Which housing and strobe for a Sony RX100M5A?

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Looks good, although the tray is somewhat expensive for what you get. Look around on Aliexpress, there are offers for a double-handle tray with four arm segments and clamps for around the same cost. A coil spring lanyard to clip to your BCD is also quite useful, although since this isn't your first camera, you probably already have one.

-I like the housing, only complaint is that when using a double handle tray the shutter button is too far to reach when holding the rig by the right tray handle - so I'm forced to hold the camera instead of the handle to comfortably access the shutter (might not be an issue for you since you're going with a single handle setup?)

This might be of interest to you: Shutter /trigger for underwater housing suitable for OLYMPUS TG 5,Sony RX100, canon g16-in Photo Studio Accessories from Consumer Electronics on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group
 
I wanted to chime in since I’ve been using a RX100IV for the last 100 dives.

The IV has slightly better battery time than the V but I still change out my strobe batteries and camera battery about every 2 dives. I have sometimes stretched it to 3 but I have also had the unfortunate luck of running out of batteries when something amazing came by so I try not to do that anymore. :)

I suggest getting strobes that have a manual option and getting one with as high of a guide number (as bright) as possible that is within your budget or that you can afford. The Inon strobe suggested is an option. Otherwise, you may want to upgrade in the future. This is even more so if you are already shooting manual or plan to shoot manual later. You can always shoot with TTL until you get more comfortable with manual. You can always dial down the light but can’t use more if you don’t have it.

I am a bit more partial to Fantasea than Ikelite as I have a few friends with their housings, though it is for the Canon G7X. A consideration might be what wet lenses you will/might get and the thread sizes of the housings/what will fit.

I have the Nauticam housing with vacuum valve on a tray with my strobes. The light system for this is very intuitive and easy to confirm. Green is good! The finger trigger is extremely convenient; I can hold the tray and use my index finger to engage the shutter half or full without moving my hand. As mentioned, it wasn’t cheap but it is solid, well built, and great engineering. There is a flood alarm as well. I would buy it again, but can understand if you only dive a few dives a year that it would be difficult to justify unless you are flush with cash.

You can see some of my RX100IV photos at www.instagram.com/outofofficebrb I just returned from the Red Sea and have yet to post those but please check back. I’ve found that using manual white balance even while shooting with 2 strobes worked better for me than doing AWB.

Happy shopping! If you do remember, please update us on what you decide on. :)
 
I wanted to chime in since I’ve been using a RX100IV for the last 100 dives.

The IV has slightly better battery time than the V but I still change out my strobe batteries and camera battery about every 2 dives. I have sometimes stretched it to 3 but I have also had the unfortunate luck of running out of batteries when something amazing came by so I try not to do that anymore. :)

I suggest getting strobes that have a manual option and getting one with as high of a guide number (as bright) as possible that is within your budget or that you can afford. The Inon strobe suggested is an option. Otherwise, you may want to upgrade in the future. This is even more so if you are already shooting manual or plan to shoot manual later. You can always shoot with TTL until you get more comfortable with manual. You can always dial down the light but can’t use more if you don’t have it.

I am a bit more partial to Fantasea than Ikelite as I have a few friends with their housings, though it is for the Canon G7X. A consideration might be what wet lenses you will/might get and the thread sizes of the housings/what will fit.

I have the Nauticam housing with vacuum valve on a tray with my strobes. The light system for this is very intuitive and easy to confirm. Green is good! The finger trigger is extremely convenient; I can hold the tray and use my index finger to engage the shutter half or full without moving my hand. As mentioned, it wasn’t cheap but it is solid, well built, and great engineering. There is a flood alarm as well. I would buy it again, but can understand if you only dive a few dives a year that it would be difficult to justify unless you are flush with cash.

You can see some of my RX100IV photos at www.instagram.com/outofofficebrb I just returned from the Red Sea and have yet to post those but please check back. I’ve found that using manual white balance even while shooting with 2 strobes worked better for me than doing AWB.

Happy shopping! If you do remember, please update us on what you decide on. :)

Thanks for the advise & very cool pics!
Hopefully not too much of a thread pirating act - if I may:

I am still struggling with making up my mind about the travelability of such a system and how that degrades as the camera gets bigger, better and costlier... and the desire for sensor size. Still teetering between selecting 1" or APSC (don't think I want to afford full frame)

You dive-travel a good amount and probably have seen a lot of camera systems ... and how well they travel...
... Ignoring sensor size, low light capability differences... pureley on packability, weight and size of the whole system ... how much does camera size and with it housing size play into the "can still carry on the whole system (if even possible) vs. definitely another full luggage piece" divide. I mean they all need tray, arms, flashes, so that's there ... how to think of the difference camera size makes to travelability / packability of the system as a whole?

