mochikat

I don't, most is f/9

I would be interested in A1 vs R5 comparison too. From what I can see it seems there is very little reason to go for the A1 if you're only interested in photo and don't care about video. The reviews for A7R5 seem to indicate with the new AI capabilities, autofocus is now better than the A1, and EVF is the same.

I got mine today! Fits beautifully in the Pelican 1535 carry on. It's a bit bigger but somehow it fits better than old WWL-1 or MWL-1 combo with separate port. I can't believe it all fits - Sony A7C w 28-60mm lens inside the housing, WACP-C attached, 45 degree viewfinder, 90mm macro lens and port, SMC with flip adapter, 2 Inon Z330s, Backscatter mini flash and snoot, focus light. Literally everything except arms and clamps. Can't wait to test it out next week. IMG_6116.HEIC

Thanks Chris, yes that was one big annoyance also - if I tightened the clamps too hard so it doesn't shift in current it was hard to adjust the lights as I get closer or farther from what I wanted to shoot, but if I don't it moves a lot in current! But the bad viz situation I am talking about is when I have to shift the lights so far back (almost behind the handles) and turn the lights so far out to avoid backscatter, I end up with a deadzone in the middle (for example, when shooting a big seafan). There is no room to pull the lights more inwards together sideways because of the handles and the floats (I had the Nauticam mega float S attached). I spent almost an entire dive (think it was Balbulbol Pinnacle in Misool - we probably had 2-3m of viz on that one) just trying different lighting positions and could not find one that worked. Welcome any suggestions

I have the MWL-1 and have seen the WFL-09S in action. My roommate on the Philippines Siren had the Kraken lens and was using it with her Nikon D7200 and 60mm macro, and the flexibility it offered convinced me to get one. At the time there was a used MWL-1 for sale here so I went with MWL-1 over the Kraken lens, and also for the benefit of the double flip. The size is similar but the MWL is better built and feels more solid. I have a few of my roommate's photos but I'm not sure the comparison is apples to apples given APSC vs FF, Nikon vs Sony, 60mm macro vs 28-60mm zoom used. I'm quite happy with the MWL1 in general, took it with me to Komodo and Raja Ampat a few months ago, and it's great for dives when you ask "is this macro or wide" and the guides just say "can be both, whatever you want!" - which is most dives in the Indo Pacific. If you want to see examples of the MWL-1 (with Sony A7C, 28-60mm kit lens) you can look at Komodo and Raja albums: https://www.flickr.com/photos/184457560@N06/albums It was my only wide angle lens for those trips. I am still quite new to the hobby and consider myself quite amateur, but have been very pleased with the images I've been able to get with this lens. I liked it much more than my old WWL-1 which I took with me in between to Sipadan to compare and often missed the flexibility + more dramatic field of view the MWL-1 gives (150 vs 130). The two downsides tho are when there is not a ton of light and when visibility is bad. When I got it the reviews said to shoot at f/16 or up for decent corners, I found I can largely live with f/13 or 14 - but even at f/13 I had to bump ISO up to 640, 800, even 1000. I also could not figure out how to light without backscatter in really poor viz - this is probably a skill issue - but I found it harder with the MWL1 vs my old WWL1. I'm not sure how much of this is because it's designed to work with a 60mm macro lens and the Sony 28-60 is not a macro lens. It does not work well w the only macro lens >60mm (90mm) in Sony's line up. You see vignetting below 60mm. I am selling my MWL-1 w the double flip if you're interested, since I just picked up the shiny new WACP-C.

WWL-1 package is sold! MWL package still available! I am also selling the Inon UCL 67 which I use with the MWL on the double flip - this out of all the ones I tested including CMC-1 works best with the Sony 28-60mm and gave me more working distance than any other diopter they had in the shop. If curious what this combination can do, here are some more photos from my most recent Raja trip - everything with 28-60 is with above combo: Raja week 1, Raja week 2 PM if interested thx

