The biggest drawback to using fiber optic cables on the mirrorless and compact cameras is often the slow recycle time of the on-board camera flash. While underwater strobes are designed to recycle quickly, the flash on the cameras often recycles much, much slower. With fiber optic cables your underwater strobe is dependent upon the camera flash so unfortunately that means it will have to wait as well.

With previous Sony cameras that offered a hotshoe, tempting users to switch to electronic sync cords, an issue kept appearing. Sony had programmed the cameras LCD screen to match the camera settings when not using the flash. While ideal for knowing what your shot will look like if shooting purely ambient light, it caused an problem for those wanting to use an underwater strobe with electronic sync cords as the screen would be black with the common underwater settings where all ambient light is blocked. This meant that you could not see anything to compose the image or check focus, making it not possible to use sync cords.

With later camera models (RX100 III & IV, A5000 & 5100) Sony removed the hot shoe from the top of the camera so the ability to use sync cords disappeared completely. Then they brought it back with the higher end a6000 camera. The on-board flash on this camera is still dreadfully slow to recycle, so we tested it here in the shop with sync cords and the results were incredible. One problem though, the screen still went dark.

Luckily, Sony has stepped up and solved this problem by allowing the user to override that function. In the main menu, under the set up menu (little cog icon) you can scroll over until you see the option for “Live View Display”. The default is “Setting Effect ON” which is what causes the LCD to dim when you block out ambient light with the flash off. Simply turn this to “Setting Effect OFF” and your LCD will remain bright regardless of the exposure settings. Just remember what you see isn’t necessarily what you are going to get, so review your images and watch your histogram.

To set up your Nauticam housing to accept electronic sync cords, simply install the Universal bulkhead and you’re good to go. Keep in mind, the a6000 only has one bulkhead port, so if you plan to also use the vacuum system you will need to purchase the Offset Vacuum Bulkhead Kit.

Here’s a quick comparison of the two methods, fiber optic cable, vs sync cord. Its obvious to see which is better.

One last thing to consider is the differences between fiber optic cables and electronic sync cords. Primarily with fiber optic cables you have a system that is never going to allow a flood in the housing since the cables do not penetrate through, they simply plug into a port and read the light through a window. In addition the cables themselves have no electronics inside so they rarely fail. Unless you bend or break a cable causing damage to the fiber optics inside they will last forever. Electronic sync cords are bigger and slightly heavier (if you’re counting ounces to make airline restrictions). They can short out if water gets inside the connections (flooded) so we highly recommend always have a backup. Lastly since there is an electronic signal transmitting from your camera to the strobe the bulkhead for the cables actually penetrates through the housing so that you can attach it to the camera. If not installed properly, or if the cable is not connected correctly to the housing it can cause a flood, resulting in more damage. For the Nauticam housings we highly recommend using the vacuum check system to help prevent any problems.

The post Using Sync Cords with Sony a6000 first appeared on In Focus Underwater Photography Blog.

Updated: August 3rd

Sony recently announced the RX100 IV camera a few months ago. With the addition of 4K video recording to an already extremely well designed camera line, the RX100 IV promises to be a popular choice for photographers and videographers alike.At a glance everything looked to be the same and specifications from Sony were promising. Immediately we were receiving questions of “will it fit in the RX100 III housing??”

Yesterday we received our first RX100 IV camera and immediately put it to the test. All the buttons are located in the exact same position, from first glance everything appeared to be the same size, etc. Was it too good to be true? Will it actually fit?

Sadly, no.

Yes, it was too good to be true, what we discovered upon putting the Sony RX100 IV inside the different RX100 III housing options was that something was slightly different. Buttons were being activated on land without being pressed. Upon closer inspection we found that the right panel, where all the controls live is slightly thicker on the RX100 IV than the III, this pushes all the controls on the camera closer to their counter parts in the RX100 III housing and in many cases results in errors on land. Add in that extra bit of pressure being exerted on the controls underwater and all housings would likely end up with issues.

