Experience with A6XXX for macro?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

j0rd1

Registered
Messages
55
Reaction score
46
Location
Hong Kong
# of dives
500 - 999
Hello,

I'm currently using an RX100 M6 and very happy with the overall results, specially for macro stuff combined with the Nauticam CMC-2, but given the size of the housing, I've been tempted to explore the option of A6XXX but I would like some inputs from other divers using a similar system. I've posted here some information about my RX100 M6 using the CMC-2 and one of my main concerns is the focusing distance:

With the RX100 & CMC-2 you must be at 8cm from the subject, not much room to move otherwise the subject is out of focus. My question for those using A6XXX:

- How much room you have when you use the macro lens?
- How about adding a diopter to the macro lens?
- How about the kit lens with diopter?

Also, with the RX100 & CMC-2 the focus area is super thin, can't get the entire subject in focus (sometimes is good, but other times I would like a bit more).

thanks!
 
I'm using an A6300 with Sony 90mm in SeaFrogs housing, with Weefine WFL05S diopter on a magnetic adapter for supermacro. Without the diopter, there's plenty of working distance, although with the narrow angle of view, subjects larger than 20-30cm quickly get out of strobe range if I try to fit them into the frame. Focusing is reasonably fast at medium distances, but starts to hunt a lot as I get closer to 1:1, and holding the camera very still while it hunts becomes more and more important. With the diopter, working distance drops to to about 3-5 centimeters from the front element, maybe even less, and locking focus becomes quite difficult in calm conditions, nearly impossible in current or surge.

I don't have the threaded short macro port for my housing, so I haven't tried the diopter with the kit lens.

If you're looking for more depth of field, a larger sensor camera is probably not the way to go, as you will lose DoF as the sensor grows. A 1" sensor at 1:1 macro will fill the frame with a 13x9mm subject - with a 24x16mm APS-C sensor, filling the frame with the same subject will push you into 2:1 supermacro, where DoF is razor-thin.
 
I have previously shot Rx100 M4 and A73 and now A7R3 with 90 mm macro. When I’ve added diopter I’ve had great difficulty with extremely short working distance and thin DOF. Note how the DOF is so razor thin that only near eye and mouth of the pipefish are only elements in focus.
98CAE22B-FF0A-4698-92C6-00C21C964148.jpeg
 
Thanks all for clarifying. I was really tempted to go for an A6XXX but I can't see much justification at the moment. Probably better image quality but I don't need that if is not giving me some extra flexibility with the diopter. Seems the same issues with both systems.

You can check my work with the RX100 here:

www.jordilopez.com

regards
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

Back
Top Bottom