PhilMed
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Phil,
Glad to see a voice of reason in the forums on compact systems. I am a Fantasea dealer and while selling both Canon and Sony compact housings (I have yet to sell a Sony ILC hosing after 4 years) also think the Canon menus and usability are heads above Sony.
Adam while a nice chap has to jump in and defend not in any order Sony and of course Nauticam
Not everyone has the means (or needs) to house a higher end system. Just look at the classified high end mirrorless ILC systems for sale. I believe too many users go down that rabbit hole only to not see stunning results due to GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) LOL......
I just sold my 2-3 year old Canon G7X II and Fantasea housing and may go DOWN to a G9X II and Fantasea housing. I'm trying one n a pool next week and have also recently migrated from dal small INON S2000 strobes to one wide beam INON Z330.
While it won't have the new vacuum system Fantasea has changed their molds for Sony RX100 VA, Canon G7X II and III housings I think the Canon G9X II is still a great housing choice. I'll also try various WA lenses designed more for a 28mm compact.
On my Canon G7X II housing I usually used Fantasea's F Series pop on "Air Lens" giving me "only" 24mm but have shot everything from harks to manta rays and nice WA scenics with it. If I do opt to house a Canon G7X III instead to show customers I'll likely just keep that. Cheap and seems sharp enough for my needs.
Simplicity and ease of travel for me is key after decades of hauling large system around the world. I believe compact shooters are a much larger population of active divers as they get older too.
Stay well and keep keep sharing your insights especially for lower cost solutions
David Haas
Haas Photography Inc.
davidhaas4596@gmail.com
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Canon G7X Mark III or Sony RX100 Mark VII?
PhilMed replied to WetPup's topic in Photography Gear and Technique
Yeah, thought so. It's those kind of added issues that cause me to recommend the G9X MkII in a Fantasea or the RX100VA in the Nauticam or Fantasea as simpler solutions for compact stills and video primarily for underwater. What's funny is that Fantasea opted to basically keep the old RX100V housing with it's shorter round port and market it for the RX100VI and VII limiting the zoom travel of the lens but for the G7X's they've kept the shape that they had for the G16 housing with the rectangular port which causes that vignetting with wide angles rather than go with a port like on the RX100's that would just limit the zoom slightly but get rid of the vignetting. I gather it's a matter of saving costs on moldings. -
Canon G7X Mark III or Sony RX100 Mark VII?
PhilMed replied to WetPup's topic in Photography Gear and Technique
I tried the G7X MkII in a Fantasea housing last year with a couple of different wide angle wet lenses and you lose quite a lot of angle of view once you've zoomed in to remove the vignetting with the standard design lenses like the Fantasea UWL-400F. Of course you could use the INON UWL-S100 ZM80 which is made for this type of super zoom camera but it is a bit more fiddly to setup and more expensive than a lot of wide angle wet lenses. With regard to needing a special adaptor for macro lenses that's with the standard Nauticam port for the RX100VII isn't it where you need to use the special rectangular flip adaptor? Fantasea housings have had 67mm threads on their ports for macro lenses since the G7X MkII and the Nauticam standard port for the G7X's are threaded as well. -
Canon G7X Mark III or Sony RX100 Mark VII?
PhilMed replied to WetPup's topic in Photography Gear and Technique
@adamhanlon I think I was mixing up my memory of the Canon G9Xs with RX100's when I said that there wasn't a dial for each of shutter speed and aperture. But I'll stand by my statement regarding the menus and the Sony help guide especially for someone who is already used to the Canon. Recently used an A6500 and finding what menu different setting options were in was a nightmare. No logic at all, with movie settings buried away at the bottom of an untitled menu with other options that had nothing to do with movies. I haven't tried the RX100VI or VII yet underwater and as Fantasea (who are usually the people who lend me kit to play with) have opted to just go with a fixed short port for their housing I probably won't get to try out using the zoom at 200mm equivalent, unless I get someone on a workshop with one in a Nauticam. As an all round compact camera for someone looking to travel with just one camera and take pictures and especially video on land and underwater it's what I would recommend. But for someone just looking for the best value for money compact to take stills I'd stick with one of the G9X's in a Fantasea. @Interceptor121As Adam has already said despite what Bluewater suggest in their 'review' the G7X MkIII still needs a changeable port system to get the best from a wide angle wet lens. With the camera lens at its widest you'll get quite a lot of vignetting with a standard port that allows full travel of the lens like on the Fantasea housing. This is why Nauticam make a housing for it like their RX100VII housing that has an optional short port for wide angle. -
Canon G7X Mark III or Sony RX100 Mark VII?
PhilMed replied to WetPup's topic in Photography Gear and Technique
Having used the previous G7X MkII and various Sony cameras as well as the G9X MkI and MkII, the Canon S95 and the Olympus TG5 to name a few. I'd recommend the Canon over the Sony for a number of reasons. Firstly the controls are much more user friendly with the ability to control aperture and shutter speed via separate dials and the camera being less menu driven than the Sony. Also the menus are much more intuitive in my opinion especially if you are coming from having used a Canon previously. The lack of intuitiveness in the controls isn't helped by the appalling Sony online help guide. You'll also pay some what less for the camera. Interestingly despite the review shared by a previous poster from Bluewaterphoto store saying otherwise, you will get better wide angle results using the specific short port for the Nauticam G7X MkIII housing and a wide angle wet lens. With the longer port that accomodates the full lens travel you'll get vignetting when shooting with a wide angle wet lens. If you were looking for a cheaper option specifically for underwater that will give similar stills results I'd suggest thinking about the older G9X or G9X MkII in a Fantasea housing as this has a shorter lens that allows you to get the best from wide angle and macro lenses without changing ports. Controls aren't as nice as the G7X's lacking the extra dial, so you have to change between what the lens dial controls by a button press but still a good option, if you don't need 4K video.