humu9679

My experience with DSLRs made using a viewfinder necessary because live view was so poor. I'd argue now that unless your framing needs to be very precise, you might not need a viewfinder. The YS-D3s are pretty light underwater, like 20 g, so it seems buoyancy for the housing/camera/port/lens is what's necessary. Consider looking at StiX floats if you're using aluminium arms like Ultra Light or Nauticam. They're easily adjustable. They look cheap and unimpressive in photos but they're actually quite good. The "jumbos" displace 181 g each, "large" (which are not very large) displace 82 g, and the macro port float belt displaces 567 g (I have a hard time keeping this on the port, but zip ties are my best friend here).

@Johno1530 That looks fantastic! Big money there. Now you only have @ChipBPhoto to blame if it all goes to shit. 😁 May need the Sea & Sea type fiber optic adapters if you didn't buy them already. I don't get why Nauticam couldn't bundle them with each housing. The flip diopter holder is great, but adds weight to the front end of the kit. Consider a ring float or something similar.

Hi Jake. Welcome! I'm curious to know which Sony APC-c camera you're using? Lovely landscapes on your website. Cheers, Craig @js47

Your focusing in the crab video seemed to work out okay. I think you might like Sony's latest AF. It will allow for tracking of small critters once you've locked focus. The hard thing would be keeping them in the frame.

Welcome to Waterpixels Dave! Were you on Wetpixels?

I've seen Mark Smith's images of birds in flight. Pretty amazing. I'll be following with interest the exploits of videographers on this site, and I would hope you would divulge any technical details to the newbies here.

@Davide DB I've been a still photographer for more than 40 years, and only recently began dabbling in video. I am very surprised to see so much manual focusing going on with serious videographers. My supposition is that AF in video is akin to point and shoot in stills, considered amateurish and certainly hit or miss. I figure videographers will come around when AF performance improves. I'm curious to see what videographers think of AF performance now.

That's super. Except I'm not sure my nerves could handle baggage handling like that. I'm curious to know if you had to choose one set-up (8-15mm, WACP-c or 20-70mm), which would you choose?

Aloha and welcome!

Holy cow! I'm bringing you along on my next liveaboard Dave!

Yes, the hotshoe is far different from conventional hotshoes and the contacts are very fragile. Good thing the Nauticam trigger works from the primary center contact. I have had the UW Technics trigger occasionally stop working, but when I turn the camera (A7c) off and on this resets the unit and it works as usual. So far. Fingers crossed. On a side note, I typically expose manually. I also have used the Turtle. Hated charging that thing. And the Nauticam trigger, which worked fine.

@Johno1530 Here's Nauticam's port recommendations:

Welcome @doubleender Nice photos!

@Craine How did you find the Sony body and Canon 60mm combo? Work okay for you? Or a bit of hunting, slow to lock, and good tracking once you locked focus? On another thread @vkalia was looking at adapted lenses, and though quite a few folks have used this combination, it's always good to get updates. Thanks.

@vkalia "I have to admit, the idea of a 60mm lens and water contact optics giving me FE or WA is very attractive. But i am not convinced about how good those wet optics really are. If my lack of success with the 7-14 continues or if i decide to keep the current setup for a little longer, i may sell that onwards and try a Nauticam MWC (the 60mm to wide angle wet lens) - although more than the price of the lens, paying $320 for a simple metal hinge kinda chaps my rear. " Macro to wide port sounded great to me until I read the reviews and having to stop down so much to get acceptable sharpness. The wide angle and fisheye conversion ports reportedly are much better. From what I read of the Kraken KRL 09s, performance seemed passable, and for the price maybe okay. But another shortfall may be the need to use a 60mm which is a bit short unless you're using a cropped sensor.

@Chris Ross "Zooming in the get your framing is a better option than cropping IMO. " Exactly. Shooting full frame is The Way.

@vkalia I am impressed that you are able to manage so many systems. Something I don’t think I’d do very well. I hear Fuji’s video is good but I would consider Panasonic if you’re really interested in great video. Other people here are far better versed on shooting video but I would go with the GH7 if I was really dedicated to video. Regarding adapted lenses, I’ve only tried Canon EF lenses on an R6. I found the lenses slow to autofocus, hunting a bit too much. If you’re wedded to a specific lens, though, you can find a way to make it work. I’ve never used the Tokina 10-17mm but people do swear by it. I’m coming around to the idea that the future will lie in water contact optics. I use the WWL-1 now but would love a WACP. Cheers.

