Photography with Sony A7RII

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Photographing underwater is great and adds a lot of enjoyment to my diving, although not every dive is a photo dive. I've been doing it for many years, starting out in college in the late 80s. I'll put my smugmug link below.
As everyone is saying here, take your time becoming a diver, like you're planning on doing. Once you're very comfortable underwater and squared away, then start off safe and slow with minor little photo shoots. Even just doing a short, shallow dive carrying your gear and maybe not even shooting anything. Practicing in a pool, etc. I've done cave photography for years and always put safety and watching your air above all else. People are obviously worth more than any photo gear or shot. I also use the underwater insurance offered through the company affiliated with DAN.
Have fun, be creative and get great shots that will help non divers understand how important our underwater world is. After becoming a competent, safe diver.

Gene
www.pagephotography.smugmug.com
 
Photographing underwater is great and adds a lot of enjoyment to my diving, although not every dive is a photo dive. I've been doing it for many years, starting out in college in the late 80s. I'll put my smugmug link below.
As everyone is saying here, take your time becoming a diver, like you're planning on doing. Once you're very comfortable underwater and squared away, then start off safe and slow with minor little photo shoots. Even just doing a short, shallow dive carrying your gear and maybe not even shooting anything. Practicing in a pool, etc. I've done cave photography for years and always put safety and watching your air above all else. People are obviously worth more than any photo gear or shot. I also use the underwater insurance offered through the company affiliated with DAN.
Have fun, be creative and get great shots that will help non divers understand how important our underwater world is. After becoming a competent, safe diver.

Gene
www.pagephotography.smugmug.com
Your pictures are awesome!! Wish I could take shots like that.
Definitely will wait. Thanks :)
 
Look at it this way, you have your A7RII body, right? Now, to get it underwater...

A housing, you can probably get used for $1000~1500. The body is fairly old, so there's plenty of used stock on the market, and the housings depreciate quickly. However, adding a Nauticam 45-degree viewfinder will be another $1300 or so, a dome kit for Sony 16-35mm will run about $3000, and a macro port will be another $500 or so. Then of course you'll need lenses themselves - $1350 for 16-35 f/4, $1100 for 90mm macro. If you want a fisheye, a Canon 8-15mm is $1250, with another $400 for a Metabones adapter, and about $2000 for the port, rings and gears. Maybe $500 for arms and clamps, and then you need strobes - a Retra Pro X with accessories (supercharger, reflector, diffusers) will run about $2k, so figure another four thousand.

By my count, we're at a cool twenty thousand dollars, all for submerging a camera that is, by now, approaching seven years since its release date. Not a really good bargain. Granted, all of it except the housing can be reused with a new body (A7R IV, A1, whatever), but still - if you're getting paid to do this, ask yourself if you're getting paid enough to justify the investment.
 
... possibly getting into UW photography a while after OW certification and that's the camera I have.

Go for it! Probably safest, and least destructive, if you start in benign conditions. When I first acquired my Nikonos V (mid-1990's, I think), I would take photos of scuba students during their pool sessions. Then I ventured out in shallow freshwater lakes, taking photos of rocks and tree stumps and detritus and scuba students training. Godawful photos, but I had so much fun!

ETA: Keep in mind, you can take U/W photos while you're snorkeling, too.

rx7diver
 
Look at it this way, you have your A7RII body, right? Now, to get it underwater...

A housing, you can probably get used for $1000~1500. The body is fairly old, so there's plenty of used stock on the market, and the housings depreciate quickly. However, adding a Nauticam 45-degree viewfinder will be another $1300 or so, a dome kit for Sony 16-35mm will run about $3000, and a macro port will be another $500 or so. Then of course you'll need lenses themselves - $1350 for 16-35 f/4, $1100 for 90mm macro. If you want a fisheye, a Canon 8-15mm is $1250, with another $400 for a Metabones adapter, and about $2000 for the port, rings and gears. Maybe $500 for arms and clamps, and then you need strobes - a Retra Pro X with accessories (supercharger, reflector, diffusers) will run about $2k, so figure another four thousand.

