Sony A6XXX and battery life and strobe considerations

[Interceptor121]

I think moving from the S90 to a Sony A6XXX series will not be easy for certain shots as the flash sync is only 1/160 so for macro this is a serious limitation
For the wide angle balanced light shots this sensor has some serious qualities and there is very little difference between 6000 6100 6200 6300 6400 6500 looking at real life shots
In terms of lenses starting with the WWL-1 is a good option but you can also get a Tokina fisheye with metabones adapter that will be way more compact than the WWL-1 but clearly is a fixed port choice

 

[Nemrod]

Barm, will this TTL-converter work for a Sony A6400 Nauticam housing?

Intercepter, yes, I know what you mean, leaving the pro-sumer level P&S to a dSLR or mirrorless camera means leaving high speed flash sync. It is not too late, I can reverse to another camera if one is suggested. I cannot do a dSLR, too much size, weight, money, portability concerns for a barely amateur level UW photo enthusiast.

The good news is I do not do much macro but I do like sun balls and wide angle and CFWA and that sort of photo.

My old housed Nikon FE was 1/125, I think my Nikonos was 1/60, frankly that is all long pre-stroke so I do not remember. I did most of my shooting with the UWNikor 28mm.

I have been spoiled by the S90 and, just saying, comparing the S90 to the popular TG series today, the S90 is the better camera. I really want a M4/3 or APS-C sensor. And I really like Nauticam.

I am open to suggestions that will stay under or around $5,000 (I already have strobes, arms and stuff).

James

 

[Barmaglot]

Barm, will this TTL-converter work for a Sony A6400 Nauticam housing?

It won't - the currently available version for Nauticam is targeting the A7/A9 series housings, and the board is shaped to fit them:

It fits into the bulge that you can see on top of the A7/A9 housings. You can see the two LEDs that go into the appropriate windows, the battery that powers the board, the little dial that you use to select your flash model, and the ribbon cable that goes to the camera hot shoe block.

However, back in July, Pavel has mentioned on tetis.ru that he's working on a Nauticam/A6xxx version, and although his estimated availability date of August has come and gone and so far it doesn't appear in the catalog, I am reasonably certain that it will be available at some point. If the cost ($450 + shipping from Russia) doesn't turn you off, you may want to contact him directly (Wetpixel profile).

 

[Barmaglot]

Correction to my previous post - while the part does not appear on uwtechnics.com, it looks like it's been released a couple months ago: UW Technics ships TTL strobe trigger for Sony A6000 series cameras ::

 

[Nemrod]

Thanks, that look like the e-ticket for A6XXX cameras. I will look into it.

James

 

[Interceptor121]

I am not sure of the value of a TTL converter sensor wise the A6XXX series is on par with a Nikon D7200 in case you want to go cropped however housing is clam style and bigger
The other alternative is the Olympus OMD -EMMKII that has a slightly worse sensor however superior ergonomics (in my opinion) the housing is similar bulk same N85 port system and 1/250 X-sync
With your type of interest for wide angle I would consider the Smartbones Adapter and Tokina 10-17 zoom fisheye it will cover the same focal length of the WWL-1 but will be much more compact rig underwater and have a full 180 diagonal fisheye.
If you were into video I would say WWL-1 but for stills I would go 100% with the Tokina set up

 

[Nemrod]

Interceptor, not an easy decision. A dSLR, even a small one, ups the total package price considerably and the travel size. I was trying to stay in the middle for total investment and size and complexity.

The (I think) value of the TTL converter with a camera that has a pop up flash is that it:

1. Reduces flash cycle time
2. There is no flash drain to camera battery (so I can do four dives per day without opening the housing)
3. May allow (I am not sure, just reading) a 1/250 flash sync

Of course to use it I may have to upgrade my strobes (or actually downgrade them).

I hear you on the Tokina lens and the Metabones adapter. I can add that later (just more money). But I cannot change photo styles between dives or during a dive as I can with a wet lens. The WWL-1 is all glass and the fixed domes are Plexiglass are they not?

The difference between 1/160 sync and 1/250 is not so much to me, 2/3 of a stop? If it were 1/4000 that would be different!

