45 degree viewfinder on Nauticam: only for macro?

Using my new Nauticam-housing for A7IV for the first time. Everything feels good but I Sam wondering whether adding a 45 Viewfinder wouldn’t feel better. 
 

Most of the time I stay between 1 an 10-15m. 
Golden rule for all pictures of any kind of fish says: no looking down, always be below the object. 
 

Is the viewfinder of great help? (€)

An angled viewfinder helps you keeping a more natural posture and getting less neck strain when diving though I think you are free diving?

For your A7IV that has a very low resolution LCD a viewfinder will mean access to higher resolution to shoot display however do you think you will feel finning and looking into it? It is hard to see anything else around you

I’ve been using a 45 degree finder since 2008. They do take some getting used to in the sense of adapting from a straight look-through finder. 

As Massimo says, they do avoid neck strain and for shooting near the seabed, they are invaluable. As you point out, for shooting up, which I think is key, they are perfect. 

They are a bit harder to use in mid-water situations where, to start with, you might find you are hunting for the subject. Not a problem for wide angle - more for fish portraits. 

The 45 degree finder has been, for me, arguably my best investment in my gear. I’d never now dive without one. I’ve transferred it from a D300 housing to a D800 and now D500. It cost about €1100 new and I’ve never regretted it for a second  . 

It’s difficult to have a look at the display because it’s neither possible to tilt it nor to see it anyway if you are not at exactly the same level. 
 

yes, I think it’s very useful to see either the viewfinder or the display while Freediving. I have around 50 comfortable seconds until I have to take the next breath. 

5 minutes ago, TimG said:

The 45 degree finder has been, for me, arguably my best investment in my gear. I’d never now dive without one. I’ve transferred it from a D300 housing to a D800 and now D500. It cost about €1100 new and I’ve never regretted it for a second  . 

 

Very valuable information! Thanks a lot! 
 

there goes the next payment to PanOcean…

1 hour ago, fruehaufsteher2 said:

Very valuable information! Thanks a lot! 
 

there goes the next payment to PanOcean…

No worries. If you go for one, I hope you find the same thing 

This is the Wetpixel Live offering a chat about the subject. I am a big fan (of the viewfinders, not watching myself back on a recording!).

Phil Rudin lent me his in Puerto Galera a few years ago and within about 3 dives I was completely hooked. In fact I'd say it's the most valuable piece of gear I have! I've just upgraded to a Sony A7RV and after watching Alex's review above decided to upgrade mine to the latest 45 degree 0.8:1. I find it indispensable for both macro and wide angle, especially because I use reading glasses on land and can adjust the diopter for perfect vision underwater. I will be trialing it for blackwater in a couple of days time... I've read that the 180 degree is better for this, but at SG$2k a pop, I will be sticking with my 45 degree!

10 hours ago, fruehaufsteher2 said:

Using my new Nauticam-housing for A7IV for the first time. Everything feels good but I Sam wondering whether adding a 45 Viewfinder wouldn’t feel better. 

I upgraded to the Nauticam Full Frame Angle Viewfinder 40 degree 0.8:1 when I upgraded to a Nikon Z mirrorless camera with a high resolution EVF. It is specifically designed for the super high resolution viewfinders on the Sony mirrorless cameras as described here: https://www.nauticam.com/collections/viewfinders/products/nauticam-full-frame-angle-viewfinder-40-0-8-1

Using this viewfinder I can see the entire EVF corner-to-corner sharp and clear. Incredible! It took some getting used to, but now I can’t shoot without it. It is a little pricey, but worth the money in my opinion (it was actually $200 more when I bought it). One huge benefit is the diopter adjustment for my close-up vision. It also rotates for vertical shots.

The only downside is I can’t figure out how to use it for split shots or video, so I leave it off and use the LCD.

Since I started using the 45° I have only removed it once and I did regret it.

It will take a few dives to get use to it, but once you do there is no difference of macro and wide angle. 

