Photography with the Sony A7R5 camera

[Franek]

I have such a set of housings for the camera and objects, what to buy to make it work well and be better for calm diving.

1. Nauticam Float Arm 70x200mm
2. Nauticam Zoom Gear SEL1635GM FE 16-35MM F2.8 GM 37155
3. Nauticam adapter 37305 n100 to n120
4. Nauticam N120 extension ring 60 II 22160
5. Nauticam Port 180mm 18809
6. Nauticam housing NA-A7IV
7. Nauticam Vacuum Valve M14 25624

What about this MOD

I would like to add that when diving we always have a private guide and my wife and I decide about the diving speed, we do not disturb anyone and no one has to wait for us, this is important during diving. Each of our instructor/guides brought something different to the dive.

Our biggest problem is the foreign language, we only speak Polish, it's a problem on LiveaBoard. Sometimes the machine translates idiocy

Our dive time is +/- 45-55 minutes

 

[Franek]

I use the Sony 28-60 behind the WWL-1 wet lens. It's versatile with good image quality.

For learning video have a look at the Youtube channel "Behind the Mask". Link is to a tutorial playlist, but they also have lots of stunning short films for inspiration.

For photography consider "Wetpixel" on Youtube as well as their Website.

What do I need to buy in housings for the 28-60 mm lens

maybe I should buy another lens for my kit that I have

I understand that a new o-ring will be needed

I will complain to my wife that the gift is not ok and she needs to buy something, I hope she won't drown me

 

[1fspeed]

What do I need to buy in housings for the 28-60 mm lens

maybe I should buy another lens for my kit that I have

I understand that a new o-ring will be needed

I will complain to my wife that the gift is not ok and she needs to buy something, I hope she won't drown me

Nauticam’s Port chart will tell you what is needed.

 

[hilljo88]

Alex Mustard’s review: Review: Sony a7r V by Alex Mustard ::

 

[Franek]

Alex Mustard’s review: Review: Sony a7r V by Alex Mustard ::

Thank you very much for the link to the review,

I read it and I'm happy with the gift I got.

I have to make a complaint, the gift is incomplete, lenses and other accessories are missing (just kidding)

I will take my first photos in Thailand and evaluate how the A75R works in my hands

 

[hilljo88]

You mentioned that you are a novice underwater photographer. This thread has been about camera gear but perhaps we should back up a bit and talk about underwater photography in general. Some basics: you need really good diving skills, particularly buoyancy control. You need to be able to hover off the bottom. Don't kneel or stand on the reef to get your shot. Surge can make this a challenge. Get as close to your subject as you can. For most subjects, get as low as you can. Get the eye(s) in focus. Most fish will spin away from you. You can have more success if you can understand where the fish will be heading and when it might turn to face you. You will want to dive much more slowly than you would if you weren't photographing. You'll find many more subjects on close inspection of coral heads. For unguided shore dives, this isn't an issue, but if you are on a guided boat dive, you need to do some planning. You need to have a buddy who is comfortable also going slow, and understand if the DM will be returning on the same route or if you need to pick up the pace to not lose the group. Night dives are particularly good opportunities for photography. Octopi, lobster, crabs are all more active at night, you're usually in shallow, calm water, and your lights are already identifying and isolating subjects.

 

[Franek]

First impressions of handling the A75R
For starters, I have nothing to boast about, in Thailand on Phi Pi and Ko Tao very poor visibility during our presence.
Buoyancy training with the large case went well.
Camera training was virtually non-existent, photos were only taken with auto white balance and auto ISO.
The guides I got as private on Ko Tao were practically poor, I'm not complaining, that's the choice after the season.
I have to practice a lot with using the camera underwater.
I have a problem with lighting because it is not Strobe and before I take a picture I have to turn on the lamps, it seems to me that this is a big mistake when buying.
The expert suggested that the video should be ok, but the photos would be a failure.
To sum up, I need to learn how to set the camera for photos, I will buy a new macro lens.
One important observation, the camera gets very hot and can get stuck while underwater, only reset on the surface is possible.
I have noticed that there is a repetition of how you broadcast photos or peek at the surface during a break during a dive.
I don't preview photos underwater, I'm not a professional.
All observations are my private

 

[scrane]

Good luck.

 

[cetacean]

@Franek
My daughter upgraded to the A7R5 from the A7RIV (and previously she had the A7III) so I am very familiar with this camera, it's capabilities and it's challenges (we just spent 3 weeks diving in Indonesia together, she shot with the camera every day (I shoot w/an older Nikon camera)

A few points to consider (I apologize for this being in English, not your native language)
-The A7RV & Nauticam housing is an excellent combination for use underwater
- My comments will mostly be about using the camera, not setting it up in the housing.
- These are more than just opinions, these are learned facts from using the last 3 generations of this camera over 100 dives.