If you had to do your setup over from scratch today, would you do it again based on a Sony RX100? If yes, IV, V or VA ? Why (your reasons) Or might you, if you had to start over anyway go with another camera with larger sensor? If so, why?

Wet lenses and wet filters.
So on a camera with one lens and one lens only, like i.e. your Rx 100,IV, how does that work in practise for you?

Is the red filter wet so you can take it off if you are close enough for the flashes to fully take over ... or is a red filter sort of put of the picture ... or?

Do you use a wet close up lens (diopter)?

Are you using a dome? wet?
If yes, what does it do with the Rx 100IV?
Wider angle? How much? useable for full zoom or part of? Reasons to ever take it off UW and take pics w/o (or with a wet close up lens) ... or is that sort of UW wet lens / filter changing (and storing...) really, as I suspect, entirely unpractical (especially dome) and a land based thought to best get out of my head for UW?
 
Since you are looking at buying from Mozaik, here is my advice. (It's free, so take it with a grain of salt.)

When you go onto the Mozaik website, there is a pop-up chat window and "Eric" will ask if he can help. Tell "Eric" that you are looking at a housing for a Sony RX100V and you have some specific questions. He will tell you to standby and he will get either Ran or Ran's brother Tal. They are the ones who will be able to help you. (Ran is in the Maldives right now, but should be back in a few days.) Ran & Tal own Mozaik and they run it very much like a family business used to be run 20 years ago. They value their customers & they will spend as much time as they need to so that they can ensure that you get a system that is right FOR YOU. They have even called me to help sort out an issue over the phone when chat wasn't efficient.

So, my advice is that you should chat with Ran or Tal, get their input and make your final decision factoring that discussion into what you decide. (Don't let it be the only factor, but take it into consideration.)
 
Yes, I am aware of the battery life issues so I will have to buy spares along with an external charger.
I have the MkI version, and two dives is about what I can get, assuming I'm using the flash, so this problem isn't new. On occasion, if I'm shooting a lot, I may not even make it through the 2nd dive before the low battery waning.
 
Can anyone with the Fantasea housing please confirm how many screws it uses to attach to the tray? Thanks.
 
Can anyone with the Fantasea housing please confirm how many screws it uses to attach to the tray? Thanks.

there are 3 screw holes available. there are no mounting screws included in the kit. the screw size is same as a standard tripod screw, just pick the length you need.

IMG_20181026_043431.jpg
 
Thanks for the advise & very cool pics!

You dive-travel a good amount and probably have seen a lot of camera systems ... and how well they travel...
... Ignoring sensor size, low light capability differences... pureley on packability, weight and size of the whole system ... how much does camera size and with it housing size play into the "can still carry on the whole system (if even possible) vs. definitely another full luggage piece" divide. I mean they all need tray, arms, flashes, so that's there ... how to think of the difference camera size makes to travelability / packability of the system as a whole?

Are you using a dome? wet?
If yes, what does it do with the Rx 100IV?
Wider angle? How much? useable for full zoom or part of? Reasons to ever take it off UW and take pics w/o (or with a wet close up lens) ... or is that sort of UW wet lens / filter changing (and storing...) really, as I suspect, entirely unpractical (especially dome) and a land based thought to best get out of my head for UW?

Packing/Travel: In my case these are the items that needs to go in my hand carry bag. The arms, clamps and tray when disassembled, can easily be inserted in the check-in luggage with minimal space requirement.

RX100 sm.jpg


Wet Lenses:
Wide: I'm using an INON H100 with dome unit I have from a previous set-up. It's not designed for lenses that go up to 24mm so on an RX100v you can see a significant portion of the lens at 24mm - you will have to zoom in to 28mm. I think there are wide angle options that are designed to work at 24mm like the pricey Kraken KRL-01

Macro: I'm using a Subsee +10, Inon UCL-165 and an el cheapo macro diopter connected by F.I.T. magnetic adapters. They work okay, the magnetic adapters allow me to remove and restack any combination of them depending on the magnification i need. The one thing I don't like is the focusing distance you have to work with. It gets too close to the subject when you have the diopters stacked, and even then the magnification is sometimes not enough (I did know this when I chose the RX100v over the G7x II). The RX100v does allow me to crop a lot and still keep a decent amount of detail
 
Thanks for the advise & very cool pics!
Hopefully not too much of a thread pirating act - if I may:

I am still struggling with making up my mind about the travelability of such a system and how that degrades as the camera gets bigger, better and costlier... and the desire for sensor size. Still teetering between selecting 1" or APSC (don't think I want to afford full frame)

You dive-travel a good amount and probably have seen a lot of camera systems ... and how well they travel...
... Ignoring sensor size, low light capability differences... pureley on packability, weight and size of the whole system ... how much does camera size and with it housing size play into the "can still carry on the whole system (if even possible) vs. definitely another full luggage piece" divide. I mean they all need tray, arms, flashes, so that's there ... how to think of the difference camera size makes to travelability / packability of the system as a whole?

