Sony A6000 / A6300 meikon housing review

[H20doctor]

Well you're not going to be able to use your WWL .. unless it threads on to the Meikon housing so your best bet is just to buy the Dome that was built for the housing they run around $160 ..the nauticam is designed for their housing... so you either commit to nauticam or you commit to Meikon

 

[H20doctor]

Thanks for the quick reply! However, isn't backscatter only mainly an issue with using flash? And not a constant light as I would while filming?

It depends on where you scuba dive and how much silt is in the water... and the proper placement of lighting and the proper placement of strobe arms

 

[gummybun]

Thanks for the quick reply! However, isn't backscatter only mainly an issue with using flash? And not a constant light as I would while filming?

Interesting, I would have thought that, in principal, there would be no difference. I suppose that as video lights may be less intense and therefore your exposure times are longer and your aperture is wider it may be less apparent. The particulate in the foreground not being in sharp focus. But this is just a guess...

On another note, I use a Meikon with an rx100 and it has worked very well on my first trip of 20 dives or so, but it is so tight a design that I can not fit my Moisture Munchers in there (easily). I am planning a little modification for that purpose myself. But I doubt I would have the nerve to mod the main latch!, that is wild... nicely done Macgyver!

 

[ggibson]

Backscatter can occur with video lights, just like strobes since it's a light source illuminating particulate matter between the lens and the subject.

 

[Ashantiashanti]

Good question ... i have only used the stock kit lens 16-50mm ... If those Lenses work and Fit in the Housing i probably will start doing research on them and the costs..
I can say the Kit lens 16-50mm works but its not a good lens .. and you have to have the camera dialed in to get decents shots with it ..
I do use an external Macro lens , when i shoot macro .... it threads on the Meikon housing , the same way the wide angle dome ports does.. thanks for the Update and post !!!

Hey H20doctor, hope you're doing well! Which external macro lens do you use?

 

[H20doctor]

Hey H20doctor, hope you're doing well! Which external macro lens do you use?

Hey thanks for the question , i use a dry macro lens set up , the lens is easy to find on ebay and there are about 3 companies that make it .. Here is what you need
first you need a ring adapter ...

67mm to 72mm this is what will thread onto the outside of the Meikon

Next look for 72mm macro lens on ebay .. its a 2 piece lens , the inner lens is the macro , and the ouuter lens is a wide angle, when they are both together , it completes the wide angle .. I only use the macro lens on my dives for macro ... ive never used this lens for wide ..

so thats what I use for macro ... And here is a mcro shot from last weeks dive

 

[YCW]

getting the wide angle on and off the housing isnt a big deal underwater , I simply put a mark on the dome where the thread pattern starts , that way when you screw the dome on it threads on immediately rather than you spinning it round and round and it not catching.. the other thing i did to my dome was i attached a clip , so when i not using it , i clip it on to my D ring

Is it possible to share a picture of how you attach a clip to your dome? I am thinking about doing the same thing but not sure how to do it.

Thanks.

 

[H20doctor]

Is it possible to share a picture of how you attach a clip to your dome? I am thinking about doing the same thing but not sure how to do it.

Thanks.

sorry for the delay , what i did was simple , i took a Gopro Mount , the curved one for helmets and i stuck it on the outside of the dome lens , on the black flared part.. i will throw up some pics here in a few days

 

[H20doctor]

Here is a list of lenses that fit on the Sony A6000 when used with the Meikon Housing

Compatible lenses:

• Sony E 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 PZ OSS (Manual zoom available, set camera to autofocus)
• Sony E 20mm F2.8 (Autofocus only)
• Sony E 35mm F1.8 OSS (Autofocus only)
• Sigma 19mm F2.8 DN Art (Autofocus only)
• Sigma 30mm F2.8 EX DN (Autofocus only)

And a reply i got from Meikon about using the sigma 30mm F2.8 EX DN lens

Hello Chris, The Sigma 30mm (new) Art lens fits in the case, even with a +10 diopter lens addition. You will lose infinity focus this way (so no underwater landscape pictures!) but you can do close-up (almost macro) photography with it with great results. But please do note the tradeoff! You won't be able to take pictures of anything that is more, than 3 meters away (but you can of things that are as close as 6 centimeters)! Also, this lens does not have share reduction so movies will be way more wobbly. However you can get similar results by using 16-50mm lens and wet +10 diopter.

the Sigma lens is 1/2 the price of the sony Macro ...

 

[FyshEye]

So you want to buy a sony A6000 / 6300 camera and take it underwater , But you dont have the cash for a $1600 to $2500 Housing .. what are the options ? well not much , the cheapest Housing for this camera in the Pro range for depth is a Ikelite ... the only other affordable option is the Meikon ..
So who is Meikon ? well i have no clue ..LOL other than they are made over in china .. where do you find a Meikon housing ..? well Ebay ... are they affordable ? yes under $200.00 .. Are they Pieces of Junk ? No
So lets dig in shall we .. the box arrived and Inside the box is the Plastic Housing , I ordered mine with the Wide angle Dome as a combo .. it was Around 225.00 american ... Here is the housing fresh from the box ..

View attachment 388112

the case Is made Very well , and it fits the camera Very Snug and tight when you place it inside.. All the cameras functions and buttons can be accessed with the housing, all the buttons are in place.. The housing Has 2 Orings ,,, a Inner case Oring
View attachment 388114

And Another Oring On the Door
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there is also a Moisture sensor / water sensor alarm in the bottom of the Housing
View attachment 388116

Before i put my expensive camera Into the housing I took it for a dive to 125 feet , and Made sure it was 100% good and not leaking in any way .. I built a tray for the camera and went to the hardware store and got 3 stainless steel bolts and washers to attach the Housing to the tray.. the black strip is a plastic , like Lucite , very tough and very durable ..
View attachment 388117

Strobes ..? the only Option i could find for this set up , is fiber triggered strobes , the housing has 2 holes to use the cameras flash when it is popped up .. I went with with 2 Intova ISS 2000 strobes , these strobes are kinda finicky, and i was having some firing issues , so I bought another sync cable for them , i run 2 cables per strobe , and mounted them over the flash port with some Hot Glue ... they work great now ..
View attachment 388118

I used Loc Line for the strobe arms , the other arm is the one that came from Intova ..
View attachment 388121
View attachment 388122

the Latch system on this housing Is Good , But it closes very Hard and tight , it has a red Locking Latch on the case , But after about 25 dives on the Housing , It broke... the Hinge Pin came Out of the Plastic due to stress... the Housing Has a 1 yr warranty and i contacted the place i bought it from, and they said ship it back to china for a full replacement , BUT i said screw it and fixed the latch buy upgrading it and making it better..
I removed the latch system and Used a Locking style latch like on a Scooter, I made a custom base out of Plastic and Mounted the latch onto the case ..
View attachment 388123
View attachment 388124
this latch works so much easier and better than the original latch...

As a rap up , i love this housing it does the job for the camera , and you can use the camera underwater and get great shots with it .. the Only Lens you can put on the A6000 to fit In the housing is the 16-50 lens , No other lens will fit inside the Housing , it was designed for 16-50 lens ...

Where did you get the latch. My A6000 CamDive housing has the same issue under stress the latch broke. I have contacted CamDive and am waiting for a response. Mine is no longer under warrantee. I need a "Plan B" if they can't or won't do anything for me...