1. To get good pictures (not video) with this camera you will need at least 1 strobe. A video light will not provide enough illumination (flash strobes are 10 times+ more powerful than even the most powerful video lights)

2. The auto ISO feature in modern cameras is designed for using above water, in sunlight (not artificial light from a strobe or light). Auto ISO will only give you decent pictures in the top ~3-4m of water (shooting with only sunlight) . When you shoot underwater you want to set your ISO manually. A good place to start with this camera is to set it to either 100 or 200. For dark scenes (low sunlight, in caves, etc.), you can set it much higher (we have shot it as high 1000 without any noticeable changes in quality of image). Light traveling through water (the ocean) both is absorbed and diffracted - it is helpful to understand some of the physics of this to understand how it impacts your pictures. It is not like shooting on land.

3, White balance setting for taking pictures is not as important as when you take videos (completely true if you are using a strobe). For taking pictures you can set it to the "cloudy" setting.

4. This may not seem obvious to you, however taking good pictures of smaller, slower moving things (like some fish, nudibranchs, crabs and coral) is *much* easier to learn how to do than shooting big things (like with 16-35mm lens). This is true for lots of reasons, but the main two are:
- you only need to light a small space to get a good image of a small subject
- the poor visibility you faced on your trip will not impact your photos of smaller subjects (because you will be much closer to the subject when you take the image)

To take these types of images you will want the Sony 90mm lens and a flat port (this is a macro lens, the 16-35mm lens is a wide angle lens). Shooting macro is much easier to learn than shooting wide angle. Shooting through less water (because you will be much closer) will help with the quality of your images, the strobe will provide the artificial light to capture the image you want. Shooting wide angle needs clear water and learning how to use sunlight to balance the light for your image.

5. There are no shortcuts to learning how to shoot good images underwater. Almost every photographer goes through a similar experience as what you did. If you add a strobe, get the 90mm lens & port, focus on learning to shoot macro first you will make quick progress. There are also underwater photography workshops that you can join that will help you learn much faster as well.

 

[Franek]

@Franek

Thank you for taking your time and writing super tips on how to approach taking photos

My daughter upgraded to the A7R5 from the A7RIV (and previously she had the A7III) so I am very familiar with this camera, it's capabilities and it's challenges (we just spent 3 weeks diving in Indonesia together, she shot with the camera every day (I shoot w/an older Nikon camera)

A few points to consider (I apologize for this being in English, not your native language) The compulsory language is English
-The A7RV & Nauticam housing is an excellent combination for use underwater so recommended to me
- My comments will mostly be about using the camera, not setting it up in the housing.
- These are more than just opinions, these are learned facts from using the last 3 generations of this camera over 100 dives.

1. To get good pictures (not video) with this camera you will need at least 1 strobe. A video light will not provide enough illumination (flash strobes are 10 times+ more powerful than even the most powerful video lights). Lamps are a very complex topic

2. The auto ISO feature in modern cameras is designed for using above water, in sunlight (not artificial light from a strobe or light). Auto ISO will only give you decent pictures in the top ~3-4m of water (shooting with only sunlight) . When you shoot underwater you want to set your ISO manually. A good place to start with this camera is to set it to either 100 or 200. For dark scenes (low sunlight, in caves, etc.), you can set it much higher (we have shot it as high 1000 without any noticeable changes in quality of image). Light traveling through water (the ocean) both is absorbed and diffracted - it is helpful to understand some of the physics of this to understand how it impacts your pictures. It is not like shooting on land. I have initially set it to 200

3, White balance setting for taking pictures is not as important as when you take videos (completely true if you are using a strobe). For taking pictures you can set it to the "cloudy" setting. I will do so on my next dive

4. This may not seem obvious to you, however taking good pictures of smaller, slower moving things (like some fish, nudibranchs, crabs and coral) is *much* easier to learn how to do than shooting big things (like with 16-35mm lens). This is true for lots of reasons, but the main two are:
- you only need to light a small space to get a good image of a small subject
- the poor visibility you faced on your trip will not impact your photos of smaller subjects (because you will be much closer to the subject when you take the image)

To take these types of images you will want the Sony 90mm lens and a flat port (this is a macro lens, the 16-35mm lens is a wide angle lens). Shooting macro is much easier to learn than shooting wide angle. Shooting through less water (because you will be much closer) will help with the quality of your images, the strobe will provide the artificial light to capture the image you want. Shooting wide angle needs clear water and learning how to use sunlight to balance the light for your image. Here's a bit of my fault, the seller asked if I would take photos or video. I said that the video and proposed such a set, I admit that the equipment exceeds me in 500% my experience is auto settings

5. There are no shortcuts to learning how to shoot good images underwater. Almost every photographer goes through a similar experience as what you did. If you add a strobe, get the 90mm lens & port, focus on learning to shoot macro first you will make quick progress. There are also underwater photography workshops that you can join that will help you learn much faster as well.

Soon he will be diving on LB in the Maldives without changes in the set, maybe I will buy stroboscopes.
I will use all the advice you give. I will buy new equipment for the December trip.
There is only one disadvantage of this type of fun, more and more suitcases during trips.