Here’s the breakdown, please note these were only tested on land, and we believe that the added pressure underwater would cause further issues.

Acquapazza – will not function, every time the bottom left button would remain engaged and no other controls could be activated.

Fantasea – functions fine on land, however you can see through the clear back of the housing that the lower right control is resting exactly on top of the camera button allowing for no margin of error.

**Fantasea has already confirmed they will be producing a new housing, but that the current housing will work to at least 20ft before issues begin. ETA September 2015**

Ikelite – functions fine on land, and offers more space between controls, however Ikelite springs tend to be more “springy” than other housings and at depth will cause interference with camera functions. It is easy to see through the clear Ikelite housing that the controls were much closer to the camera on the RX100 IV

**Ikelite has already confirmed they will be producing a new housing, ETA TBD**

Nauticam – would not function on land, left and display buttons engaged preventing other functions from being changed.

**Nauticam announced on August 3rd that a new housing will be produced, available mid August **

Recsea – functioned on land, though very sensitive which means housing controls are too close to the camera which will result in issues underwater.

**Recsea has not had a chance to test the camera, but believes they will make an updated housing that will be compatible with both the IV and III, no ETA**

Check in with our shop to get more information or find out updated releases for the new RX100 IV,  we’ll have them in stock as soon as they become available!

The post Sony RX100 IV – Will it fit?? first appeared on In Focus Underwater Photography Blog.

Recently I had the chance to jump in the water with the new Fantasea RX100 III housing. This affordable housing option is a great choice if you’re on a budget. All major camera controls are easily accessible. The housing is made from organic polycarbonate, with a clear back so it’s easy to see your o-ring seal and camera inside the housing.

I was very happy with how easy it is to change settings and control the housing while underwater. The buttons are tiered to make them easy to press, even if wearing gloves. There are two dial controls on the housing to control the front and rear dials on the camera. These were easy to manipulate and I could quickly adjust camera settings underwater. The only issue I found when using the housing was the shutter button. Since it is set up as a simple button, its a bit harder to manipulate while holding onto the handle of a tray. If using the housing on a tray I recommend sliding it more to the left so that you can fit your hand around the housing itself (inside the right handle). This will make it easy to press the shutter down, and use the housing single handed for photos. The shutter is nice and sensitive making it easy to get the half shutter focus lock before snapping the photo. Fantasea changed the port from the more square, snap on style that we’ve seen in previous housings to a threaded port with 55mm threads. Unfortunately this is not a standard thread size for any wet lenses so a step up ring is required for 67mm wide and macro lenses. This simply screws into the port and you’re good to go. I used the Dyron Super Wide Angle lens with the housing and it seemed to work great overall, with no vignetting when all the way zoomed out. The housing includes ports for the fiber optic cables, but I did find them to be a little loose with my Sea & Sea cables, so I had to be careful to make sure they did not come unplugged. One nice feature that is not often found on small housings is a leak detector which flashes red and beeps if water is detected inside of the housing. I also got a chance to test out the video quality with the housing, just shooting with available light and was pleasantly surprised at how well the Auto white balance performed in about 30ft of water on a rainy day in California. Try it out wherever you think the diving is best!

Example Images:

Learn more about the housing and purchase at Bluewater Photo.  

The post Fantasea RX100 III Underwater first appeared on In Focus Underwater Photography Blog.

The new Sony RX100 camera has been performing really well, exceeding everyone’s expectations and beliefs about what can be achieved with a compact camera. This video sample below, by EunJae Im in the Philippines is a perfect example. The camera not only takes great quality, detailed images, but excels with stunning video capabilities as well. Enjoy the video. it was shot with the Nauticam RX100 housing and Light & Motion Sola lights. Subsee diopters were used for the macro shots.

Sony RX100 Underwater Video Sample from EunJae Im on Vimeo.

The post Stunning Nauticam RX100 Video first appeared on In Focus Underwater Photography Blog.