MarkG2

That would be a great option. Where do people find used gear? I looked on eBay and they have very limited selection of the AOI dome ports. My understanding is it much be AOI port to work with AOI housing, correct?

The AOI housing seems to be well made and reasonably priced. If I go with AOI, I'd be looking at second-hand lens (8mm Fish-Eye or Panasonic 9-18mm), and a dome port. I'll check with Backscatter what combinations would work. Is there a good marketplace for used underwater gear? Thanks!

What were the points of failure if I may ask? They have a vacuum system - does it help with leak prevention by compressing the o-rings? Thank you.

I am a sucker for high image/video quality and spoiled by my topside systems for wildlife photography (Sony FF and OM-1's). I got very nice quality images from TG-6 in Galapagos, so I'm definitely keeping it. That said, I'd like to get an economical bump in image quality (and video too), as I already own both OM-1 and a6700 that I can use. Maybe I was spoiled by Galapagos; we were able to get VERY close to the animals. Penguins were swimming inches away, and sea lions would bump into me, so some shots were at a super close range. I emailed SeaFrogs regarding Sony 11mm F1.8 and they said that although it has not been tested it should work in their housing/ 6" dome for the a6700+ E 10-18. This seems like an economical way to go for snorkeling, what do you think? I also have Tamron E 11-20mm that seems to be close in overall length to 10-18mm when set to 12-14mm. I read an article on your website about dome sizing and where the lens needs to be positioned for optimal quality. If the lens is +/- 5-10mm shorter/longer than it needs to be with a 6" port, would the image quality still be acceptably good? Would corners suffer first? As long as the center is OK this may be fine with me. Thanks for your comments.

I'm new to this.. is there a standard opening on AOI housing and standard interface ports/domes that fit? So far I've only used the M52 WA lenses on PT-059/TG-6. For example, is AOI housing's interface the same as SeaFrongs/Ikelite/Nauticam etc. - screw-on or bayonette? Are PEN/OMD and 4/3 ports the same as other ports and how do I know when looking for used one if it would fit AOI housing? Sorry for newbie questions...

I think with SeaFrogs is what you see is what you get. I am exchanging emails with them and they are not very helpful. But it's very cost effective, so perhaps worth a risk. I also have a Tamron 11-20mm F2.8 for Sony E and it also might fit into SeaFrog housing with the dome port. Not sure how critical it is to have the optical center of the lens align with the dome's.

Thank you for great comments. I'm trying to be on a cost-effective side, so started looking at SeaFrogs a6700 housing with 6" dome port. https://seafrogs.com.hk/products/sony-a6700-seafrogs-40m-130ft-uw-housing-with-6-dry-dome-port-v-1-for-e10-18mm-lens-zoom-gear-included It's designed for Sony 10-18 but this lens has high MFD, but I could try it with Sony 10-20 PZ F4 or Sony 11mm 1.8. They seem to be approximately the same length, so might work ok with the dome port - what do you think? I really like a6700 for these reasons: great IQ, great AF and 4k120 with 4:2:2 and SLog3. And I already own one 🙂

Sounds like FishEye on a6700 could be very limited in AF capabilities. I wonder if there are rectilinear alternatives + housing/dome combos that would work with a6700? Sony has 11mm APS-C rectilinear for example. Maybe not as good as FE but maybe still quite good? Thanks!

Hi Chris, Thanks for your comments. I like the idea of the OM1 + 8mm FE lens, since I already have OM-1 and like its photo and video capabilities. The Zen dome you mention is very expensive though ($900), do you know of any other cost-effective housing+port/dome combos that would work well enough for CFWA with 8mm FE? Yes, you are correct, my main goal is WA with, for example dolphins or turtles. Thank you.

Hi, New member here, experienced on-land photographer (wildlife now + portraits/weddings in the past), but a "brand new" underwater one 🙂 We went to Galapagos and I used the following setup: - TG-6 (shoot raw, Av mode, wide angle for photo and 4k30 for video) - PT-059 housing - Kraken KRL-11 90deg wide angle wet lens (52mm thread) and Backscatter Air Lens - did not like either btw. We took both photos and videos, some photos here: https://www.markgerlovin.com/Galapagos-2024 and a 2-minute video compilation here: https://www.markgerlovin.com/Videos I really liked the snorkeling and taking photos/videos with available light, shallow water. I'm not sure if I'm ready for diving just yet, although I do have 2x Inon S-2000 flashes, arms, and tray. Did not use them in Galapagos. I'd like to upgrade to better quality photo and video and would like to do so economically, as I have a lot (a LOT) of gear already for my on-land wildlife excursions 🙂 I have a few cameras on hand that I could use: 1. RX100 VII + Ikelite housing ($600) + possibly a wide angle dome ($300) Pros: good AF, pretty good photo quality, OK video Cons: no IBIS, only 4k30, no 4:2:2, no fisheye, future flash additions are limited in performance 2. OM-1 Mk2 + Ikelite housing + 8mm Panasonic or 8mm Oly fisheye + a dome. (probably $1000 more than RX100VII setup) Pros: good photo quality in raw, good video 4k60, 4:2:2, log + flat profiles, IBIS Cons: AF not as good as Sony, at least on land. Not sure how it would perform with external flash if that was the next step. 3. Sony a6700 + E/EF adapter + Tokina 10-17 (or Canon 8-15) + TBD housing + TBD dome - Best photo and video of the three - Not sure if adapted lens AF will be good, external flash performance? Flash sync low. Another option would be to get a different camera + housing etc. I read that Canon R7 is pretty good. I'd like to keep the setup manageable in size, not too heavy which is why I am avoiding FF. Again, I'd like to limit the scope for now to ambient light and shallow waters. I love getting close to the animals and fill the frame. Sorry for the long post! Any thoughts/suggestions on the options above and/or other ones? Thanks very much! Mark

No misuse, happy to help!

Hi Martin, We went on Infinity Yacht for 8 days and booked through CNH Tours out of Canada - fantastic travel agency. There are basically two types of tours in Galapagos: specialized (diving or on-the-land photography) and general Naturalist tours. Since my wife is not an avid photographer I did not want to burden her with photographic tour so we went on a Naturalist one. They are similar but a photography-specific tour will have you on the islands at sunrise and back from the afternoon excursion at sunset, when the park closes. General tours have 40-50% snorkeling and 50-60% on-land program (not freediving-specific) and while the visibility is OK but not great the animals are amazing. CNH Tours is a great operator and they serve customers all over the world. We were very happy with everything - the ship, the crew, the program. Feel free to ask any questions. Mark Hi humu9679, I think penguins underwater. They were literally inches away from me and one was so curious he was chasing me and pecking the dome on my camera. Amazing creatures and magical experience. Mark

Thank you Tim! I love spending money (that I don't have) :-)))

Hello, I'm an experienced on-the-land photographer (mostly wildlife/birds at this point) but a "brand new" underwater one! We went to Galapagos a few weeks ago and I was blown away by the beauty and diversity of the underwater world there. We only went snorkeling. I took TG-6 in the PT-059 housing and added 2 wet lenses from Backscatter.com (one 80deg and one 90deg). We got to swim with penguins and sea lions and it was amazing! Look forward to more underwater experiences. Eventually I'm looking to upgrade my setup and will be looking for some advice. Thank you! Mark