Hi Ben. Thanks for the info. I think the liquid eye will be the way to go. My main reason is the lightness and swimming. Do you have a blog on settings that you recommend for the a6000 ? I am a newbie to taking photos and could use some help of basic setting. Also for video when using the water housing . Thanks
I'm just getting into surf photography, when using manual focus lenses, how do u shoot barrels and know that you're getting an in focus shot? If it's manual wouldn't it be blurry until you adjust the focus yourself? Maybe a dumb question...Sorry. Keep up the great vids!
Hi Ryan, if you're using Google a very wide lens like a fisheye, manual focus works great because the depth of field is so big. Basically you focus at a suitable distance (just inside a metre works pretty well on the Samyang 8mm fisheye) and select an appropriate aperture (f8 is good when the sun's out) and everything will be in focus from about a metre to the horizon. Other lenses require different settings but you can figure it out with some trial and error.
hi Ben...... is the dome port Shown in this video any good doing over under shots or do u need a larger dome port.....Thanks in advance for your reply.....I also found your video very useful
You can definitely get over under shots with this dome, but it’s designed to be as small as possible, so it’s best for above water. If your priority is over under or underwater shots then I’d go for the S-LD-4916 port instead: liquideye.co/accessories/ports/s-ld-4916/
Hi Ben i recently purchased a c6000 warehousing and use it with the 16-50 sense everything you covered about the housing was perfect but i have a question about settings with the actual camera . i use superior auto at the moment and find that if I'm trying o take a photo of a surfer it focuses on the water and not the surfer i was wondering if theres a setting that would counter that or it has something to do with the auto focus thanks for you help Tod
Sounds like it's an autofocus issue. I'd try setting it up in shutter priority mode at 1/1000 of a second or faster,with auto ISO. Then set the focus to just use the centre focus point, then you can see what might be causing the issue. Make sure you get the subject right in the middle of the frame when you focus, and see if it works ok. Then you can experiment with other settings if that solves the issue.
Hay Ben Im currently in the market for a water housing for my sony A6000 and am looking towards the liquor eye I'm super keen to get a dome port with it but i see you use a Fish Eye lens but i currently only own a standard 16-50mm and a 55-210 lens will they still work for over under shots thanks in advance Tod
Tod B the 16-50mm might be OK at 16mm for some over/unders, but a fisheye or ultra wide angle will definitely be better. I'd recommend shooting the 16-50mm in a flat port rather than a dome for best performance.
Hi ben.....I'm about to order a Sony a6000 housing from Liquid Eye ....Did you feel the need to get postage insurance in case of loss or breakage of the Housing? or did u just take the chance?
Hi Dave, I don’t think I took out insurance for mine. It was very well packaged when it arrived and it’s pretty sturdy in any case. I’m in the UK and don’t have issues with any of my post, if I had experienced problems with packages in the past I’d be more likely to take out insurance.
Thanks Ben......The Guy who is dealing with me (John ) gave me the option of Insurance but he did state that they have never had a problem with their Postal services in the 8 years they had been using them.....Your detailed videos on this housing is one of my main reasons for choosing this company .....Thank u for relaying your experiences About Liquid eye, I already feel I'm onto a winner by ordering it. Regards David
Hi Ben, Just letting You Know that my Liquid eye Housing arrived safely with no problems at all.....I've had it about 6 weeks and just getting used to using it......Thank you for all the advice. Regards to u Mate !!
Hey just wanted to know how to get rid of water marks off the dome when you are trying to take a photo. I know you can lick the lens to temporally get rid of them but I wanted to know if you knew a more permanent way to get rid of them.. thanks
Hey, the best way I've found is to spit on the port as much as possible. It's gross, but just keep spitting as much as you can for the first 15 minutes of the session or so, then dip the dome under water a few seconds before taking a shot and you won#'t get any drops on it. That will work for that session, but you'll have to top up the spit and make sure you're getting good coverage of the whole dome. There's no permanent solution, you'll have to do it every time you shoot with a dome.
