kc_moses 142 Posted April 3, 2014 I've seen a lot of OMD EM users here, any reason not consider the Sony m43? What make Olympus so good? I know their NEX6 has slow focus, but the soon to be release Alpha A6000 seems promising, provided there will be housing for it. Thought? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stewart L. Sy 12 Posted April 3, 2014 Sony is APS-C, not m43. I have the NEX-6 as my walkabout camera with the Sony 18-105 and just love it. If the A6000 is housed, I'll be getting one. I can easily get a Metabones EF adapter to use my Canon lenses. S. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil Rudin 454 Posted April 3, 2014 From day one the problem with the Sony NEX system was a lack of quality lenses in the E-mount suited to underwater photography. The Zeiss 12mm, 50mm macro and Sony 10-18mm zoom has helped with these issues but Olympus/Panasonic still have a far wider range of quality lenses for U/W use. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kc_moses 142 Posted April 3, 2014 My bad, I mean Sony's M43 form factor eventhough they're ASP-C sensor. As for the lens, how many different kind of lens is needed for U/W use? The Zeiss 12mm would be enough to cover WA, while the 50mm Macro would be enough to cover Macro. When come to think of if, most Canon users get by using the Tokina 11-17mm for WA, and 60mm or 100mm for macro. So I don't really understand the lack of lens choices issue. If the issue is "lack of affordable lens choices", yeah that I can understand because I'm not sure if I could put $2000 for the Zeiss 12mm and the extender that goes with it. I'm considering moving away from point and shoot, so far the A6000 catch my attention for its price, and the GH4 is almost "future proof" for the next 5 years for its 4K video feature. GH4 doesn't have any Metabone adapter for me to use my Canon lens (I'm a formal Canon 7D user), so that bother me a bit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil Rudin 454 Posted April 3, 2014 I got ride of my NEX-7 system well over two years ago, the Zeiss 50 macro is still a pre-order lens and several NEX users are just now using the Zeiss 12mm both excellent lenses I am sure. Workarounds for macro plus adapter are now in the market and most are manual focus. Add a lens like Tokina 10-17 and you now need manual zoom and focus. Just downsides compared to native lenses that are designed smaller than 35mm lenses, use smaller ports and have excellent auto-focus. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jmauricio 24 Posted April 3, 2014 Horses for course, right? As the recipient of Phil's NEX7 I can say i never looked back. Between the zeiss 12mm, Sony 10-18mm, Zeiss 50mm and a 90mm macro rumored to arrive by YE, I think the NEX system looks to be slowly maturing. About right considering it is 18-2yrs behind m4/3 in terms of release. Would be nice to have a fisheye zoom but that is about it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kc_moses 142 Posted April 4, 2014 Just found out the Zeiss Touit 12mm lens doesn't have Image Stabilization, for a $1000 lens, that's disappointing isn't it? May be the A6000 is a good top side camera to replace my Canon 7D, for underwater, I probably should stick with my point and shoot and keep an eye on GH4. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jmauricio 24 Posted April 4, 2014 Don't see OSS being so useful underwater. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kc_moses 142 Posted April 4, 2014 Image Stabilization is important for my application, as I shoot video besides taking photos. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil Rudin 454 Posted April 4, 2014 (edited) You may all be interested to know that Nauticam has just announced the new housing for the Sony A-5000, you may need to wait for it a bit as it is not yet posted on the Nauticamusa site. Now on the front page of Wetpixel. Edited April 4, 2014 by Phil Rudin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kc_moses 142 Posted April 5, 2014 Yes! Just finish reading that, the exciting part is the Nauticam support the use of Metabone adapter so people can use the Canon EF-S 60mm macro lens! I'm sure it's just a matter of time they will make the housing for the A6000. However, I'm really torn with the GH4 vs A6000 now! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kc_moses 142 Posted April 5, 2014 Well, looks like it's time to put the A6000 thought on hold: http://www.eoshd.com/content/12461/sony-a7s-4k-full-frame-mirrorless-camera-announced-sunday-nab If it's true, combine with the Zeiss lens then it should be an ultimate combo for U/W usage in the next 5 years or so until 4K get replace, am I overly optimistic? