Question Need advice on UW Kit Purchase

[adiRHIT]

Hi Guys,
I am new to underwater photography. Am looking to invest in a kit but quite confused on which way to go. My thoughts / concerns are as follows and have also attached a simple table to highlight what I have been looking at / thinking. Any advice will be appreciated.
I have been an avid photographer and have been shooting on full frame since the Nikon D4 (14-15 years).
I primarily earn money from Maternity / Boudoir / Family portraits but love to photograph wildlife in my spare time (a lot of Safari's).
My current primary camera is the Sony a7RV and my backup body is my older Sony a7RIII
As you will see in the table, I have considered the following options:
1. Using my a7RV or can even consider using the a7RIII
2. Investing in an a7CR (full frame but more compact body)
3. Investing in a a6700 (similar autofocus capability to the a7RV, compact body and possibly replacing my a7RIII which I use only on Safari's as a secondary body with the 1.4 teleconverter on a 70-200 f2.8 lens --> I figure just not use the teleconverter and use the 70-200 lens with the APS-C sensor will give me effectively the same focal range for my secondary body when the animal's are too close to use with my a7RV and a 400 or 600 mm Sony lenses)
4. Investing in the OM E-M10 IV camera and backscatter Octa kit... but this would become a one trick pony since I would never use the camera or lenses outside of underwater photography (I plan to do 2 week long dive trips each year)

I have around 30 dives under my belt and am not sure how much larger the Ikelite 200 DL or Isotta housing is compared to the smaller 200 DLM/A or 200 DLM/E housings.
1. I understand that the kit will be ideally neutrally buoyant underwater but there is still drag and bulk of the kit to dive with
2. I am not sure how much of a difference in overall size / drag / bulk the larger housing will make once all the arms, floats and lights are kitted together in the grand scheme of things
3. The dive school where I did my certification gave me a OM TG5 system for my certification dives... whilst I love the small form factor and built in macro capability, the laggy system, lack of full controls and the camera constantly going to sleep and when I tried to half press the shutter to wake it up - it would start recording some random video or take a random photo which would result in me having to wait for that lag to end before I could actually use it was quite frustrating! I dont know how much of this is rectified on the TG7

For lighting, I was considering 2 of the Backscatter Hybrid flashes since as a novice underwater photographer, it is quite confusing when people ask me if I plan to only take still images or video. Like most photographers I would like the option to do both in an ideal world! I only wish they had a snoot for this flash for me to be able to expand into macro over time.

I am veering towards either getting the a6700 kit (which lens out of the two would you suggest) or the housing for the a7rV (would you suggest the Ikelite or the Isotta). If I could only find a good housing for the a7RIII used I could totally consider that as an option.

Thanks!

Adi

 

[hilljo88]

So to start from the top: stick with the SONY system as you will want to shoot during surface intervals with one of your SONY bodies and a compatible lens. Next, the size and weight of your total gear configuration (housing, port, strobes, etc.) varies very little between point and shoot and full frame ILCE. I shoot SONY A1 for wildlife, but still use my A7R3 underwater. The A7R3 sensor resolution and processing speed is more than fine for underwater. The A1 frame rate and focusing engine are overkill for what I need underwater. The housing you choose will be specific to the camera body and can cost as much as the camera itself, so you will be using that system for at least several years. SONY makes a great 90 mm macro lens, but the choice of wide angle lenses is more varied. The 16-35 f4 is fine. Some pros use the 28-60 kit lens. You can adapt some very sharp Canon lenses as well. Note that you don't need to pay up for a F2.8 lens as you will most often stop down significantly to increase your DOF. Lighting is very important. You want two strobes and a focus light. Lots of choices there

 

[adiRHIT]

So to start from the top: stick with the SONY system as you will want to shoot during surface intervals with one of your SONY bodies and a compatible lens. Next, the size and weight of your total gear configuration (housing, port, strobes, etc.) varies very little between point and shoot and full frame ILCE. I shoot SONY A1 for wildlife, but still use my A7R3 underwater. The A7R3 sensor resolution and processing speed is more than fine for underwater. The A1 frame rate and focusing engine are overkill for what I need underwater. The housing you choose will be specific to the camera body and can cost as much as the camera itself, so you will be using that system for at least several years. SONY makes a great 90 mm macro lens, but the choice of wide angle lenses is more varied. The 16-35 f4 is fine. Some pros use the 28-60 kit lens. You can adapt some very sharp Canon lenses as well. Note that you don't need to pay up for a F2.8 lens as you will most often stop down significantly to increase your DOF. Lighting is very important. You want two strobes and a focus light. Lots of choices there

