hammerhead man
Contributor
I am thinking of replacing my Sea&Sea DX-2g with a Sony RX100 mk2 setup. Has anybody used this camera with either the Recsea or Nauticam housings? How do you like the camera?
Bill
Bill
Considering purchasing a Sony RX100 mk2 camera and housing
- Thread starter hammerhead man
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Bill,
I own the RX100 and think if I was to buy today the improvements to the RX100II are worth it. I have basically the following set up which is essentially the same for the RX100II. You can shoot in TTL, with the YS-01s or better yet the YS-D1s and move to Manual as you gain experience. As I have said before to really take advantage of this camera you need the wet lenses. A link to photos taken with the Sony, don't blame the camera for the results.
Package of course can be customized to fit needs and budgets.
System Packages :: Compact Systems :: Optical Ocean Nauticam RX100II & YS-D1 Ultimate Package -
Photos
Aquablue Dreams
I own the RX100 and think if I was to buy today the improvements to the RX100II are worth it. I have basically the following set up which is essentially the same for the RX100II. You can shoot in TTL, with the YS-01s or better yet the YS-D1s and move to Manual as you gain experience. As I have said before to really take advantage of this camera you need the wet lenses. A link to photos taken with the Sony, don't blame the camera for the results.
Package of course can be customized to fit needs and budgets.
System Packages :: Compact Systems :: Optical Ocean Nauticam RX100II & YS-D1 Ultimate Package -
Photos
Aquablue Dreams
I shot a RX100 in a Nauticam housing for a while before moving to DSLR...it is a fantastic camera and the Nauticam housing is amazing. I definitely agree with the above regarding wet lenses.
I use the RX100 Mark II for video. There is a significant improvement in performance though the features are not dissimilar and the wifi connectivity is great
This is my first video with it
[youtubehq]vDsJaR2Crgs[/youtubehq]
This is my first video with it
[youtubehq]vDsJaR2Crgs[/youtubehq]
Nice video, were you using the manual white balance?
I sold off my existing rig and spent many months looking at what to get - the Sony RX100 II was certainly a contender ......... in fact it was my final joint choice ........... what turned me off it in there end were a few key things ... (for me)
I went to local store and compared the 2 'short lists' side by side, and the Sony felt too small in my hands - it just didn't fit ... felt awkward. Kept going back to store trying to convince myself - but every time it felt too small for my fingers. I know that is not a concern in the housing .. but 75% of my use will be topside.
Plus 2 important housing issues - no SONY own make housing so that means an expensive Nauticam or similar ... way too expensive for me. (would never pay more than cost of camera on a housing)
While in Housing Sony is fiddly and menu based to do a custom white balance - an underwater camera really needs a dedicated button for fast WB access ... not via a menu.
Read all the reviews I could find, especially from Underwater users ... and a reoccuring theme was that Sony was not performing well on Macro use.
So my choice after 9 months of looking was a Canon G16 which I bought 2 weeks ago. (almost 1/2 price of Sony)
Feels right in my hands, compact (compared to DSLR) but not toy-like ... has impressive Lens with really good low light capability (well proven on G15 model) the new Digic 6 procesor has greatly improved Low Level light performance especially with speed of autofocus.
Has a configurable button - which I have set for a simple one press instant custom WB .... and 2 customizable modes which I'll set up for UW use.
12 MP sensor may not be as good as Sony ... but is still more than double what I need in terms of pixels for print size.
The 9fps burst mode will be so useful for helping avoid those shots where you decapitate fish :blinking: .... then 5fps continuous to card capacity - impressive.
I like the RAW+JPEG mode ... JPEG for quick share while on dive boat, Facebook upload (it does WiFi & GPS tag via smart phone) and RAW image for post processing when back home.
Plus increasingly I use video and 1080 at 60fps with that very bright lens should be superb, coupled with the well rated image stabilization.
(I know Sony also does 60 fps)
Canon Lens has wider focal range (although its 140mm may not be used underwater) ... but Lens is much brighter, so better for low level light (I don't use strobes)
Also has mush wider ISO range (80-12,800) compared to Sony's 125-6400
Choice of housings ... Canon maker their own, and on every dive boat I go on there are plenty in use, and have good reputation, with options from Fantasea (which I may get) or Iklelite, as well as -should you want the expensive Nauticam or Recsea.
Won't get to use underwater until March in Red Sea ... but topside pictures are very good.
I went to local store and compared the 2 'short lists' side by side, and the Sony felt too small in my hands - it just didn't fit ... felt awkward. Kept going back to store trying to convince myself - but every time it felt too small for my fingers. I know that is not a concern in the housing .. but 75% of my use will be topside.
Plus 2 important housing issues - no SONY own make housing so that means an expensive Nauticam or similar ... way too expensive for me. (would never pay more than cost of camera on a housing)
While in Housing Sony is fiddly and menu based to do a custom white balance - an underwater camera really needs a dedicated button for fast WB access ... not via a menu.
Read all the reviews I could find, especially from Underwater users ... and a reoccuring theme was that Sony was not performing well on Macro use.
