A6500 + Case + Strobe - What to upgrade

[Pyndle]

SEL90M28G. I looked for a less expensive alternative that would fit the same port, but couldn't find anything.

Do you have an online portfolio where we could see your shots by any chance?

 

[Barmaglot]

Maybe in a few years, when I have some material good enough to merit one

 

[Pyndle]

Hey guys!

A little bit of feedback after 2 weeks of diving in the red sea. Might be useful for people considering getting the same kind of kit I got. Also have a few questions if anyone has the answers to them Randomly:

- A6500's focus is much faster than the A6000, I don't have these frustrating moments where it was struggling to focus.
- However my focus (set on continus focus / auto / center area) doesn't track moving targets, I'm not sure why? I thought this was supposed to be moving with the subject and adjusting ?
- Two strobes is a lot of work to get used to. Have to constantly adjust them depending on what you shoot, I definitely missed a lot of shoots in the first dives because of this. I also had to do it in Manual straight away, for some reason TTL didn't work properly.
- The dome catches glares soo easily !! Many times at shallow depths I found myself in the impossibility to get a shot in a certain direction because I would get a massive glare on it.
- But the dome is also great, I can get really close to big fans and get them properly lit up with the strobes while shooting the whole fan. Would have been impossible without it so definitely happy I bought it!
- This magnet badge for the dome is really useful (even though dreadfully overpriced for what it is). Screwing and unscrewing my dome everytime I saw something small was much more painful than what I thought. Just get it, don't save on this And get somewhere to put your dome too (pants, or lense port, or leache, or whatever works but don't keep it in your hand like me)

Lastly, and most importantly, I got very very very frustrated with the A6500:
- A few times, it just wouldn't take a picture. The button in the case was not stuck and it didn't seem to be doing a focus, it just wouldn't take a picture for 30 seconds or so. It was not doing a long exposure shot too
- One time, I had an error message saying the lense was not properly attached. While it was. Just turned off and on the camera and it resolved it
- One time, during my best dive (Thistlegorm), I had a 2/3 second delay between the click and the actual picture taken. The timer was not activated. It was not showing anything in particular, the camera was just frozen before taking a shot. It lasted for 15 minutes at least, turning on and off the camera didn't change a thing. Until it started working again

I know it's very random and difficult to troubleshoot but if anyone has any idea of where this comes from, that would help me a lot. I was really close to selling everything and giving up u/w photography because of this !

Thanks

 

[Barmaglot]

- However my focus (set on continus focus / auto / center area) doesn't track moving targets, I'm not sure why? I thought this was supposed to be moving with the subject and adjusting ?

AFAIK, subject tracking is only capable of recognizing (and tracking) humans - I saw an article some time ago that some company is working on adding certain animals to its capabilities, but it will certainly be a while before various fish get recognized.

- The dome catches glares soo easily !! Many times at shallow depths I found myself in the impossibility to get a shot in a certain direction because I would get a massive glare on it.

Yeah, it's simple acrylic, no coatings, so it flares easily. High-end wet lenses have coatings that reduce flaring, but they also cost a lot more. If you keep the sun behind you, then it isn't a problem, but of course this is not always possible.

And get somewhere to put your dome too (pants, or lense port, or leache, or whatever works but don't keep it in your hand like me

Careful with stuffing it in a pocket, the acrylic picks up scratches really easily. I drilled a hole in one of the hood petals and attached a lanyard, then just let it float above the camera when I didn't need it.

- A few times, it just wouldn't take a picture. The button in the case was not stuck and it didn't seem to be doing a focus, it just wouldn't take a picture for 30 seconds or so. It was not doing a long exposure shot too
- One time, I had an error message saying the lense was not properly attached. While it was. Just turned off and on the camera and it resolved it
- One time, during my best dive (Thistlegorm), I had a 2/3 second delay between the click and the actual picture taken. The timer was not activated. It was not showing anything in particular, the camera was just frozen before taking a shot. It lasted for 15 minutes at least, turning on and off the camera didn't change a thing. Until it started working again

Sounds like you had it in focus priority mode, and the camera thought that it couldn't lock focus. You can alter this behavior by changing that setting to release priority or balanced emphasis. Lens not properly attached message... maybe the electronic controller inside the lens locked up, and power cycling the camera reset it.

 

[Pyndle]

Thanks for your helpful response Barmaglot! I didn't know what this focus priority thing meant, I guess now I know... I'll try it next time, thanks!

 

[K Kwan]

@Pyndle do you mind sharing how you connect your A6500 to the strobes from the Seafrogs housing? Is it by fiber optic cable or is there another option like a flash trigger or electronic sync cable?

 

[Barmaglot]

@Pyndle do you mind sharing how you connect your A6500 to the strobes from the Seafrogs housing? Is it by fiber optic cable or is there another option like a flash trigger or electronic sync cable?

I'm not Pyndle, but I shoot an A6300 in a SeaFrogs housing and I use a UW-Technics converter + fiber optic cables. TRT Turtle trigger should fit as well. There is really no point in trying to jury rig an electric sync bulkhead.