affordable NEX 5 and 5n Housing

[Nitro91]

On my nauticam housing, there are two small holes for the fiber optical cable to plug into but since i only have one strobe i scrunched up some paper and filled up the hole lol.
I have always shot in manual mode and play with the lighten to darken with trial and error and going from the previous shot if too dark/bright.
shutter speed always been at 1/160 and f-stop usually around f5 or so. diffuser always on too.

So if i do s-ttl instead of manual on the z-240, that can determine the strobe output required instead of having to manually do it, like in manual mode?

Also what mode does everyone use their nex-5 with, I've always had it on manual mode.
With macro i just put the strobe close to the camera, and with wide angle usually put it out a bit but still facing parallel to the camera.

i'll put up some previous photos when i can access facebook. (blocked at work lol)

 

[Mark Derail]

Best way to learn. The auto mode, s-ttl on some strobes, will probably be ok for most shots. Doing it manually lets you learn better, like framing a fish/coral with the sun in the background. The strobe / camera will think there's too much light.
Might not fire the flash at all.

Much like taking a picture of someone on the beach, with the sunset behind them. Using a flash to fill (force) in manual mode to illuminate your subject, with an awesome background == awesome picture.

On my nauticam housing, there are two small holes for the fiber optical cable to plug into but since i only have one strobe i scrunched up some paper and filled up the hole lol.
I have always shot in manual mode and play with the lighten to darken with trial and error and going from the previous shot if too dark/bright.
shutter speed always been at 1/160 and f-stop usually around f5 or so. diffuser always on too.

So if i do s-ttl instead of manual on the z-240, that can determine the strobe output required instead of having to manually do it, like in manual mode?

Also what mode does everyone use their nex-5 with, I've always had it on manual mode.
With macro i just put the strobe close to the camera, and with wide angle usually put it out a bit but still facing parallel to the camera.

i'll put up some previous photos when i can access facebook. (blocked at work lol)

 

[danny.hightower]

Fiberoptic is great. I recommend covering the camera's flash with dark plastic. The strobe will still work, but the small flash won't light up the inside of the housing. Inon has a kit for that. I personally use underexposed slide film.

My big question: will any wide adapters fit onto the cheap housing? Maybe an Ikelite WD-4 dome glued onto the front.

I've looked into this and done lots of measurments of lenes and the housings (documented on DP Review). The lens tube length doesnt match up well with anything but the pancake (short barrel housing). Whats needed is to cut the long housing lens tube and build a port base that will accept other ports or at the least shorten the tube so that the original housing glass will fit tightly against the lens. Like i have said before I beleive the 30mm Macro or 24 Ziess are the best UW lenses for this setup so you would have to make a choice on what size to make it.

I do have have an extra short housing that i was considering doing some serious mods on but after shooting with the camera in the long housing I dont want to invest the time or energy as I will likely upgrade from the 5N next year with soemthing that has better focus and a viewfinder.

Something to consider
IMO I really think the NEX-5N + cheap long barrel housing is a way to enter UW photography by not spending much money on those parts. This lets me afford to buy the things that wont change much in the future (trays, strobes and lenses). I think once you personally shoot UW with this housing you can better understand why most people feel good about the investment @ $85 but likely feel its best suited for non serious shooting (IE very cool gadget which sometimes gives you awesome pictures) or a transitional element to something better in the future. I'm happy with it but have dreams of a NEX-5P with a Nauticam housing

 

[Sfen]

i am very interested to get this housing

Do you have to set 18mm zoom when using the long housing? any dark corner with it? or you need to zoom in abit?

i am thinking 2 set up...

short housing with DIY adaptor to mount the M67 macro wet lens...

or

long housing which can use both 18-55 and 30mm macro lens

please comment, thank you.

 

[danny.hightower]

Im 99% sure you do not have zoom the 18mm from what i remember. Sorry, i just shot with it once before i moved on to other lenses. Did you mean the M67 Wide Angle lens? I dont think the pancake has any magnification factor or ability to focus closely but the 24mm CZ lens might benefit from a wet macro setup though. You will need a strobe with it though as the onboard flash cant get around that big housing lens tube.

LOL, from Hong Kong you could get those housings in just a few days!

 

[Gunrock0811]

Hey guys/gals,

Update.

So I placed my order for the Nex 5n UW housing with http://www.fun-in.com.tw/oc/index.ph...y&path=177_180 on Saturday, 3/31/12. After paying using Paypal, my order was shipped on Monday, 4/2/12. I opted for their EMS shipping service which I never heard about, but after some searching online I found that they work with the local postal service (in my case, USPS). The EMS tracking number was used both by EMS and USPS. USPS starts tracking as soon as it arrives to US Customs. Anywho, it was shipped on the 2nd, was at US Customs on the 4th and wasn't released by customs until the 8th and I received it today!!
If any of you do decide to order this housing (which cost more than double the price of the regular Nex 5, btw), you can choose EMS and save yourself $10-15 compared to FedEx.

OK! back to the case! Sorry if the pix aren't all that great. I was just in a rush to take pix and post them here ASAP.