Hey, just weighed the housing with pistol grip and at port, it's 950 grams. The housing, grip and dome port weighs 940 grams. Not sure how accurate my kitchen scales are, but that gives you an idea at least.
Ok. But how does the housing actually control the zoom? Is the external knob only used to turn the zoom function switch on a lens? Or do you turn the knob and it turns that ring inside the housing and around the lens barrel to zoom it in and out? Or is there an external button on the back plate to control the zoom? By the way it would be for an a6500 housing too. Thank you sir!
Controlling the switch and zooming are different functions right? After you use the knob to turn on the power zoom, how do you control zoom in and zoom out? I'm baffled as I don't have a lens already to see how it would work ;-(
Christopher Lott The 16-50mm has a power zoom rocker switch on the side, like a video camera lens, you pull it down or push it up to zoom the lens. So the knob on the outside moves that switch up or down which directly controls the zoom. You don’t need to turn the power zoom on or off, it’s always on.
HI Ben, the Zeiss 24mm f1.8 will fit inside the bigger flat port, it's called the SL/P 70 and it costs $150 US, you can order it from Liquid Eye with the housing. You can see the full range of ports and the lenses that are officially compatible ion the blog post here: www.learningsurfphotography.com/liquid-eye-c6000-sony-a6000-water-housing-review-video/
Alexandre Venturinha its not on the site yet. They start at $600 for the housing and flat port, and go up to $950 with a flat port, dome and pistol grip, find out more here: www.learningsurfphotography.com/sony-a6000-surf-photography/
Hi Ben. Thanks for the info. I think the liquid eye will be the way to go. My main reason is the lightness and swimming. Do you have a blog on settings that you recommend for the a6000 ? I am a newbie to taking photos and could use some help of basic setting. Also for video when using the water housing . Thanks
this is the best and, actually, cheapest housing which I ever had!!!
I'm just getting into surf photography, when using manual focus lenses, how do u shoot barrels and know that you're getting an in focus shot? If it's manual wouldn't it be blurry until you adjust the focus yourself? Maybe a dumb question...Sorry. Keep up the great vids!
Hi Ryan, if you're using Google a very wide lens like a fisheye, manual focus works great because the depth of field is so big. Basically you focus at a suitable distance (just inside a metre works pretty well on the Samyang 8mm fisheye) and select an appropriate aperture (f8 is good when the sun's out) and everything will be in focus from about a metre to the horizon. Other lenses require different settings but you can figure it out with some trial and error.
valuable information! keep up
hi Ben...... is the dome port Shown in this video any good doing over under shots or do u need a larger dome port.....Thanks in advance for your reply.....I also found your video very useful
You can definitely get over under shots with this dome, but it’s designed to be as small as possible, so it’s best for above water. If your priority is over under or underwater shots then I’d go for the S-LD-4916 port instead: liquideye.co/accessories/ports/s-ld-4916/
Thanks Ben
Hi Ben
i recently purchased a c6000 warehousing and use it with the 16-50 sense everything you covered about the housing was perfect but i have a question about settings with the actual camera . i use superior auto at the moment and find that if I'm trying o take a photo of a surfer it focuses on the water and not the surfer i was wondering if theres a setting that would counter that or it has something to do with the auto focus thanks for you help
Tod
Sounds like it's an autofocus issue. I'd try setting it up in shutter priority mode at 1/1000 of a second or faster,with auto ISO.
Then set the focus to just use the centre focus point, then you can see what might be causing the issue. Make sure you get the subject right in the middle of the frame when you focus, and see if it works ok. Then you can experiment with other settings if that solves the issue.
Hay Ben
Im currently in the market for a water housing for my sony A6000 and am looking towards the liquor eye I'm super keen to get a dome port with it but i see you use a Fish Eye lens but i currently only own a standard 16-50mm and a 55-210 lens will they still work for over under shots
thanks in advance
Tod
Tod B the 16-50mm might be OK at 16mm for some over/unders, but a fisheye or ultra wide angle will definitely be better. I'd recommend shooting the 16-50mm in a flat port rather than a dome for best performance.
