Seafrogs A7 series and A6XXX salted line useability one-handed

Hi there, 

I'm interested in both the Seafrogs housings for sony A7 and A6300 camera's. Not having ever used one I can't really tell whether the housings are narrow enough to use back-button focus and still access the shutter button one-handed or whether they might be a little too chunky for this. Another possible issue is the size of the viewfinder, how large and detailed are they on Seafrogs housings? Are they clear enough to clearly compose your images and check focus or are they really just to give one a rough idea of what you're shooting? 

If you've any experience with these housings I would really appreciate your input!

Thanks

6 hours ago, RjbSA said:

Not having ever used one I can't really tell whether the housings are narrow enough to use back-button focus and still access the shutter button one-handed or whether they might be a little too chunky for this.

Sort of? Depends on your hand size, I guess. I've got average size hands for a male, perhaps a little on the smaller side, and I can reach the buttons with my thumb while my index finger is on the shutter. That said, in practice, I use a trigger extension on a tray handle and half-press to focus.

6 hours ago, RjbSA said:

Another possible issue is the size of the viewfinder, how large and detailed are they on Seafrogs housings? Are they clear enough to clearly compose your images and check focus or are they really just to give one a rough idea of what you're shooting? 

There is no magnifying viewfinder like you can put on a Nauticam or other housings. The camera EVF is accessible, but for me it's borderline unusable. I use the screen to compose 100% of the time.

Note that if you really want to use a viewfinder of some description with a SeaFrogs housing, this is a possible option: https://scubaboard.com/community/threads/seafrogs-salted-line-housing-with-fantasea-lcd-magnifier.575518/

Thank you, that’s really helpful! The magnified lcd is an interesting idea.

Seafrogs housing are indeed chunky and I find it difficult to use one handed. I have small hands and always used both hands and my trim was off by a lot. However if you had the right trim for it then you might be ok. 

4 hours ago, newdiver said:

Seafrogs housing are indeed chunky and I find it difficult to use one handed. I have small hands and always used both hands and my trim was off by a lot. However if you had the right trim for it then you might be ok. 

Thank you!

For what it's worth, this is what it looks like in the hand, off-tray:

There are three finger grooves in the front and a thumb rest in the back, so the grip is fairly comfortable.

I've only used it like this one time, when my luggage containing the tray and other accessories got left in Athens as I was traveling to Cebu via Doha and Manila. I had one day in Cebu City before leaving on a ten-day liveaboard, so I managed to find a store that had underwater photography stuff and purchased a lanyard, a single 8-inch arm, two clamps and a fiber optic cable. This allowed me to mount a single strobe on the cold shoe and shoot macro that way until my luggage caught up. I don't remember that setup being particularly inconvenient, but the two-handed tray with a trigger extension is better.

Thank you, that is super helpful!! I would probably use a similar setup to your temporary one. I freedive in pretty shallow, turbulent water and need to be able to hold onto something to steady myself with one hand and shoot with the other at the same time. Those pics are great, I really appreciate you going to the effort!