Architeuthis

I am sure that this camera is not for me. Besides this, this camera has a fixed 35mm lens. I am not sure whether wet lenses exist to make the camera useful for UW, 35mm alone is not really phantastic (if no wetlenses fit, I doubt that someone will ever make a housing)... A Sony A7cR e.g. has the same sensor, is much cheaper, has similar size&weight and, with the 28-60mm lens, goes very well with different wet lenses the way just as compact cameras are normally used (in addition, all other lens/domeport combinations would work as well as this is a real interchangeable lens camera)...

I am using two HF-1 with Sony A7R5 and I am happy with them for photography (most of the time I use them with the 4500K diffusers). A clear upgrade to my former Z330s (I personally have no problems with the extra size and weight - some change in buoyancy trim of the setup in the beginning and never looked back)... What regards video, these 5000 lumen lights are o.k. for me, but I do almost no video. Clearly, these video lights are an "emergency" solution and no dedicated videographer would work with them (o.k., before the HF-1s, I did the (very occasional) video with a single Weefine 3400 lumen focuslight and this was plenty for macro)... Maybe the UW-Technics hybrid flash that Sokrates cites are a better solution, but I believe I would prefer a separate solution with dedicated video lights in case I would make serious videos. In case the HF-1s would be smaller and lighter without video lights, I would prefer them without them, but I doubt that the omission of these LEDs would have a significant effect on size and/or weight ... Wolfgang

My personal feeling is that FF (especially with Sony, but also the other brands) is the real unwanted orphan child what regards lens choice for UW: No native zoom fisheye (and when (now discontinued) adapted is available, just the choice between circular and 180° diagonal - nothing like the (now discontinued) Tokina 10-17mm for APS-C. Meager selection in true macro lenses. Regarding lens selection for UW photography, MFT is clearly the king...👍 This is opposed by 61 Mpixel, 14-bit raw images (and S/N ratio clearly deserves to be digitized at 14-bit resolution) with 4x the maximum light gathering capability (and according dynamic range)... I went the opposite route, upgrading from Olympus EM1II to Sony A7R5. Regarding IQ, I do not look back, I certainly will not "downgrade" to MFT in the midrange (maybe some (remote) day when I have become old and weak, no longer being able to carry a FF rig) , but I clearly miss the lens choice for UW (I am eagerly awaiting new lenses for UW to come out)... Wolfgang

It seems that it is out of stock again. Do'nt buy from the link you cite - this is a scam. The publisher (Seifert Verlag) says it will be available soon again (whatever time span this means... https://www.thalia.at/shop/home/artikeldetails/A1016387878?ProvID=11010473&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=18314731113&gclid=CjwKCAjw7MLDBhAuEiwAIeXGIRJkX749hu4b_qWX7l2nSAKZMgTjtuEKkIXfuR0atEDPaE4wYQcteRoCCW0QAvD_BwE). In the meantime one can buy it second hand, e.g. here: https://www.antiquari.at/shop/product_info.php?products_id=54867

It seems that the MFO-3 is working similar to a "speed booster", e.g. the Metabones 0.71x Canon EF to MFT. I used it with Tokina 10-17mm on MFT and it not only "speeds" up the aperture, but also improves IQ (better sharpness). I wonder whether the MFO-3 also has an impact on IQ?

See here for info on internal resistance of batteries: https://data.energizer.com/pdfs/batteryir.pdf Internal resistance is measured as the voltage drop under load and this drop is smaller with black Eneloops compared to the white ones (less voltage means slower charging up). So this is essentially the same coin, but the different sides are viewed from different perspectives...

