Sony A7C + 28-60 kit lens + WWL vs Olympus OM-D E-M1 II + 14-42 + WWL

18 hours ago, JayceeB said:

Most pictures you see of the Nauticam with 28-60 lens show the focus knob installed on the port.  This is optional, so I left it off until I decide whether a manual focus gear is required.

Here is a photo of the focus knob that shipped with the 28-60 port.

3 minutes ago, JayceeB said:

Here is a photo of the focus knob that shipped with the 28-60 port.

I could stand to remove mine. How do you plug the hole that is left?

5 hours ago, JayceeB said:

Thanks, Waterpixel.  That helps.

The port ships with the focus knob uninstalled.  I left it off.

My port shipped with the focus knob installed. I don't recall anything in the box that would constitute a plug for the hole if I removed the focus knob.

7 minutes ago, stuartv said:

 

My port shipped with the focus knob installed. I don't recall anything in the box that would constitute a plug for the hole if I removed the focus knob.

Here is what the focus knob plug looks like.

Here are two pictures showing the Olympus+12-40+7" dome on the left and Sony+28-60+WWL-1B on the right.  (**Note: 1lb weight velcro'd to the bottom of the 7" dome for trim on the left).

And this shows my complete kit.  The 200mm cross-bar mount for the WWL-1B works very well, and keeps your strobe arms clear and light.  Might be worth trying a 70x200mm float arm for the cross-bar as the entire kit still needs a bit more buoyancy.  As you can see, I only have single 200mm arms for strobe mounts to keep the kit compact.  Double arms would give more room for additional stix. 

Very nice and clean setup, @JayceeB. Are you planning to use a wet macro lens also?

Kind regards,

Ajay

Yes, I have a CMC-1.  Have not yet decided how best to carry it.  Right now I just throw it in my BC pocket.  I could mount it on the cross bar, but if you want to trade WWL-1 for CMC-1, there's an awkward moment where both lenses are unmounted.  I may end up using 70x200mm float arms with a bayonet adapter on one instead of the stix. 

7 minutes ago, JayceeB said:

Yes, I have a CMC-1.  Have not yet decided how best to carry it.  Right now I just throw it in my BC pocket.  I could mount it on the cross bar, but if you want to trade WWL-1 for CMC-1, there's an awkward moment where both lenses are unmounted.  I may end up using 70x200mm float arms with a bayonet adapter on one instead of the stix. 

Yep. That is exactly why I got the double-sided bayonet mount to go on one of my float arms.

As well, I might have times when I want to shoot something of a size that I don't want the WWL-1 or the CMC attached....

I haven't actually used it yet, though....

One item to note.  

I had issues with the A7C on two of the first 4 dives.  On the second dive of each day (not sure if this is important or not), the camera would lock up half way through the dive with a ‘Writing to Card. Please wait…’.  Turning the camera on/off underwater didn’t fix it.  I had to remove the battery and replace to get it to stop after the dive.  I made 2 changes, that seem to have fixed this issue.  I’m not sure if they are both required, but configuration options are:  

1. Changed File Format=RAW (uncompressed) + JPEG to File Format=RAW (uncompressed).

2. Changed Finder/Monitor=Auto to Finder/Monitor=Manual. (Thanks, Phil Burghard, for this suggestion).

Here are a few photos taken with the Sony.

Distant Ambient Light as-shot and cropped (28-60+WWL-1B):  Scalloped Hammerhead

Not a great shot, but it's only the second one i've seen, so i'll keep it, regardless of quality.  I was impressed that the camera could achieve auto-focus with the dark shark against a dark blue background.

Distant Ambient Light as-shot and cropped (28-60+WWL-1B):  Tiger

Distant Ambient Light  (28-60+WWL-1B):  General Shots

 (28-60+WWL-1B) Over exposed as-shot and cropped:  Baby Frogfish

This frogfish was about 2-3 cm long.  I first tried shooting with the CMC-1, but couldn't get my lens in close enough to focus, as the fish was set back in an indentation.  Next, I tried shooting with just the 28-60 and no wet lenses, but the minimum working distance for the 28-60 at 60mm is quite large.  Next, I tried shooting with the 28-60+WWL-1B...this is what I shot with, and then cropped.  I was surprised that a shot this over-exposed could be adjusted to proper exposure.  Cropping still left an acceptable level of quality for me.

Very interesting, thanks for sharing the images and your thoughts...

Regarding the title of your tread, how would you personally compare the two rigs?

Wolfgang

10 minutes ago, Architeuthis said:

Very interesting, thanks for sharing the images and your thoughts...

Regarding the title of your tread, how would you personally compare the two rigs?

 

Wolfgang

Thanks, Wolfgang.  Give me a bit to formulate my comparison thoughts.  

(28-60+CMC-1) Macro:  

Here are a couple of examples I took with the CMC-1.  I don't have experience with this type of lens, so there were quite a few throw-aways.  Included is a seastar shrimp as-shot and cropped, and a redspotted nudibranch.

(28-60+WWL-1B) With Strobes:  

And finally, a few shots taken with strobes using the WWL-1B.  The frogfish is an adult nearly the size of a dinner plate.

Wow, lovely turtle shot.

The Turtle shot is amazing.