gobiodon

In strong current I would just fix a gopro head to a lead block

I've just created a mini tripod (tetrapod) for my action cameras. I used some scrap metal pieces (aluminium) I found in my tinkering cabinet (probably pieces not used for furniture assembly). Assembly was quick. I sprayed it with black paint and next day it was ready. Light and easy to transport.

Very nice. Lots of details, I think this lens is really good. Unfortunately the sony version has no electronic aperture control.

It seems to be a great lens regarding optical quality. The main problem I see is that even in case of a properly working focus gear, there is no way to change the aperture of the lens.

Very nice descriptions in the recommended file. Actually, I would try position a single lamp as shown in the first picture of the pdf (and would fine tune from there)

"shooting general scenes of reefs etc from around 2-5m distance" is the first problem. You have to go closer to have effects from your lamp. Imagine the cone of light. It should illuminate the subject but not the water between your camera and the subject (as much as possible) to avoid backscatter. A single light I would position on the top af the camera on an arm (but far from it) and try to tilt upwards and check the effect.

Good advice, thanks!

I have recently purchased a very cheap but well-made aluminium tripod base from BGNing (on Aliexpress). I haven't tried yet underwater but it's quite sturdy on land. It was 40 Euro including shipping.

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.

Thanks Andy, an excellent source of knowledge! I may give a try to experiment with those filters

This post is somehow linked to my previous post about “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.

Fredi Schaschl has some nice macro videos with RX100V (more you can find on his YT channel:

It looks really promising

Regarding the size, you're right. Im my opinion it could be perfect for reef scenes and bigger animals (in clear water).

I considered the Insta360 with 1" sensor but it has a minimum focus distance of 90 cm. It's a lot. It works probably well in pristine waters with very good visibility. The other issue is the price. There are 1" sensor cameras with zoom lens in this price range. It's a more versatile option for underwater videography.