Sony Nex 5N Underwater

@Longimanus1975

Yes, the small pop-up flash is in the box. The NEX-5n with the 18-55 lens sells for $699 at B&H, the NEX-7 with the same lens is $ 1349.99. I'm sure the housing will be more money as well given the number of controls plus the more premium price of the camera. Plus getting a NEX-7 right now is next to impossible and housings aren't even out yet. 5n housings are out for both Aquatica & Nauticam.

Similar to the Nauticam, you can use the 16mm lens with the Aquatica 4" glass dome without the extension for the fisheye or wide angle conversion lens. Just so you know, the dome retails for $559.

You won't be using the viewfinder on these housings, you will be using the rear LCD. The viewfinder activates with a IR sensor that detects your eye when you look through the viewfinder, this won't work through the pickup finder + water + mask + air (inside mask). If the camera does not detect your face, then the viewfinder won't turn on.

S.

Stewart

Many thanks again, good to hear that there is a flash included. I have just had a look here and can get the nex 5n for £190 with the standard lens, using some vouchers that I have collected.

I know what you mean about the nex 7, I have been keeping an eye out and nobody has them in stock

I won't be diving with this camera until at least April at the very earliest, so I may just wait, on the other hand I wa thinking about getting it and using it on land to get to know it as best as I can before going underwater with it, what do you think?

The viewfinder activates with a IR sensor that detects your eye when you look through the viewfinder, this won't work through the pickup finder + water + mask + air (inside mask). If the camera does not detect your face, then the viewfinder won't turn on.

That's what you think...

Well, if that was a mistake on my part, I apologize to the forum. Thanks for clarifying that.

S.

The Sony OLED viewfinder is reported to be the best EVF to date and gives a view almost as large as a 35mm full frame optical viewfinder, much larger than the average APS-C DSLR. I have been told by Nauticam founder and CEO Edward Lei and other Nauticam Panasonic GH-2 housing owners that they use the EVF on the GH-2 extensively for macro. That housing has no pickup finder and a much smaller EVF yet is still favored for macro with the 45 macro over the LDC display.

We all have different styles of shooting but I think the OLED may end-up being very useful for those who have used optical viewfinders in the past and those moving up from consumer compacts.

While I have stated many times on this site and others that many of these mirrorless cameras can produce "pro" quality images the NEX-7 is the only camera out of the bunch that approaches a "pro" quality camera with superb build quality, image quality, class leading video, speed, excellent OLED viewfinder and more.

Also Sony dealers have a set price for equipment sales so the NEX-5n and NEX-7 will have the same price at Backscatter, Reef Photo and other site supporters as at the big box stores, so why not support the dealers that support this site.

Phil Rudin

Phil we did support this site, and I might add from its very early beginning and for a lot longer than most sponsor on the side bar of this site, I am still active and very transparent on this website, I work for Aquatica, everybody knows that, and most importantly, it is something I never did try to hide.

Since signing in on this forum i have tried to stay away from interfering on these kind of thread. You and Ryan have some very close ties to the Nauticam distributor, you having very close ties to Reef Photo (and working their booth at DEMA) and Ryan, the persona behind Reef photo who is also the major key person of Nauticam USA, who also happen to the sole distributor of the Chinese brand in the USA and I might add, Reef also being a retailer of the Nauticam as well, what I fail to see here is a proper disclosure, neither you or Ryan fail to be clear on this and I think that in the interest of clarity, status should be made limpid.

C'mon guy! sign up like you should, everybody will respect you for it.

Jean, Jean, Jean,

This is the second time you have questioned my relationship with Ryan and Reef Photo Video on Wetpixel. I am not sure why you seem to take my comments on this forum so personally.

My comment regarding support for site members had nothing to do with Aquatica and was directed at those who tend to always reference B&H as the end all for photo equipment. B&H is a fine company but it seems that supporting your local dealer is better for the Underwater photography community in general.

I have made no secret about the fact that I am a retired West Palm Beach Police Officer with an extensive background (thirty years) as a public safety diver. My interest in underwater photography has spanned over forty-five years now so I make no bones about the fact that I have payed my dues. I have also been on the board of directors for South Florida Underwater Photography Society for nineteen years to date where my relationship with Reef Photo began when they moved to the Ft. Lauderdale Florida area several years ago. Several of Reefs staff are also photo club members and Reef has allowed SFUPS to use the store to teach club workshops. I fact Reef’s own Shen Collazo was just awarded our 2011 Photographer of the year trophy, great job Shen. My rather dated bio can be found on the sfups.org site for those concerned.