Everything lined up nicely. Everything functions the way it's suppose to when using the buttons/wheel. BUT..yes, there is a BUT, I think this will be a little hard to use underwater especially with gloves on. This is why:
1. Buttons. You really need to put some good amount of pressure on them in order to engage the camera's buttons.
2. The rods that extends to the cam's buttons for the shutter, playback and movie shifts when the respective housing buttons are depressed. It still hits the cam's buttons but you have to put a good amount of pressure. It was bit difficult half pressing the shutter button on the housing to auto-focus.
3. The scroll wheel is tight. I had a hard time turning it with bare fingers and it's small. I can't imagine using that dial underwater with even a 3mm glove. An by the way, to rotate the cam's wheel clockwise, the housing wheel needs to be rotated counter clockwise. Rotation is opposite with the housing.

Every other buttons work fine.

The housing looks pretty good for the price. I've compared it with a Canon G9 housing and this thing seems to seal pretty good but I won't know until I test it out. Unfortunately, I won't be able to test its integrity until maybe 1st week of May. I will take it under by itself and just see how this will hold up without the cam.

Fun-In Underwater Equipment was actually pretty good to deal with. There is a 11-12 hour difference (they are ahead) between them and me and they reply to email questions promptly, around 7-8pm EST (7-8am their time). Very quick service, minus Customs of course . Order took 1 week from time of order. Will probably do business with them again in the future if they have something I like but will still try the other company and get the regular Nex 5 case.

 

[Mark Derail]

Mahalo!
Spasiba!
Merci!
Gracias!

 

[danny.hightower]

Yep, I'm pretty sure the buttons are hard to push because the camera is too far forward.

You can do a quick test to see how much the camera moves around. Look inside (down) the lens tube when you turn on the camera. Do you see the whole lens shift down and to the right? On my model that's because the housings on / off dial is not perfectly aligned with the camera on / off and turning the unit on causes the whole body to rotate inside of the housing!

To fix you button problem try putting 2 foam ear plugs lying side by side (inside the housing) where your knuckles would be. You can experiment a little with this setup. By putting them in there it will move the camera back just enough to make the buttons work 90% of the time. (btw don't overdo this because at depth the housing will get tighter around the camera and help in another 10%. To get this all working just experiment a little until you get all the buttons work and the mode dial will partially work. As a note the dial will be easier to use underwater but i don't think it will ever work great nor will it ever work well with gloves. (dive warm water )

Dont Forget
Be sure to use the lube every day or you will break the housing trying to close it!
Its easy to tell if there is enough lube on the o-ring. Just look along the seal. The housing should close easily and the o-ring should look really squished all around the housing. If there is are some parts that look less squished than other that's where the o-ring needs more lube.

I hope this help.
Danny

 

[Gunrock0811]

Yep, I'm pretty sure the buttons are hard to push because the camera is too far forward.

You can do a quick test to see how much the camera moves around. Look inside (down) the lens tube when you turn on the camera. Do you see the whole lens shift down and to the right? On my model that's because the housings on / off dial is not perfectly aligned with the camera on / off and turning the unit on causes the whole body to rotate inside of the housing!

To fix you button problem try putting 2 foam ear plugs lying side by side (inside the housing) where your knuckles would be. You can experiment a little with this setup. By putting them in there it will move the camera back just enough to make the buttons work 90% of the time. (btw don't overdo this because at depth the housing will get tighter around the camera and help in another 10%. To get this all working just experiment a little until you get all the buttons work and the mode dial will partially work. As a note the dial will be easier to use underwater but i don't think it will ever work great nor will it ever work well with gloves. (dive warm water )

Dont Forget
Be sure to use the lube every day or you will break the housing trying to close it!
Its easy to tell if there is enough lube on the o-ring. Just look along the seal. The housing should close easily and the o-ring should look really squished all around the housing. If there is are some parts that look less squished than other that's where the o-ring needs more lube.

I hope this help.
Danny

Actually the camera fits nice and snug. No movement inside. Been playing with it the past couple of days. If you look at the 3rd and 4th pic from the bottom, the camera actually sits right on the correct spot. For the shutter button, the rod is too long and only support it has is on the housing itself. No support that runs down. Since the shutter, play back and vid button slopes down, the rod/arm that pushes the button slides down with it and doesn't really catch. The rods shifts a bit to the point where it catches on the rim of the button. That has been taken cared of tho with a little bit of "roughing" up the rubber tips with a fine hand paper to get some traction. Now those rubber numbs on the end of the rod don't slide.

So, after a few days of playing with this, now it works great but not 100%. Only downside I see on this is the wheel. It's hard enough turning it with bare fingers cuz its just too small, just imagine manipulating it with gloves on.

About the fitment issue. Again, mine doesn't have it. It fits like a glove. I know some ppl has fixed that by using ear plugs, but if you don't like the look of that sitting in your housing there is another way. If you look at my 3rd pic from the top, you can see 6 black rubber holders. The 2 (top and bottom) all the way to the right can be replaced by those pencil erasers. The erasers are longer than those rubbers so just cut it to size. The other 4 along the the lens tube can also be pulled out but is thinner inside. You can squeeze in some cotton in and place back the black rubber nubs.

The housing did come with an extra o-ring and a tube of grease. All in all, I will buy this again for my other cam!

LMAO
Taken using cell phone

 

[Mark Derail]

You bought the monster flash! Do you use a diffuser with it? I wish the tiny included one had one.

I use the original one, force flash, with diffuser made of tissue paper & scotch tape for a nicer looking result. It ain't a Fong, but it improves close-up shots indoors.