Sony 30 Mm F3.5 Macro - Any Good Under Water? Alternatives?

[Ashantiashanti]

You should contact Hi-max directly through their website, shipping should be something like $35 (for two, small but quite heavy boxes). They are very service minded, even uses whatsapp.

The first link seems to be broken unfortunately. As for the second, the price is good but it's only 900 lumen. Also, it's very common for Chinese manufacturers to overstate the output ("Chinese lumen" seems to be a thing) so you should check the actual potential output of the led emitters (Cree's website most likely), given the power source/battery of the lamp. But I guess that there will be more and more Chinese manufacturers that understand that there is a great demand, which is great news for us consumers!

You're quite right, it may well be that the opteka held up due to relatively shallow depths. I brought it down to 29 m if I'm not mistaken. Most macro will be <30 m though I suppose. I plan to go back to Sudan next, where the diving tends to be significantly deeper. But then again the depths would be for finding hammerhead schools and not for shooting nudis

I've finally figured out a cheap set-up.


2x http://tinyurl.com/h9jkzso where I will then mount: http://tinyurl.com/hw9hfwd on each side. What do you think?

 

[Mattis Persson]

Great prices, but don't you think it will be too little light? 300 lumen is quite low, even if you have two of them. I own two of these as well: Underwater 2000lm Cree XM-L2 Scuba Diving Dive Photography Video LED Flashlight | eBay Note that they are NOT 2000 lumen, but more like 700 or so. I find two of them (1400 lumen - sort of, the effect of two is not twice the lumen) to be too weak. If you need something cheap these might still be the way to go.

 

[Mattis Persson]

PS. The lamps linked above also come in 5k lumen (again, a gross overstatement of actual output). I also bought these and returned them. Neither lamp have a switch but is turned on by turning the back lid. This was nearly impossible with the larger version and I had to use pliers to turn them on, not very convenient when diving... Also their actual output was almost less than the small version. In summary, my experience is that there's not much way around the high cost of lighting, though of course we all have to take into account what we are willing and able to spend.

 

[Ashantiashanti]

PS. The lamps linked above also come in 5k lumen (again, a gross overstatement of actual output). I also bought these and returned them. Neither lamp have a switch but is turned on by turning the back lid. This was nearly impossible with the larger version and I had to use pliers to turn them on, not very convenient when diving... Also their actual output was almost less than the small version. In summary, my experience is that there's not much way around the high cost of lighting, though of course we all have to take into account what we are willing and able to spend.

Thanks a lot Mattis. You made me reconsider and then decided to invest into some better, yet still very budget lamps. I'm thinking of ordering 2x https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product..._act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AUUG3JG62HTVV Apparently each torch has 3x CREE XM-U U2 LED, giving it an advertisement rate of 3000 lumen. They will be mounted on the cheapest tray set + light mounts I've found for DSLR's within the EU, Italian made: Camera Housing Tray Handles Flex Arms Light Adapter So at least if the lights suck, then I have the opportunity (once I have a better budget,) to invest in some better lights.

I was also wondering, which settings did you use while filming from your video? And I noticed you had a pygmy seahorse at around 08:42, was this shot with the Opteka macro lens or without?

 

[Mattis Persson]

I apologize for being discouraging, but those lamps will not work. They are not floodlights, ie they have a focused beam that will create a hot spot and render the video unusable. Believe me, I've gone through the frustrating process of realizing the limited supply of cheap video lamps. I'd be happy to sell you the lamps I mentioned above cheaply, if you're interested (including 18650 batteries and charger). They will work much better than what you've mentioned here, albeit not that strong (actual output, checking Cree's information sheets, about 700-1000 lumen each). The small version does not have the problems with turning on the lights as mentioned above. I also have a rig with flex arms that I might sell (cheaply), if you are interested.

I did most of the shooting in automatic mode, center focusing, and underwater white balance - there's actually a setting for that The pygmy is not with the opteka unfortunately (only the last minute or so of the video is), hence the problem with focusing: I move too close for the camera to focus...

 

[Ashantiashanti]

PS. The lamps linked above also come in 5k lumen (again, a gross overstatement of actual output). I also bought these and returned them. Neither lamp have a switch but is turned on by turning the back lid. This was nearly impossible with the larger version and I had to use pliers to turn them on, not very convenient when diving... Also their actual output was almost less than the small version. In summary, my experience is that there's not much way around the high cost of lighting, though of course we all have to take into account what we are willing and able to spend.

Sent you a PM =)

 

[Barryattle]

Hi Ashantiashanti!



As a quick summary, I would definately recomment the A6000 in a Meikon housing, considering what you get for your money. I haven't followed up on underwater gear for the last year, but I doubt that you get a much more capable combination for the same price (especially if you get a good used A6000). The housing held up very well, but restricts you choice of lenses and does not allow to turn off the flash mechanically under water. The kit lens is fast enough, but does not give you the very best image quality (image quality is far from bad, though). The 30mm f3.5 macro lens fits into the housing with a very minor modification of the housing (reversable) and can give rather good image quality, but it seemed to be slower focusing than the kit lens. The camera does not work well for me in low light conditions (a focus light helps a lot).

I hope this helps

I know this is an old thread, but hope you will see this and respond. I just got the 30mm F3.5 to use on an A5100 with Meikon case and the lens won't fit into the port; it is slightly too wide. I had assumed the port on the case for the A6000 and A5100 would be the same diameter, but can't see how to make any very minor, reversible mod of the housing to get it to fit. Can you explain or post pictures of your mod? I'd love to be able to play with the 30mm macro lens rather than having to send it back or resell it. Many thanks!

 

[LaGa]

Hi Barry,

I don't have pictures and have just sold this housing and camera, but I'll try to explain.

The 30mm f3.5 macro lens did just not fit into the Meikon A6000 (plastic) housing. The problem was not the diameter of the lens, but the length. My solution to this was simple and reversible: the camera rests on little rubbber insets that are in the main part of the housing. The rubber insets can be reomved, which give an extra few millimeters of room for the camera. That was enough to fit the camera with the 30mm lens. The rubber insets can then be put into the housing for use with other lenses.

Unfortunetaly, I can not see an easy, reversibvle modification of the housing to accomodate wider lenses, if your housing is build similarly to the one I had.

Let me know, if I can help otherwise or need to explain better.

 

[Barryattle]

Many thanks! Ignore my previous reply. The lens is at most a mm longer than the fully-extended 16-50 kit lens. I went back and looked very carefully and the end of the lens is just slightly too wide to fit in the end of the port, keeping it maybe 1/2 cm away from the end and the camera from being able to sit properly. It doesn't contact any of the rubber bumpers and removing them doesn't affect anything. Sigh.

I would not have expected the lens port diameter to have been different for the A6000 and the A5100, but it looks to me like the Sony 30mm F3.5 macro lens just will not fit in the Meikon case for the A5100/A5000. I hope this saves someone else trouble/expense.

Thank you again for your quick response!