By my count, we're at a cool twenty thousand dollars, all for submerging a camera that is, by now, approaching seven years since its release date. Not a really good bargain. Granted, all of it except the housing can be reused with a new body (A7R IV, A1, whatever), but still - if you're getting paid to do this, ask yourself if you're getting paid enough to justify the investment.
I think this is important for the OP to see. It’s important to understand just how expensive going down this path would be. You can take really good pictures with a TG6 or an iphone housing. For a beginner, it’s certainly the smart way to start.
 
Check out the reviews on Backscatter or Blue Water Divers. They are a great resource.

I agree with all the other comments on getting some experience under your "weight belt" before going down with a $6,000 to $10,000 rig. Buoyancy, air consumption and overall comfort under water are very under rated skill sets when taking picts. Having said that. You can get some great picts with the Sony.
 
You've been given good advices here. It should be wise to follow them unless you do not have issues in spending thousands of $ or risking your own safety (UW photography is a distraction that could deviate you from safe actions and reactions underwater). It seems you are a professional photagrapher but "amateur" as a diver.
Most underwater photographers that I know were trained divers before becoming photographers. However, IMHO, photographers that became divers have generally better results artistically speaking. (not talking about myself, not a super trained diver nor a good photographer,.... but love diving and photography). So I encourage you to do UW Photography, but do it step by step. Dive a few dozens times before carrying a rig underwater. Feel comfortable with your scuba gear. Then start with a small camera, a TG-6 or eventually a compact camera.
If you are later still interested in this Hobby/art, spend a few thousand $$$ to go full frame.

I could add one opinion. If you go underwater without enough dive training and 20 pounds of photo gear it could be so cumbersome that you would neither enjoy the dive nor photographing, and worse, make you give up trying.

It took me about 20 dives before carrying an action camera underwater. I had about 80 dives (a few months later) when I bought a Compact camera (Canon G7X, which I flooded and lost it less than 2 year). Then I bought a crop sensor mirrorless (Sony A6300) which I stills owns and use. And finally I bought a TG-6 for ocassions where I prefer to dive lighter or do mostly macro shots.

regards
 
You've been given good advices here. It should be wise to follow them unless you do not have issues in spending thousands of $ or risking your own safety (UW photography is a distraction that could deviate you from safe actions and reactions underwater). It seems you are a professional photagrapher but "amateur" as a diver.
Most underwater photographers that I know were trained divers before becoming photographers. However, IMHO, photographers that became divers have generally better results artistically speaking. (not talking about myself, not a super trained diver nor a good photographer,.... but love diving and photography). So I encourage you to do UW Photography, but do it step by step. Dive a few dozens times before carrying a rig underwater. Feel comfortable with your scuba gear. Then start with a small camera, a TG-6 or eventually a compact camera.
If you are later still interested in this Hobby/art, spend a few thousand $$$ to go full frame.

I could add one opinion. If you go underwater without enough dive training and 20 pounds of photo gear it could be so cumbersome that you would neither enjoy the dive nor photographing, and worse, make you give up trying.

It took me about 20 dives before carrying an action camera underwater. I had about 80 dives (a few months later) when I bought a Compact camera (Canon G7X, which I flooded and lost it less than 2 year). Then I bought a crop sensor mirrorless (Sony A6300) which I stills owns and use. And finally I bought a TG-6 for ocassions where I prefer to dive lighter or do mostly macro shots.

regards
Luckily I already have a full frame mirrorless that I can buy a housing for as well as a lens. So I don’t have to put more money in for a new camera although housings are super expensive too.
Yeah my idea was never to get certified then within 2 dives go take pictures. Lol. I just wanted some information for later.
 
Luckily I already have a full frame mirrorless that I can buy a housing for as well as a lens. So I don’t have to put more money in for a new camera although housings are super expensive too.
Yeah my idea was never to get certified then within 2 dives go take pictures. Lol. I just wanted some information for later.
LOL, so did you get enough information? Have fun blowing bubbles!!!!
 

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