So my choice after 9 months of looking was a Canon G16 which I bought 2 weeks ago. (almost 1/2 price of Sony)
Feels right in my hands, compact (compared to DSLR) but not toy-like ... has impressive Lens with really good low light capability (well proven on G15 model) the new Digic 6 procesor has greatly improved Low Level light performance especially with speed of autofocus.
Has a configurable button - which I have set for a simple one press instant custom WB .... and 2 customizable modes which I'll set up for UW use.
12 MP sensor may not be as good as Sony ... but is still more than double what I need in terms of pixels for print size.
The 9fps burst mode will be so useful for helping avoid those shots where you decapitate fish :blinking: .... then 5fps continuous to card capacity - impressive.
I like the RAW+JPEG mode ... JPEG for quick share while on dive boat, Facebook upload (it does WiFi & GPS tag via smart phone) and RAW image for post processing when back home.
Plus increasingly I use video and 1080 at 60fps with that very bright lens should be superb, coupled with the well rated image stabilization.
(I know Sony also does 60 fps)
Canon Lens has wider focal range (although its 140mm may not be used underwater) ... but Lens is much brighter, so better for low level light (I don't use strobes)
Also has mush wider ISO range (80-12,800) compared to Sony's 125-6400
Choice of housings ... Canon maker their own, and on every dive boat I go on there are plenty in use, and have good reputation, with options from Fantasea (which I may get) or Iklelite, as well as -should you want the expensive Nauticam or Recsea.
Won't get to use underwater until March in Red Sea ... but topside pictures are very good.
It is normal when you do a purchase to feel you have made the right thing however some of what you write is incorrect
1. The RX100II max ISO is 12800 and can be expanded to 25600 with multi frame noise reduction
2. The RX100II has a color depth of 22.5 bits versus the 21 of the G16. In shot the RX100 performs like an SLR and the G15 like a good compact camera as the reference is 22 bits. Also the RX100 has in excess of 22 bits so beats the G16 and any other smaller sensor camera. This means the colors of the RX100 will be much richer than the G16
3. Dynamic Range. The RX100 has 12.4 Evs again above the reference level of 12 the G16 stops at 11.7 Ev this means the image of the RX100 will have much more black and whites and will look as having more contrast.
4. ISO performance in addition to the fact that the RX100 has higher ISO it also performs better in terms of noise. The RX100II can shoot up to ISO 487 with 9EV and 18 bits color depth. The G16 stops at ISO 230 to give the same performance of -30 db SNR. There is a full 1 f/stop of ISO for comparable noise in the image.
5. Sharpness the RX100II is around 20% sharper than the G16 due to the higher resolution
To make things worst for the G series has limited wide angle support as only the Inon ZM80 series are compatible. Those lenses require the camera to shoot at telephoto end and use small apertures which means no natural light wide angle is possible with the lens and only close focus shots with two strobes really give good performance.
For what concerns the video modes the Canon compacts do not offer any control of shutter aperture or ISO while the Sony offers all possible controls
One thing that the G series are better at is magnification at macro range you can obtain the same that you would with a +10 diopter on the RX100 with just a +6 on the canon and the canon does focus better in auto mode. So if super macro was your thing it is easier to work with a canon
Topside the zoom of the G16 that is a huge drawback under water for wide angle lens compatibility is a benefit and those additional 40mm are useful especially in bright light if you wanted to capture wild life etcetera
And for what concerns the housing whilst I agree that canon housing can be used with Inon accessories and really provide good value for money there are millions of reason why aluminum housing are better to name a few, depth, flood alarms, access to all controls, have an M67 thread on the housing so you don't need adapters, you can have an LCD magnifier if you have problems seeing the image etc etc
For what concerns white balance there is no need to take a custom white balance for pictures and for video you get a filter and leave it in Auto with the Sony so no big deal there either
For your trip to the red sea I would look at getting some strobes and at least a dome as the flat port will give you a very narrow field of view only good for fish potraits that without the mentioned strobe will look dull
Happy New Year!
I quoted the ISO range form SONY spec sheet .... you do increased range with Multi-framing. No intent to mislead.
Correct an error I did make .... I said Canon had burst speed of 9 fps in continuous mode ... in fact it's burst mode is 12.2 fps ..... (that is outstanding in its class) and then drops to 9 fps.
I spent 9 months choosing my camera, and as explained the short list was down to G16 or RX100 .. I am not anti-Sony RX100, in fact I was very much convinced Sony would be my choice, however my decisions & the reasons above were what were important to me ... and how I will use the camera.
Video1080p 60fps H264 is more than enough for me , I don't need any additional modes or settings other than WB. (one button press)
Disagree on your comment "no need to use WB" ... agree you can correct in Post processing .... but if you want image to look at on your LCD then you need WB as LCD uses jpeg.
I also intend shooting RAW+jpeg .... and that means using WB, and allows me to share & upload jpeg without waiting to get back and undertake post processing.
As to your advice on Strobes ....thnaks but absolutely not ... I went that route some years ago, including several trips to Red Sea .... with strobes, dome ports, WA lenses, focussing lights - the whole dive became about taking the pictures ... for me the point is to enjoy the dive .... with opportunity to take opportunistic pictures when possible.
