Sony A6300 with Meikon/SeaFrogs housing and Archon D36V lights review

[Barmaglot]

Keep in mind that these Archon lights throw a very wide beam - significantly wider than the 16-50mm lens covers (110-120 degrees of light vs 84 degress of lens FoV), so edges are not much of a problem. Still, I'm just theorizing here - I'm planning on doing at least 2-3 more dive trips before adding strobes to my rig.

Diving in Eilat, I mostly kept the lights close to the port - it was quite handy for peering under overhangs without casting shadows. Only on the one night dive this resulted in backscatter, which was easily solved by moving the lights out by about a foot to each side, while still pointing forward.

It's also possible to use this to mount a single light (or both, with a triple clamp, but that's probably overkill) on top of the housing, independent from strobes, though it's probably more useful for macro shooting rather than wide-angle.

 

[stuartv]

Keep in mind that these Archon lights throw a very wide beam - significantly wider than the 16-50mm lens covers (110-120 degrees of light vs 84 degress of lens FoV), so edges are not much of a problem.

Are you not using some kind of wide angle lens or adapter? For non-macro, I generally shoot with my lens at 14mm and then going through a wet wide angle lens. I don't know what the actual FoV is, but I think it's well more than 84 degrees.

If you're not using a WA yet, I can see your point. With no strobes, I think no WA lens is okay. Shooting with just ambient light means there is not quite so much impetus to get really close to your subject. Once you get a strobe or two, you'll be wanting to get really close to your subject, and then you'll be definitely wanting a wet wide angle lens in front of that 16-50. And, at that point, you may start experiencing photos with a video beam edge in the frame.

It's also possible to use this to mount a single light

I have one of those. I haven't used it yet though. I've always been diving where that would do nothing but illuminate tons of backscatter.

 

[Barmaglot]

I am using the Meikon wet dome, but it isn't a 'true' wide-angle lens - it only restores the in-air field of view of the lens that gets compressed by the flat port. 16mm in front of APS-C (24mm FF-equivalent) produces an 84 degree diagonal FoV. 14mm on M43 is about 75 degrees.