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stuart Keasley 42 Posted April 5, 2014 Re e-mount lenses, we're using the Sony Zeiss 16-70 in our FS700. It's a great little lens, min focus is at 35cm throughout the focal length, autofocus is pretty quick and tracks nicely, wonderfully sharp across the whole frame and no distortion. My only complaints, it could do with being a tad wider and a tad faster, but as an all round lens, from wide up to macro, it does pretty well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil Rudin 454 Posted April 5, 2014 Looks like Sony will also enter the 4K market tomorrow with the announcement of the "full frame" Sony 4K A7s rumored to be a 12MP high speed camera. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kc_moses 142 Posted April 5, 2014 Yes, looks like Nauticam is going to be busy, from potentially making housing for the A6000, to the 4K capable A7S. Good thing I don't have a big trip coming up until March 2015, so I will have time to wait and blow money during Xmas this year! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stuart Keasley 42 Posted April 5, 2014 It'll be an interesting option if the rumours are true, I'll wait till an official release before I get too excited though Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kc_moses 142 Posted April 5, 2014 Yup, waiting is the only game for now, many people already jumped on the GH4. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JustinBeevor 8 Posted April 7, 2014 I just got an update from Dale Photographic in Leeds on the 50mm macro: "These lenses are due in the next 6-8 weeks. We don¹t have a delivery date from Zeiss yet." More delay over a lens that was originally scheduled for Jan and then slipped to March! Dale have it listed for pre-order at £790. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oosantoo 1 Posted April 23, 2014 Is the slow flash sync speed a problem with sony cameras underwater? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jmauricio 24 Posted April 23, 2014 it can be considering your shooting style, particularly around getting dark backgrounds. i.e. black background for macros shallow or mid day or darker blues for wide angle. I've shot sharks and schools at 1/160 no problem but could be for faster action (i.e. dolphins, sailfish, etc). That said, I haven't seen much strobe use for those animals as has the preference has been for mobility underwater. others can weigh in. its definitely a negative but not a deal breaker. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark K 5 Posted May 9, 2014 I have been using Nex5r in a 10Bar housing for one year. Well, this housing does not support 10-18 OSS F4 or I need very tricky way to attach the lens. Obviously Nauticam builds much better housing. I also has an A7r but the AF speed is too slow. It is very logical to wait for the newer macro Zeiss lens and for the housing... Current A7 housing from Nauticam does support A7s Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marsh 9 Posted May 14, 2014 I'm sure the A6000 housing will be quite popular, as the camera is an affordable 24MP high IQ body. The Zeiss 12mm WA has been declared the sharpest and highest IQ WA for UW work. I'm sure the Z50 will be right up there in IQ, maybe a bit short in length, but at least a 1:1 macro. I've suggested to Zeiss to make a sharp 1.4 E-mount TC, but I doubt that will ever happen, even though the engineer thought it was a great idea, as they do make TC's for other platforms. Too bad Nauticam decided not to support the Z16-70 zoom that Stuart uses in his FS700. I played around with it when it first came out and wanted to use it as a versatile single dive lens to replace the 18-55 kit. It would fit into a Port 72 with a 30mm mini extension, but because it's not an internal focus lens, the port design just wouldn't cover it's AOV range. Nauticam would have had to build a fairly huge and wide custom port to do what Port 72 does for the S18-55. I finally accepted it just wasn't going to happen. Now that the NEX system is maturing for UW use, perhaps someday Nauticam willl build a semi-dome port with a swing diopter mount to work with this lens, but I doubt it. The NEX 7 housing is fantastic with it's Tri-Nav controls. It's been a long wait, but lens are finally starting to appear for us loyal NEX users. I'm hoping to use the Z50 macro in my Port 72 with some modifications because I still love the 18-55 single dive versatility, just not it's IQ, even though it's not terrible and I've gotten by with it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ryan 48 Posted May 14, 2014 (edited) Support for SEL1670Z Vario Tessar T E 16-70mm f/4 ZA OSS is available. Edited May 14, 2014 by Ryan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ryan 48 Posted May 14, 2014 The latest update I have from Zeiss here is that 50mm should start shipping next week, but in limited quantities. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marsh 9 Posted May 15, 2014 Ryan, Hey, it pays to read these forums. Wow, a port for the Z16-70. Way to go Nauticam. I'll check it out :-) Thanks for the update! Marsh Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