If you had to do your setup over from scratch today, would you do it again based on a Sony RX100? If yes, IV, V or VA ? Why (your reasons) Or might you, if you had to start over anyway go with another camera with larger sensor? If so, why?

Wet lenses and wet filters.
So on a camera with one lens and one lens only, like i.e. your Rx 100,IV, how does that work in practise for you?

Is the red filter wet so you can take it off if you are close enough for the flashes to fully take over ... or is a red filter sort of put of the picture ... or?

Do you use a wet close up lens (diopter)?

Are you using a dome? wet?
If yes, what does it do with the Rx 100IV?
Wider angle? How much? useable for full zoom or part of? Reasons to ever take it off UW and take pics w/o (or with a wet close up lens) ... or is that sort of UW wet lens / filter changing (and storing...) really, as I suspect, entirely unpractical (especially dome) and a land based thought to best get out of my head for UW?

Hello!

I travel with a Think Tank International 3.0 rolling carry on. I travel to a lot of places that have limits for carry on, more often than not it is 7 kg or about 15.5 lbs. With my current set up and all the accessories (batteries, chargers, tools, lube, o-rings, arms, clamps, video lights and on and on), I'm at 18kgs or 39 pounds, not to mention my backpack or tote bag I also have separately for my personal items....lol. I've never had problems carrying it on. I've been asked to weigh it and I warn them it is very heavy, open it to show them what it is, and they always let me through. I think it helps to have everything in a photo specific bag - it looks serious and more fragile that way.

Know that the bag itself is probably a solid 4 to 4.5kg or 10 pounds. My limit is if I can carry it on and keep it in 1 bag. I am not comfortable checking the bag though I have friends that do such as housing and lights, etc., in a Pelican or Pelican Air case. It does get extra attention at some airports, partially because of the case it is in and is often subject to extra inspection. By and large, the place where you will notice a sizeable difference in how much space it will take is the housing. As you get a larger camera, you will be surprised how large the housing gets. Arms, clamps, strobes, etc., those are somewhat fixed.

If I were to do it again, I would still purchase the RX100 and I would still get the IV. I do like the better battery life of the IV vs the V, especially when underwater and you're SOL when the battery goes. I do like the idea of the faster focusing in theory, but have not found the IV's focusing speed to be a hindrance under water. I think it is an excellent balance between quality of photos and size as well as price. Not to mention, housings get more expensive as you go into a larger camera and when you throw interchangeable lenses into the mix, the domes and ports that you need.

As for the lenses....I have a UWL-H100 with a dome port and also have a Nauticam CMC on a flip. I know people that have lens mounts so they will actually change lenses in the middle of the dive but I am way too clumsy for that and can't be bothered. The idea of dropping something and either breaking it or losing it freaks me out. There haven't been many instances where I wanted to shoot wide and macro on the same dive anyway. You do have the option of changing mid-dive and with DSLRs or those with interchangeable lenses or non-wet lenses, you don't have that flexibility. As mentioned by another poster, there is vignetting at the wide end so I do have to zoom in a little to get rid of it, but there have been some instances where I kind of liked the vignetting from an artistic point of view. I always shoot with either the wide or the macro and not usually without any wet lens. The exception is if I am on a macro dive and I see an octopus or a cuttlefish - obviously, the CMC is too much for that so I flip it out of the way (don't need to unscrew!), take the shot, then flip the macro lens back on.

I find that the wide angle lens makes a huge difference. It allows you to get super close to the subject, especially a wide angle scene, and minimize the distance and backscatter while also being able to capture the entire scene without cutting anything off as you would without a wide angle lens. That also allows you to maximize the reach of the strobes/lighting since color falls off sooner than you realize.


I don't use a red filter or any filter when I shoot. I have 2 strobes which for the most part allows you to get away with auto white balance. When I do wide angle shots, I tend to still do manual white balance as I find the results much better.

Hopefully, that helps!
 
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