Here a link to a comparison of Eneloop white and black with alkaline batteries (by Panasonic, no other NiMh accus are mentioned): https://www.panasonic.com/sg/consumer/energy-solutions/battery/rechargeable-battery-learn/article/eneloop_pro.html?srsltid=AfmBOorLhUvSrvP5lDzmxA6c5RAOdMLn817I0YwOQFbFv0xLK1uig5MI The conclusions are similar to the ones by ChatGPT (longevity vs. power). The advantage in flash charging time was also tested and the black Pros charge approx. 20% faster compared to the whites (they give no numbers; estimated from the graph "Faster flash charging and longer life")... If the numbers in continuous discharge current, given by ChatGPT are real (1-2A for white vs. 3A for black), this means the current that can be supplied by the battery continuously without leading to damage of the battery (I guess). At a given voltage, the output current depends entirely on the internal resistance of the flash (law of Ohm: Current (A) = Voltage (V) / Resistance (ohm)). During charging, when the load on the batteries is high, the voltage of the accus goes down a little (also depending how freshly charged the accu is), the black ones maintain their original voltage (1.5 V) a little bit better compared to the white ones, leading to the approx. 20% faster charging time...

I use exactly the same fishing floats as you show in the last photo. I order them here, for 2,20 Euro each (no problem, at least in EU, but you have to order a lot to be in balance with shipping costs (I guess 15-25 Euro within EU, depending on location): https://engelnetze.com/en/float-cd-250g-buoyancy-91x45mm-14mm-center-hole/?_gl=1*1sv2od3*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&gclid=CjwKCAjw4K3DBhBqEiwAYtG_9LUz0wqqiSOspGiHNOOJMt1FDejaZ_UqQt0JOrV_Lkc2fyx0BXNM7BoCbGUQAvD_BwE Also these here are nice to use (currently 1,79 Euro each): https://engelnetze.com/en/float-y30-270g-buoyancy-67x109mm-14mm-center-hole/?_gl=1*19hzov0*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&gclid=CjwKCAjw4K3DBhBqEiwAYtG_9LUz0wqqiSOspGiHNOOJMt1FDejaZ_UqQt0JOrV_Lkc2fyx0BXNM7BoCbGUQAvD_BwE They are closed cell foam and hence can also be cut e.g. into two halves and still will not suck water (I also use halves of both types of floats for fine tuning). One can drill a 25mm hole in the middle, for easily putting the flash arm through. With a little force, one can use them also as they are (but sometimes an O-ring of the arm gets loose then and has to be fixed again). I never had Stix floats, but I think they are at least of the same, if not better, quality since these floats are used in hundreds if not thousands to balance the nets of commercial fishermen. This type of floats is designed for the surface, but is good enough for recreational scubadiving as well (up to approx. 50m; they will compress a little beyond 30-40, but with the types I have linked this compression is small & reversible (I once ordered bigger ones ("float T"/680g buoancy, but these are too weak and collapse upon pressure and hence cannot be recommended). Lisi and me use them now since years at full satisfaction, little signs of usage until now... => For technical diving I would take floats that are made from material that is more robust and tolerates greater depth than PVC, e.g. these here (I did never test them out, so cannot say about real life performance, especially #1 and #2 will have to be tested out whether they withstand the pressure at the depths where you dive): #1.: PE and PP, more robust than PVC (good for high pressure cleaner, but they do not say up to what depth). Only available up to 100g flotation: https://engelnetze.com/en/solid-pe-and-pp-floats/?_gl=1*4uqk5e*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&gclid=CjwKCAjw4K3DBhBqEiwAYtG_9A5H5eSfHAZdPf3BwBY_HWtA9AYhgVUmAZx7k1p0HSrG3AEtzDdxKhoCI7wQAvD_BwE #2.: EVA floats. Robust and available between 160-8500g buoancy: https://engelnetze.com/en/eva-floats/?_gl=1*s8r69f*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&gclid=CjwKCAjw4K3DBhBqEiwAYtG_9A5H5eSfHAZdPf3BwBY_HWtA9AYhgVUmAZx7k1p0HSrG3AEtzDdxKhoCI7wQAvD_BwE #3.: Dedicated Deep Sea Trawl Floats (rated between 400-1800m, depending on type; will do it for you in any case 😋 ). Available 780-17600g, probably they have to be cut into pieces: https://engelnetze.com/en/deep-sea-trawl-floats/?_gl=1*1lck9m3*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&gclid=CjwKCAjw4K3DBhBqEiwAYtG_9A5H5eSfHAZdPf3BwBY_HWtA9AYhgVUmAZx7k1p0HSrG3AEtzDdxKhoCI7wQAvD_BwE Wolfgang

