vkalia

Lovely! I’ve been toying with whether or not to take a group there, and this post is increasing my interest in doing so. Thanks for taking the time to post such a detailed report.

For me, there is one iconic photograph that stands out - David Doubilet (I think it was him) had a photo of a pod of orcas that were making a bee-line for the ocean, after having been trapped in Antarctic ice for a while (courtesy of an ice-breaker opening up a channel for them). There isnt much to the image in terms of fancy lighting and such - just a line of orcas. But the moment that was captured…. ooof. Despite the still, you got an immediate sense of the sense of purpose with which those orcas were hauling ass. A perfect example of what @Luko was saying about just capturing the magic moment perfectly. For the life of me, I can’t find that photo anywhere online. PS - thanks for those links. Some gorgeous images there. And a reminder to me to get out of my shooting habits - i would likely never consider taking such wide angle shot from such a distance. Maybe i will try something like that in Egypt in August.

Damn, Diggy, you making me blush now. 🙂 Been a while since jumping off the boat to rescue an idiotic golden retriever puppy, eh?

Right, sorry, i did mean the 100-120 adapter. And that high speed sync is definitely a neat feature to have - agreed. Also good to know! Cheers!

Thanks for sharing the info about the optical cables, guys. I recently picked up a couple of D-Pros and was a bit concerned about the idea of it not working with a Nauticam trigger. My own short notes about the D-Pro: I switched to the D-Pros recently - replacing a mixed pair of one Inon Z240 and one Sa&S YS-D2J. I had a pair of Inons - flooded one because i twisted the O-ring and didnt notice it. At that time, the Z330 had just been released and were hard to find, so i got the S&S. Decent enough strobes but the battery life was hit or miss, and one strobe died after 2 trips - and S&S told me to go pound, claiming there was some internal O-ring that i needed to service annually. I tried out the D-Pros in Raja Ampat recently and am very pleased with them so far. The big changes i have noticed are a *much* larger beam spread (to the point that a lot of my images had backscatter on the sides because i was pointing these strobes the way i was my Z240/D2J) and a significantly better battery life. I can get 2 days out of these strobes, whereas with the Inon/Z240, even a third dive would sometimes be pushing it. Having one less thing to do in the evening after a day of diving is always a good thing, in my books. The weight/bulk is a downside. I could easily fit my Nauticam/MFT housing, ports and strobes in a small, nondescript Lowerpro shoulder bag - but that’s a bit of a struggle now as each strobes takes about twice the space of my older ones. The lack of granularity in the power ratings isnt a big thing for me - any small adjustments in exposure, i can make with aperture. I do find them more powerful than the Inons/S&S, and have mostly shot with power at a 3 or 4 setting - so plenty of power for me and I dont really see the need for more. OTOH, even the Inons were powerful enough for me, with me rarely maxing out their power - so maybe its a “me” thing. Overall, am very satisfied with the strobes, atleast for now (2 trips in). The fantastic battery life and significantly wider beam are the main drivers for this. I am, however, going to remove the diffusers on the next trip. That beam doesnt need to be any wider. 🙂

Oof. This is good to know, thank you - as is the bit about the choice of lenses for photos vs videos. Honestly, video isnt going to be my prime use case but I need to spend some time figuring out my priorities. I dont see myself using a rectilinear WA for my photography - i much, much prefer the FE. So need to figure out how that’s gonna work together. Honestly, that’s what i am leaning towards. But doing my due diligence about the Sony as an option - the superior video was a very attractive option but @Barmaglot has given me a few things to think about that I hadn’t considered. FWIW, I havent ruled out the Panasonic GH7 either - that would be the simplest upgrade: buy a new housing, buy a new camera, done. I actually use a Sigma 50mm macro lens in an EF mount. The autofocus is not as fast as Canon’s USM, but it does offer 1:1. I just ordered the Canon adapter - let me see what the performance is like and then I’ll figure out what lenses i need. Am also going to try to find someone who has an A6x00 and see if i can try it out with Canon lenses.

Gotcha re the 3D part. Getting one printed shouldn’t be an issue - i have a few friends with 3D printers. I may hit you up for the schematic if you go that route, if I can’t find it online. Thanks again, everyone, for your help. It’s starting to come together now.

I looked at the Kraken and Weefine options and apparently, there really isnt a very good swivel option for them. You have to screw/unscrew them every time you want to attach/detach them. I have one of these wet lenses for my backup TG5 system and it takes approximate 12,683 revolutions to attach, so I am not gonna bother with that. And yeah, stopping down to f11 or f14 to get good shots isnt exactly a screaming recommendation of quality for a $2000 optic.

Hi Lewis - may i know which particular port adapter you use? They all have some extensions built into them - trying to figure out which one i may need,

Cheers for that! Is there a stock part available instead of the 3D printed one, by any chance?