Hi I am based in Singapore, can meet locally or can ship anywhere (buyer pays shipping). I'm looking to sell my two sets for wide angle (WWL-1B and MWL-1) as I want to upgrade to the new WACP-C. WWL-1B - purchased March 2022. Nauticam N100 Flat Port 45 with Focus Knob (for Sony 28-60mm lens which is what I used w the WWL-1B) - purchased March 2022. Nauticam M67 to Bayonet Converter II (necessary to use w WWL-1B on most ports) - purchased March 2022. MWL-1 and MWL-1 double flip adapter - purchased Aug 2022. Everything is perfect condition. Selling for 30% discount vs new (+ shipping). WW1-B $1116 Nauticam N100 Flat Port 45 with Focus Knob $413 Nauticam M67 to Bayonet Converter II $80 ->> if buying all 3, will discount $100+ further to $1500 MWL-1 & MWL double flip holder -> selling together for $1600. I bought this off Adam here on Wetpixel a few month ago and have only used it on 2 trips. This is >40% off list price. I've shot both with my Sony A7C and 28-60mm kit lens. The WWL-1B is better for straight wide angle. The MWL-1 offers great flexibility for places like Komodo and Raja Ampat, where every dive can be both wide and macro. Latest photos shot w my WWL-1B in Oct 2022: Sipadan Oct 2022 Latest photos shot w my MWL-1 in Sep 2022: Komodo Sep 2022 Pls contact if interested. Thx! IMG_6052.HEIC IMG_6051.HEIC IMG_6050.HEIC

Do you notice a big difference with A1 and A7 models? Not talking about ease of use and quality of life, cuz I tried it and the EVF is amazing vs my tiny A7C EVF, but I’m not convinced my skill level justifies the price of the A1 and if I’ll objectively get better photos from the A1… where to find a second hand / discounted A1!

Thanks for the tips everyone, glad to see I'm not the only one who struggled with this in the beginning. I guess there are no shortcuts (private snoot holder aside) and nothing beats practice. I do wish I have more than 2 hands - my left is usually holding the muck stick in addition to the camera handle hence why I find it really challenging to use it to adjust the snoot without losing the position. I'm definitely not perfectly still without the muck stick and am taking GUE fundies when I get back to try to improve that. Today I decided to try inward lighting after reading Alex's book again last night and couldn't get it to work easily either, so I guess I just need to practice more and force myself not to give up too soon by not taking my other strobes... Below is my one and only successful snoot attempt - after 2 dives!

I recently bought a backscatter mini snoot and find it a very frustrating exercise trying to position it properly, looking back at my viewfinder and rocking back and forth to find the right focus, trying to adjust the strobe position again, etc. On a good day it takes me a very long time and on a bad day I give up. Having a private guide hold the snoot detached from the arms I can get the shot pretty easily, but by myself I don’t know how to fix the position of the camera (I need to hold with both hands) then move the snoot without looking up to see where the light it’s shining (and then losing my old position), or vice versa. Any tips? I was thinking maybe I should get a tripod for the snoot, so I can set it up detached from the camera and then shoot as usual?

Back button focus makes it easier. Knowing the min and max focus distance helps. Turn on tracking in your focus mode if you haven’t (I use AF-C and flexible spot S/M + tracking). You will have an easier time with the 90mm macro lens than with the 60+CMC-1 I suspect as for me adding a diopter to my 90 makes focusing much harder. It helps to rock slowly back and forth with the diopter until what you want comes into focus vs just relying on autofocus

Update! So I don't muddle the waters for anyone reading this, turns out this is my own fault for not packing the 90mm lens well enough that something got loose inside and messed up the focus. Sony replaced my 90mm and now I have zero issues with focus, there is still a bit of hunting if you set focus limiter to full and use a diopter but it is useable and it DOES lock when it finds the focus! Before with the defective lens it would just keep hunting and hunting but the focus square never turns green. I went to buy the used A9 and when I put my old 90mm lens on it there was absolutely zero difference - still the same hunting issues when using a diopter. Tried all the diopters they had. Nauticam SMC-1 performed noticeably better with less hunting but the focus still doesn't lock green over half the time. The guys at the store tried all kinds of different settings for over an hour and finally concluded the lens must be defective, so back to Sony it went. This did convince me to pick up the SMC-1 since it was so much better even w the defective lens. It also showed there's negligible difference between A7C and A9 autofocus, at least from what I can perceive with the diopter. I'm in Lembeh now with the replaced 90mm and new SMC-1, plus my original A7C, and this thing is a joy to use. Super sharp, bokeh is so nice, and focus speed feels pretty similar to my old Nikon with the focus limiter on. I've tried a few dives with it off and found I was shooting through too much water anyway when I needed more than the 0.5m of distance, so even if I could fit the subject in the frame it wasn't super nice. But A7C autofocus is actually top notch - I also didn't use the tracking mode before! It's buried under the last option and I was always using flexible spot S or M wondering why it doesn't lock and track with current. Now that I'm using flexible S/M + tracking a bit of current is no issue. Still a bit of a challenge with the diopter, but base 90mm feels super fast and AF very accurate. I'm keeping this - no need to upgrade.