This is a very serious question, not an argument, what can the D7500 do that the A6400 cannot? It will be hampered by the same TTL lag would it not?

N

 

[tarponchik]

I shoot an older Sony a6000 in a SeaFrogs housing and a S&S YS-01 strobe. I use the strobe in manual using the double lightning bolt setting to ignore the pre-flash. It is unfortunate that the a6xxx camera flash doesn't have a manual setting.

To preserve battery life on the camera, I set the flash exposure compensation to -3. There is still enough flash to trigger the S&S. (On my Olymupus, I can set flash to manual 1/64 power).

I also shoot using Manual mode starting at 1/160, f8, ISO 100 and adjust the S&S using the Manual power adjustment dial.

Same here but I use Intova ISS2000 slave flash. Battery lasts for 2 dives for sure, then I replace it. I use Manual at ISO 200, 1/160, f/5.6 as the default settings and adjust either flash power (ISS2000 has 4 steps up) or ISO, or, on rare occasions, aperture. I switch to ISO100, f/8.0 only for macro.

The nice feature of ISS2000 is its ability to set up the required delay to trigger the flash. I used 1 with Canons s90/95 and G1x, and 2 with Sony a6000.

 

[Interceptor121]

Interceptor, not an easy decision. A dSLR, even a small one, ups the total package price considerably and the travel size. I was trying to stay in the middle for total investment and size and complexity.

The (I think) value of the TTL converter with a camera that has a pop up flash is that it:

1. Reduces flash cycle time
2. There is no flash drain to camera battery (so I can do four dives per day without opening the housing)
3. May allow (I am not sure, just reading) a 1/250 flash sync

Of course to use it I may have to upgrade my strobes (or actually downgrade them).

I hear you on the Tokina lens and the Metabones adapter. I can add that later (just more money). But I cannot change photo styles between dives or during a dive as I can with a wet lens. The WWL-1 is all glass and the fixed domes are Plexiglass are they not?

The difference between 1/160 sync and 1/250 is not so much to me, 2/3 of a stop? If it were 1/4000 that would be different!

This is a very serious question, not an argument, what can the D7500 do that the A6400 cannot? It will be hampered by the same TTL lag would it not?

N

Am not suggesting to go for a DSLR it goes clam size and the housing is much bigger like mine.
What I am saying is that the Olympus is very similar in terms of size and has the same port system of the Sony. Having used Sony cameras coming from canon it was a bit of a shock so I think Olympus would also be under consideration and it does not have battery issues at all 440 shots. The olympus does not have a flash so it will require something.
My GH5 has a flash you can buy and I shoot manual 1/64 it is irrelevant to battery consumption the screen has more impact rated 400 shots. With regards to changing shooting style even with the float collar the WWL-1 is cumbersome to remove. You zoom it all in to 50 it becomes a 35 mm fisheye which is double the range of the tokina but in stills I never get to full zoom anyway. The benefit of the WWL-1 is not so much the flexibility of removing it but the flexibility of zoom as MFT do not have a native zoom fisheye. Once you have a zoom fisheye like the Tokina I think you don't miss much the WWL-1
I have Panasonic 8 mm fisheye 8 - 18 rectilinear 12 - 60 rectilinear and 60 mm macro. Prior to now there would be situation where I would think damn the 8 mm is too wide and the rectilinear I do not really use for reef shots so in some occasions I have used the WWL-1 as here

Hammer at dusk by Interceptor121, on Flickr

But now I have a canon 8 - 15 mm with metabones giving me the zoom fisheye I needed so except video I won't use the WWL-1

 

[Clack]

Thank you guys for this thread, I'm learning a lot. A couple quick questions if you don't mind...

I'm shooting an a6400 in an Ikelite housing. My wife is getting me a YD-D2J for Christmas with the fiber optic cord and some arms. Until now I've been shooting all ambient light.

These TTL strobe triggers seem to have some clear advantages over regular sync cord and fiber optic connections. Do you know of any other manufacturers making these? I emailed the UW Technics guy to see if one of these could be adapted to the Ikelite but have not heard back.

Getting excited, I want that Hammerhead shot of my own!! (went to Molokai last week and got skunked)