Hi ben.....I'm about to order a Sony a6000 housing from Liquid Eye ....Did you feel the need to get postage insurance in case of loss or breakage of the Housing? or did u just take the chance?
Hi Dave, I don’t think I took out insurance for mine. It was very well packaged when it arrived and it’s pretty sturdy in any case. I’m in the UK and don’t have issues with any of my post, if I had experienced problems with packages in the past I’d be more likely to take out insurance.
Thanks Ben......The Guy who is dealing with me (John ) gave me the option of Insurance but he did state that they have never had a problem with their Postal services in the 8 years they had been using them.....Your detailed videos on this housing is one of my main reasons for choosing this company .....Thank u for relaying your experiences About Liquid eye, I already feel I'm onto a winner by ordering it. Regards David
Dave Fryer no problem, my liquid eye’s been great, I’m happy more people are getting the chance to use them after seeing my videos.
Hi Ben, Just letting You Know that my Liquid eye Housing arrived safely with no problems at all.....I've had it about 6 weeks and just getting used to using it......Thank you for all the advice. Regards to u Mate !!
Hey just wanted to know how to get rid of water marks off the dome when you are trying to take a photo. I know you can lick the lens to temporally get rid of them but I wanted to know if you knew a more permanent way to get rid of them.. thanks
Hey, the best way I've found is to spit on the port as much as possible. It's gross, but just keep spitting as much as you can for the first 15 minutes of the session or so, then dip the dome under water a few seconds before taking a shot and you won#'t get any drops on it.
That will work for that session, but you'll have to top up the spit and make sure you're getting good coverage of the whole dome. There's no permanent solution, you'll have to do it every time you shoot with a dome.
How much does the housing weigh with the trigger and flat port?
I'll weigh it tonight when I get a chance, it's really light weight.
Hey, just weighed the housing with pistol grip and at port, it's 950 grams. The housing, grip and dome port weighs 940 grams.
Not sure how accurate my kitchen scales are, but that gives you an idea at least.
Hi Ben, I don't understand how the trigger and zoom knob works with a zoomable lens like a sigma 18-50? Thanx!
Christopher Lott the zoom only works with the Sony 16-50mm lens. I think the Sigma 18-50 would be too big for the port system on the C6000.
Ok. But how does the housing actually control the zoom? Is the external knob only used to turn the zoom function switch on a lens? Or do you turn the knob and it turns that ring inside the housing and around the lens barrel to zoom it in and out? Or is there an external button on the back plate to control the zoom? By the way it would be for an a6500 housing too. Thank you sir!
Christopher Lott It moves the power zoom control switch on the side of the 16-50mm lens. It’ll work the same on the a6500 housing.
Controlling the switch and zooming are different functions right? After you use the knob to turn on the power zoom, how do you control zoom in and zoom out? I'm baffled as I don't have a lens already to see how it would work ;-(
Christopher Lott The 16-50mm has a power zoom rocker switch on the side, like a video camera lens, you pull it down or push it up to zoom the lens. So the knob on the outside moves that switch up or down which directly controls the zoom. You don’t need to turn the power zoom on or off, it’s always on.
Would a 24mm, 1,8 zeiss fit in there ? Dimensions: length 65,5mm /63mm diameter
HI Ben, the Zeiss 24mm f1.8 will fit inside the bigger flat port, it's called the SL/P 70 and it costs $150 US, you can order it from Liquid Eye with the housing.
You can see the full range of ports and the lenses that are officially compatible ion the blog post here: www.learningsurfphotography.com/liquid-eye-c6000-sony-a6000-water-housing-review-video/
i cant find that model in their website... how much does it cost?
Alexandre Venturinha its not on the site yet. They start at $600 for the housing and flat port, and go up to $950 with a flat port, dome and pistol grip, find out more here: www.learningsurfphotography.com/sony-a6000-surf-photography/
found it on your blog :)
thanks! $950 seems to be a good price for the pack! now just ihave to check the import taxes...
what's your instagram mate?