I do not want to go back to strobes - sold them all off.
I just returned from Sharm and with the current limitations on luggage, not having a whole pile of underwater photographic paraphernalia ... certainly helps.
On Housings I would never pay more for a Housing that I would for a camera - simply not worth it to me, ifd it was being used on 100+ dives a year might be different ... I usually used manufacturers own housing Canon, Fuji, Olympus ..... although this time I 'may' get the Fantasea FG16 .... or the smaller Ikelite (they do 2 sizes for the G16)
I don't go deeper than 40m so don't need an aluminium housing both Ikelite & Fantasea take add-on wet lenses should I ever feel need for them (hopefully never again) .... although if Nauticam housings they were 50% cheaper I'd buy one
You are obviously very happy with your RX100 .... and I wish you well with it, but it would not fit my needs.
Correct an error I did make .... I said Canon had burst speed of 9 fps in continuous mode ... in fact it's burst mode is 12.2 fps ..... (that is outstanding in its class) and then drops to 9 fps.
I spent 9 months choosing my camera, and as explained the short list was down to G16 or RX100 .. I am not anti-Sony RX100, in fact I was very much convinced Sony would be my choice, however my decisions & the reasons above were what were important to me ... and how I will use the camera.
- It fits my hands
- It feels comfortable to use
- One single dedicated button for custom WB (via customisable button)
- Has excellent Macro capability
- Superb f/1.8 - f/2.8 lens
Video1080p 60fps H264 is more than enough for me , I don't need any additional modes or settings other than WB. (one button press)
Disagree on your comment "no need to use WB" ... agree you can correct in Post processing .... but if you want image to look at on your LCD then you need WB as LCD uses jpeg.
I also intend shooting RAW+jpeg .... and that means using WB, and allows me to share & upload jpeg without waiting to get back and undertake post processing.
As to your advice on Strobes ....thnaks but absolutely not ... I went that route some years ago, including several trips to Red Sea .... with strobes, dome ports, WA lenses, focussing lights - the whole dive became about taking the pictures ... for me the point is to enjoy the dive .... with opportunity to take opportunistic pictures when possible.
I do not want to go back to strobes - sold them all off.
I just returned from Sharm and with the current limitations on luggage, not having a whole pile of underwater photographic paraphernalia ... certainly helps.
On Housings I would never pay more for a Housing that I would for a camera - simply not worth it to me, ifd it was being used on 100+ dives a year might be different ... I usually used manufacturers own housing Canon, Fuji, Olympus ..... although this time I 'may' get the Fantasea FG16 .... or the smaller Ikelite (they do 2 sizes for the G16)
I don't go deeper than 40m so don't need an aluminium housing both Ikelite & Fantasea take add-on wet lenses should I ever feel need for them (hopefully never again) .... although if Nauticam housings they were 50% cheaper I'd buy one
You are obviously very happy with your RX100 .... and I wish you well with it, but it would not fit my needs.
Housings are always more expensive than cameras and nobody bothers shooting JPEG underwater you always white balance in post as the custom white balance range does not go beyond 9900K whilst in post you can go much further
I have and still possess Canon cameras and have tried Panasonic and Sony there is no doubt that the RX100II trashes any other compact cameras around but right now the best value option is to get the RX100 first version in UK it goes for £350 and with the ikelite housing you get an amazing product for £700 which is less than the Canon G16 with canon housing
I have a lowerpro backpack and have packed the whole rig strobe full hardware lenses and laptop into it and then managed to get my dive gear within the 23Kg limit I would not let that put anybody off
When you dive with a camera your diving changes as long as you have one it is not the same anymore, additional strobes or gear do not make things more complicated as long as you know how to use them, unfortunately a lot of people get plenty of gear and then go into a trip without the sllghtest idea of how their equipment works, this ends up with crap shots and bad dives
I hope you get satisfaction from your camera but in terms of comparing it to the RX100 when it comes to underwater it does not get any close in fact there are other cameras including the Canon S120 that are more versatile underwater than the G16 and as I said the RX100 Mark I plus Ikelite costs less than G16 with canon housing and has already an M67 thread
I have and still possess Canon cameras and have tried Panasonic and Sony there is no doubt that the RX100II trashes any other compact cameras around but right now the best value option is to get the RX100 first version in UK it goes for £350 and with the ikelite housing you get an amazing product for £700 which is less than the Canon G16 with canon housing
I have a lowerpro backpack and have packed the whole rig strobe full hardware lenses and laptop into it and then managed to get my dive gear within the 23Kg limit I would not let that put anybody off
When you dive with a camera your diving changes as long as you have one it is not the same anymore, additional strobes or gear do not make things more complicated as long as you know how to use them, unfortunately a lot of people get plenty of gear and then go into a trip without the sllghtest idea of how their equipment works, this ends up with crap shots and bad dives
I hope you get satisfaction from your camera but in terms of comparing it to the RX100 when it comes to underwater it does not get any close in fact there are other cameras including the Canon S120 that are more versatile underwater than the G16 and as I said the RX100 Mark I plus Ikelite costs less than G16 with canon housing and has already an M67 thread
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