@vkalia I love talking gear. I thought Olympus gear (E-M5, EM1m2) and Nauticam housings were sublime. Great ergonomics and lenses (fisheye, macro, mid-range 12-50, 12-40). It was the autofocus tracking ability of Sony cameras and a bit of sensor envy that got me to switch to my current A7c. If I had to do it over again, I think I'd stick with the Olympus as I primarily shoot stills, though I'd like to try my hand at video. By all reports, the Canon R7 is a good all-rounder, and shoots pretty good video. You may consider keeping your systems as they (Canon above water; Olympus under), especially if you shoot primarily stills underwater. If you are having a mid-life crisis and want to start over, then consider Sony, which I think is great for stills and reportedly pretty good for video. The newer A6700 has better video specs than earlier iterations. I do have an A6600 and I like it better than my housed A7c. Battery life is excellent on the A6700 (CIPA 570) and believe it or not, not as good as the A6600 (CIPA 810). You can make all the lenses you mention work on Nauticam systems. My take on adapted lenses, say EF to Sony E or Canon EF to RF, is that they may work okay, and sometimes you have no choice (Tokina 10-17), but adapted isn't the same as native, generally. Off the subject, but if you switched to Canon underwater, I would get the RF 100 macro, which can magnify 1.3x versus 1x for the EF version. Also as @JayceeB notes, smaller housings and cameras may not mean they are easier to travel and they can be bricks underwater. Enjoy the research. Let us know what you decide.

Lot of life there! Very cool.

That's super! Thank you for posting @jpiovano

Welcome John. Your gear list is more than solid. I can't speak to the quality of every high end manufacturer, but it is a bit of a leap to jump to Nauticam, and the price difference is steep, but I don't think you'll regret it unless you're suddenly unable to put bread on the table. Ikelite are good, and in the U.S. their service is excellent. I just never loved their strobes, though now you can fit other types though it's not as seamless as using their DS line. One interesting thing to consider is the reemergence of water contact optics, of which Nauticam is a major player. This may lessen the need to snap up all manner of lenses and ports when the humble kit lens may do almost everything you want when combined with these optics. Nauticam and even Kraken, to my knowledge, have even come up with a macro to wide optic that allows you to shoot that range underwater - but the results seem to be lukewarm, as evidenced by the seeming lack of enthusiasm from the cool kids on this forum. Great to have you here. There are a few of us who like to talk about gear, technique, the Euros, what have you.

Welcome Mark!

Welcome to Waterpixels!

@vkalia I used to think it was blasphemous to shoot video and grab a still frame, but I might just go there because, you're right, it's really hard to shoot both stills and video on the same dive.

Updates, price drops: Nauticam NA-A6000 housing with handle. Good shape, usual water marks, body marks, working moisture detector. Comes with body cap, o-ring. $250 $200 $175 plus shipping/insurance. -- SOLD -- Inon S2000 strobes. Nice strobes with a small footprint. Never flooded, work great. Comes with standard diffusers, and includes magnets for shooting manually. No YS or ball mount. Both $350 $300 plus shipping / insurance. -- SOLD -- Nauticam N120 port 41 #18704. Comes with o-ring, no caps or box. Usual water marks, some rubbing on bottom side of body. $125 $100 plus $15 shipping /insurance. Nauticam 01245-Z zoom gear for Olympus 12-45mm pro. Never used. $110 $100 plus $15 shipping /insurance. Nauticam 37174 SFE2070-z zoom gear for Sony FE 20-70mm f4. $150 $130 plus $15 shipping /insurance #SEL2070 Prefer PayPal, and I will cover fees. I will ship via USPS at your cost. Outside of the USA is extra. I will happily refund your purchase within 21 days if you're not satisfied. You pay return postage/insurance. You cover applicable VAT and taxes. #nauticam #a6000 #Inon #s2000 #oly1245