In case one can find a good hold, where I can be sure not to harm any UW life, it may be a good method. In most cases I do not dare to place my left arm on the substrate and hold the setup firmly against it - then the setup is quite labile. In addition, not seldom the critters (e.g. gobies) by themselves are moving. At least then C-AF&tracking works quite good with the A7R5 (and also with Oly EM1II). I am not sure I could achieve equally good AF results by moving the camera, even when I have a solid hold...

500x vs. 2100x charging is the maximum under optimum conditions (and what the company claims, so probably also under optimum conditions one can subtract some percentage). I fear most of us do not treat the batteries like little gems and the outcome is accordingly. At least, according to my limited and subjective experience, the white batteries are at least 4x more reliable compared to the black ones and under comparable conditions (I treat my batteries always the same), maybe the black ones are even more sensitive to bad treatmjent. The white ones have only little and, to me, unimportant trade-offs compared to the black ones... I am also interested to know whether "better" models exist (to me "better" means the battery is least prone to failure), but the Eneloops have a very good reputation...

For me, it is not worth testing out seemingly cheaper alternatives to the Eneloops ("buy cheap, buy twice"). As long as they are intact, the black Eneloop Pros are a tick better for use in camera flashes compared to the white ones: 2500 mAh (black) vs. 1900 mAh (white). Therefore I started with the black ones, but after multiple diving holidays I not seldom had problems with single bad batteries, that were close to the end of their life cycle. This is, because the black ones can only be charged up to 500x, while the white ones are >4x more durable (up to 2100x; se e.g. here: https://www.panasonic.com/global/energy/products/eneloop/en/lineup.html#batterylineup). Since I switched to the white ones (not in order to save money, but the aim is to reduce troubles), bad batteries are much more seldom....

I like to have a manual focus gear to complement AF, but it is not really essential. Sometimes, when very close and/or using diopter, it can take quite a while until AF comes into the appropriate range (A7R5 and Sony 90mm). Then I quickly adjust to the coarse range by hand and let C-AF&tracking do the rest... It also depends on the lens used: It works well with Sony 90mm macro or the adapted Canon 100mm IS macro on A7R5, but it is practically useless with Zuiko 60mm and EM1II (turning the AF wheel leads only to very small changes in AF position; only usable for fine-tuning AF position)...

I take approx. 70-200 photos/dive. Usually on the same day I transfer the better files to my notebook via LRc (about 40% keeper rate estimated). These photos I take home for later processing in LRc/PS. The usable photos, which are further processed, are assigned ratings, starting with 1*. From the processed photos I select 80-150 per dive trip to assemble a slide show. About 70%-80% remain unprocessed/unrated and are deleted from the disc. All processed photos (also the RAW files) are kept on a NAS server (that is backed up every night to another NAS server). => still too many files that are stored and never ever used for anything, but it would break my heart to delete them...😄 Wolfgang

Very interesting, but as praised, it is more a replacement of the old 90mm G lens, rather than a new, additional, option increasing the palette of available focal lengths. I see myself investing $$$$ for the new macro lens plus port (this time I will try to get the shortest N100 port available and use N100 extensions (in case doable)) and in the end I will have have, more or less, similar results as right now (90mm Sony macro lens with dedicated N100 port)...😁 (but who knows, maybe the new lens offers new exciting features, e.g. more native magnification, similar to 90mm lens + SMC-1?) Wolfgang

Has someone tested the Nauticam closeup lenses (that are believed (by most of us, including me) to be of the highest optical quality) and can report what their refractive power in dioptries (UW as well as OV (some manufacturers still give refractive power in dioptries OV)) is (so that one could compare them easily to other diopters)?