Looking to upgrade my photo gear

[Hoag]

As things stand, I am happy with the results that I have gotten with my current photo gear (Oly E-PL 1, Panasonic 8mm Fisheye lens, Oly housing with 100mm Zen dome port and a pair of Inon D2000 strobes) but I want to upgrade to a camera with an APS-C sensor. I also want to keep things as small as possible with the goal of packing it all into my carry-on. I have already swapped out my Inon strobes for Sea & Sea YS-03 strobes (I might be giving up a little versatility, but they are small.) The YS-03 strobes will commit me to Fiber Optic cables to trigger them.

Here is what I am looking at:
Either a Canon M3 camera with a Nauticam Housing lens and camera TBD or
Sony A6x00 (A6000, 6300 or 6500) camera and either the Sony 10-16mm or the Zeiss 12mm lens, in a Nauticam housing / Port.

What I am looking for in a better camera with a larger sensor while not significantly increasing the physical dimensions. I do not need "bleeding edge technology", but I am looking to have relatively current gear.

What are your thoughts? Am I going down the right path or or down a path I might regret?

 

[Diver2fun]

I don't think using TTL for wide angle will work very well, at least I've not really had much success trying it. And with the Ys-03 you're limited to TTL.
Can't really say much about the Canon but the sony A6x series only have 1/160 flash sync, which might be a problem if you ever go shooting macro or if you want to shoot sunballs. Also it might make more sense to stay with M43 to keep using your current 8mm.
Don't overestimate sensor size too much.

 

[Storker]

I don't think using TTL for wide angle will work very well, at least I've not really had much success trying it.

AFAIK it depends a lot on the strobe/camera combination. I use an OM-D E-M5 with Inon Z240s, and I'm fairly happy with the way those units talk together. And I don't shoot macro.

So it's probably a case of having to do some research, plus a bit of luck

Don't overestimate sensor size too much.

Agree. The difference between the latest m43 sensors and the latest APS-C / DX sensors is IMO roughly equivalent to a year or two of development. And with an m43 sensor, you're effectively gaining one stop of DOF at similar AOV compared to APS-C / DX size sensors. IOW, you roughly compensate for about 1EV worse low light performance since you can shoot at larger apertures without losing DOF.

 

[Hoag]

I'm not too worried about the strobes being TTL only. Right now, I have an Inon D2000 and an Inon D2000s. (The only difference is that the D2000 has a focus light and the D2000s does not.) I have used them with a fiber optic trigger as S-TTL exclusively and I have been happy with the results. I ordered the Sea & Sea YS-03 strobes because they are a bit smaller than the Inons with comparable specs.

 

[Storker]

I'm not too worried about the strobes being TTL only.

I would. As I said, it seems to depend quite a bit both on strobe and on strobe/camera combo. If I were in your situation, I'd check on how my camera alteratived work with the strobes I have.

I was pretty darned lucky; I didn't know what I know now. Fortunately, my camera and my strobes talk pretty damned well with each other.

 

[Hoag]

When I said that I wasn't worried about my strobes being TTL only, that was because I have been using strobes that use fiber optic cables to fire them for years. I currently have a pair of Inon D2000s that I have always used in S-TTL with fiber optic cables. I am confident in their reliability and in using strobes that are fired by fiber optic cables.

That is why I am not too worried. I am familiar with an have confidence in the system.

As far as upgrading my camera though, that is what I am really looking for advice on.

 

[Hoag]

Well, it looks as though I am now committed to a system based on the Sony A6000. A number of places has them on sale for Boxing Day for $680 (Canadian). This is $150 off their "normal" price (which I take with a grain of salt).

Even though I view the claimed $150 discount with skepticism, $680 is still a very good price for this camera and it is a significant upgrade from what I had.

Now, for a housing. I want to keep my system small enough to fit in my carry-on, so my preference would be to spend the extra and get a Nauticam (~ $2200) rather than an Ikelite (~$1300), but I am open for suggestions and/or recommendations.

 

[mattia_v]

The sensor on the Sony A6000 is maybe half to one stop better than the 16MP micro 43 sensors (but both will be much better than the 12MP gen m43 sensor); which essentially means that for the same exposure and depth of field, it's pretty much a wash - you need to stop down one more stop for the same performance, negating the sensitivity improvement. Which is mostly in the high ISO, and not so much baseline dynamic range, so it matters less if you mostly shoot baseline ISO with dual strobes. And the micro43 lenses are generally better quality than the Sony APS-C stuff (the 10-14 is decent, the touit is nice but not very wide), so while there's a nice psychology to a 'bigger sensor' (which is, pixel for pixel, better), I'm thoroughly unconvinced there's going to be a major difference in quality, although the size is similar.

Were I willing to settle for wideangle only, I'd probably just get an olympus and the Oly 8mm/1.8 fisheye, nauticam or oly housing, and a pair of strobes. I'm currently fine with my 1" sensor compact because I don't dive enough and because I'm the limiting factor more than the gear for now, plus it is really very compact, and leaves enough room for a topside photography kit as well. Though I suppose I could 'simplify' by only having one camera for underwater and above water use. In a 'won the lottery' sort of world, I'd house my Sony A series FF, get a Nauticam housing and the 28/2.0 lens and the nauticam wideangle and macro wet lenses. But since that's about 6500 bucks worth of gear, it ain't gonna happen for me...

 

[JackConnick]

As a note: Most a6000 housings are out of production. The Nauticam will take between 4-6 weeks to get, unless you find one at a dealer or used. Sea & Sea is just about out as well. Ikelite should be available for a little while. Most are selling the a6300 now and soon the a6500.

So the adage of "buy the housing before you buy the camera" is especially true when buying a camera that's a few generations back. We always recommend that you buy the latest version of the camera as you can take advantage of the fnew features and your resale is better late on. The housing costs are going to be pretty much the same.

 

[BFRedrocks]

As a note: Most a6000 housings are out of production. The Nauticam will take between 4-6 weeks to get, unless you find one at a dealer or used. Sea & Sea is just about out as well. Ikelite should be available for a little while. Most are selling the a6300 now and soon the a6500.

So the adage of "buy the housing before you buy the camera" is especially true when buying a camera that's a few generations back. We always recommend that you buy the latest version of the camera as you can take advantage of the fnew features and your resale is better late on. The housing costs are going to be pretty much the same.

I'm looking to upgrade as well. Would you recommend the Sony a6300/a6500 as a decent UW camera? What about a decent housing to go with that? Too many options these days to try to whittle it down. Thanks!