Moving to A6400 from Nikon D5500

[ross9]

Hi all - looking for your honest opinions on the below:

I'm currently an average land photographer. I've only ever used an old GoPro 3+ underwater but I'm keen to upgrade and try to take some proper photos.

The cheapest housing I can find for my current DSLR (Nikon D5500) is £1k (Nimar) so it looks like it'll be more cost effective to change my camera. I do a lot of travelling (well I used to...) so also like the idea of the smaller mirrorless package v DSLR for carting around on a backpacking trip.

I'm currently looking at:

• Sony A6400 with kit lens (I considered the A6000 but would prefer a weather sealed body as I live in Scotland)
• Sea Frog A6xxx housing

I prefer landscape photography on land but like the idea of macro underwater so plan to pick up a macro lens and associated port. My main questions are:

• A lot of threads on here appear to be quite positive about the A6400 - any negatives?
• What's the best macro lens (<£500) for the A6400 and which port would I need?
• Can you use trays/arms etc across different housing brands or do you need to stick with your brand?
• Can you get away with only one strobe - budget is tight so ideally I'd start with only one for now.

Thanks!

 

[Landau]

Can you use trays/arms etc across different housing brands or do you need to stick with your brand?

I think most trays will work with most housings. From Inon's website: " it widely supports from compact housing to large SLR housing enabling you to use the same base plate when you change camera system."

And my Sealife tray will mount on any housing with a tripod socket.

 

[rwe]

I upgraded to the Sony a6400 about 9 months ago. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 I have only had two trips since then and one was cut short due to an 'el norte' arriving in Cozumel. I have the Fantasea housing and am reasonably happy with it. The flash button was a tiny bit low which made it difficult to pop up the flash without torquing the button out of alignment but after I couldn't get any response from BlueWater I put a small piece of the tape for installing the vacuum system on the camera button as a work-around and it works OK.

My tray, arms, and clamps were purchased from Hong Kong (maybe divegardens?) and I have had no problems with them.

I've had an Inon Z-240 strobe for a long time and it works great but I added a SeaFrogs second strobe about 9 months ago which had to be sent back to China for repair after a few dives when it quit working. With fiber optics it appears to be limited to full dumps so it is far from optimum (I almost always use sTTL). But with respect to your question, I have used one strobe for 12-15 years. You can see my photos here: Richard Eaker’s albums | Flickr. With one strobe you do get more shadows which some people don't like and you tend to get more backscatter since you generally aim the strobe more directly at the subject than when you have two strobes. So you have to do more editing.

 

[Barmaglot]

With fiber optics it appears to be limited to full dumps so it is far from optimum (I almost always use sTTL).

Are you sure it's doing full dumps? I have a pair of those, and as far as I can tell, with fiber optics, they're only doing TTL, which limits their output.

 

[rwe]

Barmaglot, I have no way to measure quantitatively so don't really know but this appears to be the conclusion of a number of internet posts. I will try to do a few tests by changing aperture and/or shutter speed when I get a chance and then update this note. I should note that I may have some bias since the strobe stopped working after a few dives and SeaFrogs had me sent it back to China (at my expense) for repair. It then took over 2 months and repeated emails after they received it to get a status response and then eventually a repaired unit. In the ST-100 Pro User Manual TTL section, it notes that TTL flash control varies with model of camera but then only gives instructions when using a Nikon camera attached via USB cable.

 

[Barmaglot]

I've done about a hundred dives with my pair of ST-100 Pros (Sony A6300 camera, triggering off the pop-up flash) and I'm reasonably sure they're working in TTL mode - using mostly manual mode (fixed aperture and shutter speed) with auto ISO I've had hardly any overexposed shots, which I would expect a lot of if it were doing full dumps. The recharge speed also varies with environmental conditions, suggesting flash power varying with TTL. You can try a setup like this:

• Set your camera to manual aperture, shutter speed and ISO
• Run a fiber optic cable from the camera to your Z-240, and another cable from Z-240 to ST-100
• Set the Z-240 to manual mode and cover its front glass
• Point the ST-100 at a test target
• Take a few shots at varying power levels on the Z-240

If the ST-100 is always doing full dumps, you will see the same exposure across all shots. If it's in TTL, then it will follow the power level set on the Z-240 and you will see differing exposures.

 

[ross9]

Thanks all - that's helpful feedback.

Any views on the quality of the 18-55mm kit lens? I'm debating whether to buy the A6400 body only or pay the extra £100 for the kit lens.

 

[Barmaglot]

I don't believe 18-55mm has been produced for a good few years now, the current kit lens is the 16-50mm PZ. I have that latter one, and it's pretty decent - I bring it on dives where I don't know what I'm going to be shooting - but most of my dives are either with 10-18mm or 90mm macro.

 

[ross9]

I don't believe 18-55mm has been produced for a good few years now, the current kit lens is the 16-50mm PZ. I have that latter one, and it's pretty decent - I bring it on dives where I don't know what I'm going to be shooting - but most of my dives are either with 10-18mm or 90mm macro.

Ah yes, you're right. The 16-50 does look better based on reviews so maybe it is worthwhile picking up the kit.

Do you have the Sony FE 90mm Macro F2.8? Like it?

 

[Barmaglot]

Yes, I have the SEL90M28G lens, and it is capable of producing great results, but there's definitely a learning curve to using it. It can take a while to focus, especially if using a diopter in front of it, and you have to hold the camera absolutely still, or it will never finish hunting. It's possible that the A6400's newer autofocus engine is better at driving it than my A6300. In addition, the long focal length coupled with the camera's crop factor means that shooting larger subjects, if you come across one, is not really in the cards.