn, turn). I've seen pretty good FF 90 macro BW, but I haven't tried BW with that combo. You'd think, living in Hawaii, I would have more opportunities to do BW, but my time in the water is limited by personal circumstances.

Updated 11/16/2024 to add 180mm dome port, N120 ext 35, change to shipping Up for sale are the following: Nauticam 37401 N100 extension ring 30. $225 Nauticam 37202 N100 Nikonos adapter. $325 Nauticam 37303 N100 to N120 35.5mm adapter. $350 Nauticam 21135 N120 extension ring 35 $240 Nauticam 37174 SFE2070-z zoom gear (Sony 20-70mm). $140 Nauticam 36069 01245-z zoom gear (Olympus 12-45mm). $100 Nauticam 18809 180mm dome port. $800 All the above are in clean working condition. Focus knob on 35.5mm adapter has been removed, but is included. Nikonos V orange with 35mm f2.5. Clean working body, including meter. Comes with storage and diving o-rings. Overhauled, pressure tested. $180 SOLD UW Nikkor 15mm f2.8 and finder. Clean glass, good condition both and recently underwater. $150 SOLD % discount for multiple items. Add 3.49% if you require an invoice. Buyer pays 1/2 shipping via USPS Ground Advantage or Priority Mail. 14 day money back guarantee from the date of receipt, and buyer pays return shipping and insurance.

@Davide DB Any opinions on using the WWL for video? I think I saw a post where you mentioned wobbles at depth.

I think Sony's autofocus is really something. Amazingly sticky tracking once it's locked on. The 10-20mm or older 10-18 may be good behind a dome. 90 is a bit long unless you're exclusively shooting creatures <20mm, so the Zeiss Touit 50 macro may be the winner.

It has a reputation for slow focusing. On newer bodies, once it's locked on, it tracks pretty well.

Very nice. And rock steady!

Nicely done @Dave_Hicks !

That's very cool. I wonder if it will work with the A7Cr or A7C II? Thanks!

@PEPhoto84 Welcome aboard!

We can live only so long without facts and the search for truth. Otherwise it's a head-long dive into the metaphorical abyss.

Thanks for that Ben. Always well researched and thoughtful. I did my first BW dive from the Smiling Seashorse in the Andaman Sea. This was in February, and I was a disaster. I had my Sony A7c and a Sony 50mm macro (a bit short and slow).

That's messed up.

Looks great!

"High color rendering lights" -- which current brands fit this picture? Also, I'm a bit annoyed that Minemizu-san copyrighted the term Black Water Dive.