Thanks for that info, gents. So the takeaway i am getting is that if i switch to Sony, I should likely get a native macro lens because the AF will suck - @Architeuthis thank you for sharing that info! AF with macro lenses on the Canon R body i should be able to figure out myself with an adapter. If the R series AF is passable, that breaks the tie. If I have to buy new lenses regardless, then we are back to the drawing board. @Chris Ross that USB bulkhead is a freaking awesome idea. I rarely download images on a trip, preferring to do so when i am back. But if i can charge the camera without needing to take it out, even better: one less risk of failure. I will look into that. Re the 8-15: which adapter and port are you using with it (presumably on a Nauticam system), may i ask? Because if i can get the ability to go FF fisheye up to 28mm in a single lens, that makes the GH7 a serious contender again. @humu9679 there’s always a little bit of a mental switch needed at the start. It helps that with Fuji and Olympus, i still use back button/center point AF to lock and recompose, as the subject i shoot with them are not very active. But as i start getting used to all this new-fangled subject tracking stuff, I think it may behoove me to stick to one system for ease of toggling between the various AF modes and for muscle memory re which button goes where. That’s a point in favor of the R7. 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.

I have become quite indifferent to brands these days. After ages of shooting Canon, i now have Canon for wildlife, Fuji for street/travel and Olympus underwater. That OCD streak i mentioned is very happy when each set of gear has its own application. At the same time, while i am a massive gear junkie, that doesnt apply to cameras anymore (carbon bicycle goodies, OTOH….). This whole upgrade is being driven by a desire to add high quality video making skills to the gear. Partly because i am interested in learning more about this aspect, and partly to support a new diving-related venture I have ongoing after selling my dive center. Noted about the Canon RF 100 - I didn’t know that was the case. After getting a 50mm with my Canon system, I rarely used my 100mm except on specific macro dives (the 50mm + a wet lens adapter was good enough for most shooting). I expect that to be the case here a well - but when I DO use the 100mm, i will want the most magnification possible. So this is really good to know - thank you! Re your statement that “adapted isnt the same as native” - in what sense is that? Slower AF? Loss of IQ? Anything i need to be concerned about with the 10-17? Right now, it’s a toss-up. I need to get off my ass and go to a store and try out the Sony in-hand as well. I am doing the Raja to Ambon crossing in late October and wouldn’t mind having the new kit by then.

Thanks - this resolves one main question I had. This will be the main lens I use and getting this right is key. I assume the moment i go with an EF lens, I will need a N85-N120mm adapter, right?

Good point! As it turns out, I am not fussed about the arms, etc. Those go in my checkin baggage. I am mainly concerned about my carry-on. Lots of places in Asia are mainly served by budget airlines, and they can be very strict with carry-on weight sometimes. Weirdly, the same arms that i used to use with my Canon DSLC/Aquatica rig work on my Nauticam - an old set of Stix arms and floats back from when they were released. 🙂

Hello all - After 6 years of shooting with an Olympus OMD-EM-ABCDEFwhatever, i am considering upgrading my system. One, to get a few more megapixels for cropping (I shoot primarily 8mm fisheye) and second, to be able to shoot better video (mainly for our business’s promo/social media). I was initially considering the GH7, but am also considering some alternatives. The R7 allows me for a very smooth (and relatively inexpensive) upgrade path - i already have one R7 body i use for wildlife, and i have 50mm and 100mm macro lenses in the EF mount already (and i think i have a non-flooded Tokina 10-17 as well). I have used those lenses for years back when i shot Canon/Aquatica, and am pretty happy with them. The second option is the Sony A6700. The main reason for getting this would be the slightly better eye-tracking for fast moving shots, and also the fact that it uses the N85 port system (although i will need to get a larger N120 port to fit the 10-17). The compact body is a big plus for travel, as well. And my OCD is happier with the idea of a separate camera for underwater and a separate one for land (even if i were to go with the R7, I’d probably buy a second body to dedicate tot he housing - so there isnt really a savings there). I had a few specific questions about these cameras: 1). I am assuming the Tokina 10-17 would work with the A6700 in a Nauticam housing? There is a port chart for the R7 but nothing for this lens with the A6700. 2). Does anyone know if i Nauticam’s port system allows use of EF mount macro lenses with the Sony - specifically a Sigma 50mm macro and the Canon 105mm macro? Their port chart has no mention of this. Not needing to buy more lenses is always nice 3). For those who have used either of these cameras, any usability quirks such as heinously low battery life, AF issues underwater, problems in shooting 4K60 video, etc? I am not going full frame. I dont see the value (i realize others disagree and that’s fine). I plan to shoot off some questions to Nauticam later as well, but figured i might as well try here first, as some of the real-world experience here may help me narrow my choices. TIA!