Experiences with SeaFrogs/Salted Line 4 inch dome port

This post is somehow linked to my previous post about “Low-budget underwater videography”.

View archived post in: Low-budget underwater videography

I’ve been using a Sony A6000 for a long while and it’s one of the most affordable cameras, not that perfect on video department, but still a good buy. SeaFrogs (or Salted Line) has a relatively affordable housing for this Sony camera line, so I also bought one and I have been using the standard port with the 30mm macro lens with good success. For wide angle videos I’m happy with the quality of action cameras, but I thought why not to try also my A6000. I wanted something small, and the 4 inch port was, on paper, compatible with many of my lenses.

I haven’t tested thoroughly yet, but so far I’m not that happy with the results with Samyang (Walimex) 8mm f2.8 fisheye or the Sony E 16mm F2.8 + Fisheye Converter VCL-ECF1. The corners were quite mushy. However, recently I tested the 16mm F2.8 with ultra wide (weitwinkel) Converter VLC-ECU1 converter and the results are not that bad. I’ve checked only 2 f numbers (F13 and F16) but later I will test it with other set ups.

Two examples below:

 (F13)

(F16, slightly cropped

I know the problem is that in case of this cheaper option, the ports are not perfectly optimized for a given lens. It’s not that big problem in case of flat ports but the quality can be really bad if the position of the lens was not optimal with dome ports. Actually, there is a long list of supported lenses but not all of them are optimized for the best quality.

Share your experiences with this dome (or other domes from SeaFrogs) and other Sony lenses.

I've been using the SeaFrogs housing for a few years now, with various port and lens combinations. I have done a series of test shots in a pool, you can see them here. Unfortunately I don't have access to a Tokina 10-17mm with adapter to do a comparison. Most of my wide-angle shooting is with 10-18mm or 16-50mm in the 8-inch dome - corners aren't super great, but they're acceptable.

17 hours ago, Barmaglot said:

I've been using the SeaFrogs housing for a few years now, with various port and lens combinations. I have done a series of test shots in a pool, you can see them here. Unfortunately I don't have access to a Tokina 10-17mm with adapter to do a comparison. Most of my wide-angle shooting is with 10-18mm or 16-50mm in the 8-inch dome - corners aren't super great, but they're acceptable.

Thanks, I know this from another forum post. I`ve checked before. I may also give a try to the 16-50 but the 16mm pancake with the wide angle adatpter seems to be a better choice.