My first U/W camera was a Nikonos II, my first housed camera was a Canon AE with with a macro lens in a Tussey housing, followed by two Aquatica housings for Nikon F-3’s and then fifteen years with Nikonos RS equipment. During that time I tried a lot of other systems but remained with the RS until going to digital. It is also no secret that I have been a big fan of the Olympus 43'd s cameras starting with an Olympus E-1 that I used for crime scene photography on the job.

I now have been able to use the knowledge I have gained over the years to teach workshops for Hasselblad, Mexican Diver, US Dive Shows, SFUPS and others. I have also been a contributor for Underwater Photography magazine, Mexican Diver, Underwater Journal, Dive Chronicles, popular science, assorted dive publications and others.

To this end Inon, Olympus, Reef Photo and others have helped with equipment and tech support. I can not afford to buy every piece of equipment I review nor do the other equipment reviewers we see around the world.

I also make no bones about the fact that I have worked at the Inon stand in the Reef Photo display for the 2010 and 2011 DEMA shows. So what, it is good business for Reef because they are short on staff to cover both the show and the store during DEMA. I am fairly well known in the photo and public safety diving community and have been an Inon user for near thirty years so I know the equipment quite well. The fact is that none of this has anything to do with my product reviews. I choose the equipment I wish to review baised on what is offered to me. The last time you questioned my relationship with Ryan and Reef Photo I offered to review an Aquatica piece of equipment. This offer was again extended to Aquatica at DEMA 2011 and rejected. I have nothing to do with the fact that Reef Photo does not sell Aquatica but if they did I would have ask to review one of your housings . I believe they are quite well made and I was very happy with the two I owned for the Nikon f-3’s. Those I know who own your equipment are also quite happy with the products.

In closing I am not sure what it is you want me to “sign up” for. I am quite sure I have the respect of my peers and the residents of Palm Beach county community for my service as a Police Officer who worked on the street until the day I retired.

Phil Rudin

Hi Stu,

> It depends on the housing, as I mentioned in my review, on the Aquatica that I have (and own personally), the rear dial functions exactly like that of the camera, ...

Yeah, and that for me (!) is the problem - not the housing, of course, but the interface of the camera ...

> Shooting in manual cannot be easier, a simple press on the down button of the dial changes the dial's function from aperture to shutter speed and vice versa.

The NEX 7 has seperate dials for aperture and shutter speed - no need to mess around with buttons ...

But in the end, it depends if there will be ergonomically built housings for the NEX 7 or not. Harald Hordosch, are you reading this????

Regards,

Jock

I have attached my review for the Nauticam NEX-5 housing in issue #57 of underwater Photography magazine, UWPmag.com and a link to the NauticamUSA web site that has my sample images using the 16mm with the wide angle and fisheye adapters. The 16mm can also be used with the Nauticam 4.33 inch dome port rather than the flat port for the full angle of view. The adapter lenses are around $100.00 each and for the cost prrovide very nice wide angle choices until somthing better comes out for NEX.

Hi Phil,

Between the wide angle and fisheye adapters for the 16mm pancake, which one do you prefer for UW photography?

Please play with a NEX-5N in person before making a decision to go underwater with this camera. I love this camera as a point & shoot camera, but as soon as you need to make any change in any setting, you will probably miss a shot. On the otherhand, if you're primarily a point & shooter, it will probably be perfect.

Jean, Jean, Jean,

 

This is the second time you have questioned my relationship with Ryan and Reef Photo Video on Wetpixel. I am not sure why you seem to take my comments on this forum so personally.

Phil, allow me to make this impersonal. If you have any ties to any relevant organization (aside from volunteering), please add them to your .sig and ask us to add you to the Industry group here on Wetpixel.

Please play with a NEX-5N in person before making a decision to go underwater with this camera. I love this camera as a point & shoot camera, but as soon as you need to make any change in any setting, you will probably miss a shot. On the other hand, if you're primarily a point & shooter, it will probably be perfect.

I'm one of those "Point & Shooters" and I've been practicing using this camera "UNDERWATER" even though I've not purchased a housing for it yet Aquarium of the Pacific is one of my favorite places for learning the camera controls initially like setting proper exposure with Exposure Shift and Exposure Compensation, and adjusting Custom White Balance.

So far I've set the three programmable buttons to "MY" most-used functions underwater to avoid "DIVING" into the dreaded Menu:

Right Key: AF/MF - to switch on and off auto focus quickly since some video and still shots are best done without it.

Center Key: 1. ISO, 2. JPEG/RAW, 3. AF Pattern, 4. AF Mode, 5. HDR - this list will change once I start practicing underwater.

Lower Key: White Balance - push it once to set custom WB and push it again to fine tune the color to match what my eyes see underwater - absolutely critical for shooting video since this camera doesn't have video RAW.

I think this camera can be used for serious underwater work "ON A BUDGET" if the person customizes it properly and knows how to work around its weaknesses.

Thankyou Eric, I will do that.