Thank you for the quick feedback.
I was talking to some photographers and they were strongly recommending the Nauticam with the 20-70 f4 or the 28-70 f3.5-5.6 (which is the kit lens you might be referring to).
They suggest Nauticam for longevity and specially so for the WACP1 dome port which they insist is worth its weight in gold. They claim in reduces the minimum focussing distance drastically and gives them a very wide field of view at the 24mm end of the focal range. Would this be accurate?
Is it possible to use this lens with Ikelite or with Isotta housings?
Update:
I had a great call with the team at Backscatter. They recommended I should get an Isotta or Nauticam housing for the A7RV and pair that with a WWL-1B lens port and use the 28-60 lens to round off the system. Everything seems to make sense... now to figure which strobes to look at... any recommendations? I was hoping to use some portable strobes which power off eneloops because getting replacements of many of these proprietary batteries is quite difficult where I stay.

 

[grantmac]

With just 30 dives I'd be leaving the camera at home until you have at least 100, 200-300 would be better.

 

[adiRHIT]

With just 30 dives I'd be leaving the camera at home until you have at least 100, 200-300 would be better.

I surely will not attempt to take any gear into a drift dive… but a lot of my diving is in the Maldives and Lakshadweep which tend to be far calmer waters. But I do see the logic in what you say …

 

[hilljo88]

There are other good housings but Nauticam is one of the best and you pay a premium for that quality. Check out the YouTube videos by Alex Mustard who uses Nauticam housings and wet lenses. My dive buddy uses Ikelite housings which are much less expensive. For strobes he uses Inon and I use Sea and Sea.

“Grantmac”s caution is well taken. It takes diving experience to learn proper buoyancy, fish behavior, reef-safe practices and all the nuances of you specific gear configuration. In your favor is that you are already an experienced surface photographer.

 

[Nemrod]

You really need to do a lot more diving first and maybe buy a TG plus strobes. Cycle the strobes forward to your next camera. Meanwhile save you money towards your dream camera.

I have a Sony Alpha and my next camera will not be a Sony. I would currently recommend the Nauticam with a Canon G7XIII/Nikon Z 50 II/OMS OM1-Mark II/Canon R50.

I might would still do a Sony in FF but FF is just too bulky and too many $ for me. And as well for a newbie diver and any camera might be too much distraction.

 

[adiRHIT]

You really need to do a lot more diving first and maybe buy a TG plus strobes. Cycle the strobes forward to your next camera. Meanwhile save you money towards your dream camera.

I have a Sony Alpha and my next camera will not be a Sony. I would currently recommend the Nauticam with a Canon G7XIII/Nikon Z 50 II/OMS OM1-Mark II/Canon R50.

I might would still do a Sony in FF but FF is just too bulky and too many $ for me. And as well for a newbie diver and any camera might be too much distraction.

I was very inclined to get the TG system. Just that coming from full frame I found it extremely laggy. But that was my original thought process... so there is merit in it... plus my kid is also diving with me... so he can always continue to use the TG as we go along.
For strobes I was considering the Backscatter Hybrid flashes because the reviews seems positive and it gives me some video light capability. Yes I know they are not as powerful as many of the other dedicated video lights... but I shoot primarily stills. Any thoughts or hands on experience with these strobes?

 

[grantmac]

If your kid is diving with you while you are photographing I'd highly suggest only doing guided dives. Even experienced photographers turn into miserable teammates.

 

[davehicks]

Update:
I had a great call with the team at Backscatter. They recommended I should get an Isotta or Nauticam housing for the A7RV and pair that with a WWL-1B lens port and use the 28-60 lens to round off the system. Everything seems to make sense... now to figure which strobes to look at... any recommendations? I was hoping to use some portable strobes which power off eneloops because getting replacements of many of these proprietary batteries is quite difficult where I stay.

This is good advice, combined with the Backscatter HF-1 strobes. The WWL-1 is a fantastic setup. Later your add a dedicated macro port and lens.

Note that you are jumping into the deep end with regards to cost and learning curve. Take it slow and seek input from other photographers to get your started. Visit WaterPixels if you are not a member yet for more specialized forums on UW photography.