Thanks John, that's helpful to know. I went into the Sony store today and tried the new A7IV, as well as the A9 and A9II, and A1 for fun but did not seriously consider it due to price. I could definitely see a huge improvement in AF speed especially in low light on the A9, could see some improvement from A7IV vs A7C but not too much, and between A9 and A9II also not too much. I could see an improvement in A1 vs A9, and the EVF is incredible, but A9 seems fast enough. I did also find the tracking on the A9/A9II/A1 to be much better as well, rarely loses the focus point when I hold down back button focus and recompose, whereas the A7C will if I move too fast or in low light. This is all above water so who knows how it stacks up underwater. And I didn't think I would care about the blackout free shooting but it was nice! All the EVFs were a huge upgrade over A7C, I wonder if part of my issue is I just couldn't see clearly when it's in focus cuz the EVF is so tiny. I think I could probably get used to manual focus on A7C eventually but the EVF swayed me - thought it wouldn't be an issue with the magnified viewfinder but it is. Someone locally recently upgraded to A1 and is selling his A9+housing, I think his old A9 is the answer for me. A9II is 2x the price, A1 is 3x. A9 is smaller than A9II/A1 also and fits better in my hands (does feel heavy tho after getting used to A7C). My housing distributor also told me he doesn't recommend the Inon UCL-67 for the Sony 90mm macro, so I'm going to test a few other diopters too - let me know if any recommendations that works well w the 90mm specifically.

Thanks Chris, that’s helpful to know on the strobes. The Sony lens is limited to f22 also (which I did not know nor researched properly, had assumed it would be f32 like the Nikon and Canon lenses) and there were definitely many instances where I’m already at F22 100iso and 1/250 shooting against open water and can’t get a black background. I know the other workaround is snoots but I’m so bad at it haha I had another dive today trying to shoot a tiny black frogfish w the +15 diopter and I literally couldn’t see the eyes through the viewfinder, so of course couldn’t achieve manual focus… wondering if that’s a situation where the A7Riv or A1 can find it

Hi all I recently swapped from a Nikon D7500 cropped-sensor DSLR w 85mm DX macro lens to a FF Sony A7C w 90mm macro lens. I've been shooting the Sony for about a week now in Anilao and Puerto Galera, with the 90mm lens almost always on 0.28-0.5mm focus limiter, and sometimes with a Inon UCL 67 (+15) diopter added on top. Initially I found the lens very frustrating to use compared to my old Nikon, as the focus would keep hunting and is very slow, or sometimes can't find the subject at all, but after a week getting used to the working distance and switching the focus limiter on I've gotten some great shots, and even find super macro with the UCL-67 on not as frustrating. If the subject has color I can pretty much get it right, but where I still struggle with the lens finding the correct focus is when there is no contrast or a lot of sand - 2 examples were when we were in a sandy bottom, there was a bit of surge and current blowing lots of particles around, and I was trying to take photos of 1) a black seahorse, 2) a black leaf fish - in both cases the camera just can't find the eye w AF even with a focus light. I spent 5min trying to get it to focus before giving up in both instances. The A7C has the same sensor and AF performance as the A7III I believe - and I have heard the A7RIV is a huge step up in AF performance - with the A1 being even better (I have read Backscatters' review which calls the A1 + 90mm macro lens the best combo even better than Nikon D850). My dilemma is I JUST bought the A7C (selected for its compact size) and can still get 80% of the shots I want even if it takes me a bit longer - so question whether it's worth upgrading to the A7RIV or A1 or if I just need more practice and get better. I have noticed a huge difference at how quickly I can find the right focus between my first few dives and right now- but I'm not sure if there is a limit to what the A7C can do and if either the A7RIV or the A1 can AF in the scenarios like the 2 above where there is no contrast on the subject. The other thing that intrigued me about the A1 is the 1/400 sync speed - my A7C can only do 1/160 although I've been shooting up to 1/250 and the black bar on top is not too noticeable and can easily be cropped - it does cover 1/3 of the frame at 1/320 tho. I'm shooting Inon Z330s with a fiber optics cable and Nauticam mini flash trigger, but my housing distributor said he wasn't sure if my current set up can do 1/400 even with the camera body change. Does anyone know? I don't want to invest in new strobes or HSS connection for sure. Thanks!