Phil

Please play with a NEX-5N in person before making a decision to go underwater with this camera. I love this camera as a point & shoot camera, but as soon as you need to make any change in any setting, you will probably miss a shot. On the otherhand, if you're primarily a point & shooter, it will probably be perfect.

Have you used anything other than a first firmware NEX-5? I know that it is fashionable in reviews to bag on the interface, but I actually find it pretty intuitive. The assign keys allow 6 additional functions to be put within 1-2 button presses.

My only grip with the camera at present is the lack of a usable focus lock, which forces single servo af.

Thanks all for the info, I am gonna try and get to the local camera shop and have a play to see what it is like.

To this end Inon, Olympus, Reef Photo and others have helped with equipment and tech support. I can not afford to buy every piece of equipment I review nor do the other equipment reviewers we see around the world.

Phil, no one is doubting your integrity. I'm sure you know that FTC guidlines require internet forum members to fully disclose any relationships and all payments, including discounts, equipment etc.

First of all, thanks to everyone for the great info on this thread on the camera. I'm also thinking about getting this camera, and will try to find one locally to check out the controls etc first as advised.

What do you think about the Nex 5n as an upgrade for an advanced compact shooter? I am currently using a Canon s90, FIX housing, UW-04 WA lens, 2x Inon macro lenses, Sola 600 focus light with a dual strobe set up, and looking at upgrading to the Sony Nex 5n.

Primarily, I am hoping for much better picture quality and the ability to shoot HD video (currently using a separate go pro), hopefully without massively increasing the size/weight of my camera set up underwater. Would like to also be able to shoot UWA and macro. Sounds like there is a solid WA option currently with the 16MM lens and Fisheye conversion, though the macro options still sound a little thin?

From what I'm seeing, this camera should work for me, but would appreciate any pointers on other things I should consider since I'm in from a compact.

IMHO, the 5n will be a significant improvement over the S90. AF will be faster, IQ will be better. The new AN-5n will have an new shutter release option, the housing will have the direct link to the shutter button as the AN-5 but an optional shutter release lever will move the release so that it's similar to how the other Aquatica housings do the shutter release, it will be a vertical lever that will actuate the shutter button on the housing. You can see it here: http://www.aquatica.ca/en/products_dslr_an5n.html

Depending on your strobes, you should have no problems triggering them optically. Aquatica's new closeup lenses screw directly into the flat port. A port extension is needed for the new Sony 30mm Macro. I don't have that lens yet so I can't give you any first hand knowledge about it. I have used the 16mm pancake with the fisheye conversion lens and it's a great option.

The dedicated video button on the NEX-5n is nice, no scrolling through menus or other controls before you can record.

Cheers

Stu

if you're interested, here's a nice Nautican NEX-5 setup with two INON S2000s. OK, it's mine.

It works very well with the fisheye converter. I upgraded last year from a Canon Ixus 980i compact which I was using with a single INON S2000 and the INON wet lens system. There are pros and cons to the upgrade:

Pro:

- much better quality,

- full manual option,

- on/off flash switch on the housing (love it)'

- bigger screen,

- RAW files

Con:

- lens choice

- can't change lens underwater,

- menu system takes some getting used to, but works well once you've learned it,

- bulk.

The lens choice is my worst bugbear. The 30mm seems too short unless you only want to photograph nudis - I haven't bought it yet, and I'm waiting for Sony, Sigma or Tamron to bring out a longer option. Meantime I'm learning loads about CFWA!

Hope that's useful.

hello everybody,

This topic is very interesting!!

I have a sony A55 with 3 lenses : sony 18-55mm from the kit, sony 55-200mm from the kit and a minolta 100-300mm APO.

For the moment, I use it only on land for my trips abroad : landscapes, portrait... and sport (cable wakeboarding). So, i am globally satisfied but there are 2 negative points :

1. there is no 1080 50p video mode (only 50i) -> that's a problem when i want to make slow motions...

2. I searched for an underwater housing and the only one that I found is the ikelite which is pretty big

So, i'm searching for a very good equipment that can be used both on land and underwater. On top of that, I use photo AND video (50% each).

Do you think that the following choice is a good one? :

• Sony Nex 5N
  
• 16mm pancake
  
• Wide angle converter
  
• 18-55mm from the kit
  
• 18-200mm sony (expensive but seems very good) for land only
  
• underwater housing (i don't know yet which one)
  
• Lights (see below)
  

Concerning the lights, which model would you recommend for photos and videos?

note : Underwater, I am mainly interested in big animals (mantas, sharks, whales, dolphins...) and I am not sure that the lights will help...

I will lose the viewfinder from my sony A55 but I can buy the viewfinder for Nex later (when the price will go down)

Do you think that the autofocus is better on my A55?

Thank you for your help ;-)