Sony A6XXX and battery life and strobe considerations

[Nemrod]

Clack,

The TTL trigger is optical, just in case you do not know that. I would never go back to wires, I would rather go back to flash bulbs (which I have indeed used!).

I emailed Pavel and he responded immediately. I then purchased the trigger and it is on the way with tracking number! He is very nice and responsive. Reef Photo I think is a dealer, maybe others, but I did not see the unit I needed on their pages so I ordered direct.

I now have the A6400 camera, Sigma 19mm lens and the kit 15-50mm lens. I will order the remainder over the next month or so. I am going full Nauticam, I will start with the two ports, WWL-1 lens and whatever odds and ends I need.

Uh, lol, I have a nice FIX S90 plus INON macro and wide angle lenses and UCL tray that may come up for sale (maybe, I hate to part with it actually).

James

 

[Barmaglot]

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.

Ikelite has a Sony TTL converter for their housings (link), but it only works with their own DS series strobes and only over wires rather than fiber optics. TRT Electronics has the s-TURTLE which is supposed to be universal and working over fiber optics. Sea & Sea also has a unit, but it only fits their housings.

 

[Nemrod]

Just an update. I got the TTL converter from Underwater Technics, expensive little thing it is but we shall see how it works. Pavel was easy to work with and very responsive. The order for the remainder of the equipment is in work now, just going through a few things and I will place the order, probably this coming week.

James

 

[Nemrod]

I did get the Nauticam 6400 housing and required port to support the kit lens 16mm-50mm and the Sigma 19mm f2.8. It is an impressive set up just to look at it! Somewhat intimidating for an old time Nikonos shooter. Well, my FIX/S90 is certainly easier to set up and to operate. The Sony requires a little more button pushing than does the Canon S90. But, had to give up some things to get the overall greater capability.

So, I did get the Nauticam WWL-1 lens and buoyancy collar. But, you know, I had among the several wet lenses I used with the S90 and a previous Oly 5050 (Ikelite) and a Canon A570 (Ikelite), an Inon UWL100 plus dome. It is a 62mm thread and it threads directly into the Nauticam port and when the kit lens is zoomed to a measly 18mm I get a nice semi-circle fisheye view and at only 24mm I get a good and clear useful full field. So, my initial indication is that indeed the Inon UWL100 lens with or without the dome kit will work with the Sony A6400 and Nauticam 6400 housing. Yes, I did a wet test to verify and it works and it significantly widens the FOV over the flat port. Now onto the Nauticam WWL-1, I need to see how it does. It will require zooming to 18mm to eliminate dark corners but that is expected as with the Inon. The Sigma 19mm appears to be full field, perfect, with the WWL-1. The Inon UWL100 lens is all glass including the dome (AR coated inside and out) just like the WWL-1 so it is heavy. I got the buoyancy collar for the WWL-1. It is pretty clear I will need to add some buoyancy to this rig.

N

 

[Nemrod]

For what it's worth, I just did two dives with UW-Technics converter on my A6300, using two SeaFrogs ST-100 Pro strobes - one wide-angle with 16-50mm in a dome and another macro with 90mm in a flat port. TTL worked flawlessly on both, bright and dark subjects, with and without blue water background.

Barm, if I might ask a few questions about your TTL converter? Which one do you have and is it working reliably? I ask because I am having some serious faults and I am not sure what to think or even if I am doing some wrong to cause it?

James

 

[Barmaglot]

I have a pre-production version of the UW-Technics Sony converter for SeaFrogs housings, and aside from fitting issues (pre-production unit, Pavel was working off my measurements rather than an actual housing) it hasn't given me any trouble. What problems are you running into? I'm not much of an authority on the subject, but I can try to help.

 

[Nemrod]

I have a pre-production version of the UW-Technics Sony converter for SeaFrogs housings, and aside from fitting issues (pre-production unit, Pavel was working off my measurements rather than an actual housing) it hasn't given me any trouble. What problems are you running into? I'm not much of an authority on the subject, but I can try to help.

I sent you a PM.

James

 

[staggsSevin]

I somehow missed this post....I'm moved to a nauticam/a6400 setup as well. I'm just just using the kit lens and have a wwl-1 and a cmc-2 to start with....I'm probably at least 4 months out from getting it wet. (very similar options as you've chosen Nemrod)

I'm still trying to decide what I want to do for strobes, so far I've kept my inon s-2000's.

 

[Nemrod]

Sevin, I am with two D-2000 strobes. Unfortunately the older of the two (due to being abused) went TU. It is out for repair but not yet known if it can be repaired. If it cannot be repaired I cannot decide to buy one Z330 to pair with the remaining D-2000 or go to twin S-2000.

The S-2000 is 98% as strong as the D-2000 and only one stop less than the popular discontinued Z-240. If you like CFWA like I do and often have a sun ball then you will need to stop way down and the little S/D-2000 strobes will not have enough punch probably unless really close. For macro I should think they are fine and for some WA okay.

I really hate to buy another strobe now because I keep hoping for an affordable HSS capable strobe. Of course that would require a wired bulkhead fitting for the NA-6400 or a HSS optical converter that does not yet exist.

To be clear, I am not an expert and I have only had my new rig in a pool thus far. I am about two months out as well. Unlike many though, I like to test all of my equipment, including dive equipment, before a trip, not during a trip, lol.

Let me suggest something, since you have the WWL-1, go right now and purchase the Sigma 19mm Art lens. It is wonderful with the WWL-1 and it has been discontinued as Sigma repurposes their lens selections. The Sigma 19mm has a FOV clean over 130 degrees and it is a f2.8 lens. I sometimes switch to ambient light for B&W post shot for large objects like wrecks or reef scapes and the WWL-1 and Sigma 19mm should be useful there with the f2.8. The Nauticam NA-6400 housing does allow you to cancel flash. Just saying---------.

James

 

[staggsSevin]

Nemrod - Looking at the port chart, it looks like the Sigma 19mm would work with the Nauticam Macro Port 45....and luckily you don't have to buy any extra zoom gear for it since it doesn't zoom correct? I found a nice black one that is suppose to be in excellent condition for $136 that I'll probably snag.

I do like CFWA shooting, that is what I perfer when I'm doing wide angle.

I'm coming over from a rx100 setup, I'm far from a expert too and always shot with a compact P&S. I was looking at the TTL Converter you bought, I've always shot with sTTL with the s-2000's....which is hit or miss sometimes. I've yet to hook them up to the a6400 setup....it's sad i bought the setup at the end of October and I finally just put it together two weeks ago. I'll say i'm' glad I went to the bayonet mounting vs the m67 from the rx100...it's going to be a life saver.