One additional question:

there are two 45 degree viewfinder:

SKU # 32214 https://www.nauticam.com/collections/viewfinders/products/nauticam-full-frame-angle-viewfinder-40-0-8-1

and

 SKU # 32203
https://www.nauticam.com/collections/viewfinders/products/nauticam-45-viewfinder

which one should be preferred for the A7 IV?

That is what Larry is talking about a few posts up.  You probably want the newer, more expensive, 0.8:1 version for your camera.

10 minutes ago, rwb500 said:

That is what Larry is talking about a few posts up.  You probably want the newer, more expensive, 0.8:1 version for your camera.

Uh sorry didn’t get that. I thought he upgraded from no viewfinder to the more expensive one. But you seem to be right, he upgraded from the older one to the newest. 
 

As the IV has also a high resolution viewfinder it seems to be better to chose the 0.8 which is more expensive but might perform better. 

No need to apologize, there are so many different Nauticam viewfinders now, it is hard to keep track of what anyone is saying.  Also, I am actually not sure which one is best for your specific camera.  I was thinking of A7RV when I replied - I guess the number of Sony A7x cameras has me confused about that as well.  The viewfinder on your camera may be more similar to earlier A7x cameras and be better suited by the narrow FOV viewfinders.

I think it has more to do with the camera viewfinder magnification, not resolution.

1 hour ago, fruehaufsteher2 said:

Uh sorry didn’t get that. I thought he upgraded from no viewfinder to the more expensive one. But you seem to be right, he upgraded from the older one to the newest. 
 

As the IV has also a high resolution viewfinder it seems to be better to chose the 0.8 which is more expensive but might perform better. 

Last week I ordered a 1:0.8 (#32214) together with a NA-A7RV housing ...

Puzzled by your question, I had a look at the Nauticam homepage and there I find that 1:0.8 is recommended for NA-FX3, NA-A7SIII and NA-A1, but for NA-A7IV, NA-A7RIII and NA-a2020 they recommend the 1:1 (#32213; see the links below)

=> I suggest you ask at Panocean, to be on the safe side, before ordering ...

Wolfgang

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZXdgS9N8TIgeciMzXb9GHhORUeA-pL-b/view

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-tnDESu7JU63NxFXOOvVvRdAXzaO9kY4/view

Last week I ordered a 1:0.8 (#32214) together with a NA-A7RV housing ...
Puzzled by your question, I had a look at the Nauticam homepage and there I find that 1:0.8 is recommended for NA-FX3, NA-A7SIII and NA-A1, but for NA-A7IV, NA-A7RIII and NA-a2020 they recommend the 1:1 (#32213; see the links below)
=> I suggest you ask at Panocean, to be on the safe side, before ordering ...
 
Wolfgang
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZXdgS9N8TIgeciMzXb9GHhORUeA-pL-b/view
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-tnDESu7JU63NxFXOOvVvRdAXzaO9kY4/view

Last week I ordered a 1:0.8 (#32214) together with a NA-A7RV housing ...
Puzzled by your question, I had a look at the Nauticam homepage and there I find that 1:0.8 is recommended for NA-FX3, NA-A7SIII and NA-A1, but for NA-A7IV, NA-A7RIII and NA-a2020 they recommend the 1:1 (#32213; see the links below)
=> I suggest you ask at Panocean, to be on the safe side, before ordering ...
 
Wolfgang
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZXdgS9N8TIgeciMzXb9GHhORUeA-pL-b/view
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-tnDESu7JU63NxFXOOvVvRdAXzaO9kY4/view

I just got the answer from PanOcean. They stated that it depends on the magnification of the viewfinder of the camera itself. 
 

while for the A1 the 0.8 viewfinder is recommended, for the A7 IV they recommend the 1.0 viewfinder. Otherwise it is possible that the outer edges of the viewfinder monitor can’t be seen.