Sony Some underwater photography with the RX100

mattia

Regular
Thought I'd share a few Sony RX100 shots from my last (half a year ago already!) holiday that involved diving - Mafia Island, Tanzani. Weather was good, but quite frequently a touch overcast so lighting wasn't always ideal.

Gear: Sony RX100, Acquapazza Aluminum scuba housing. In this case no wet lenses (I have a fisheye and macro diopters) because I managed to destroy the lens mount adapter last time I was diving (Zeeland in the Netherlands; surge + rocks = busted adapter). This is a great combo, with the 1" sensor settling in on a sweet spot between good higher ISO performance and reasonable depth of field without having to stop down too far (more = better in most UW settings, where you want to get really close to your subject).

I'm a rank amateur at the whole underwater photography thing, with a mere 29 dives under my belt and only maybe 10 with a camera. It's tougher than land-based photography because you need to really control your own bouyancy and position in the water, get close, and there's funky white balance stuff to deal with. It's even a little outside the default 'range' of adjustability (custom WB errors out without strobes) beyond 6 to 8 meters unless there's bright sunlight, so I've got a red filter for the next trip (Bonaire in March).

Small aside: anyone with the RX100 and the RX100 mk II? Because if the only difference is thickness of the body due to the flip-out screen (i.e. distance from front edge and all button locations, the lens being the same) then I can probably fit a mark II into my housing, which would be a nice 'backup' / upgrade.

Anyway, a few pictures. Click on any one to see the full set. Everything shot in RAW, processed with DxO Optics Pro.

Small squid in the shallows
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DSC07525_DxO by mattia_v, on Flickr

Seahorse
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DSC07556_DxO by mattia_v, on Flickr

Hermit crab, illuminated by a LED flashlight during a night dive
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DSC07612_DxO by mattia_v, on Flickr

Soft corals, my girlfriend (dive buddy) bokeh'd out in the background. Still a landscape photographer at heart I guess...
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DSC07922_DxO by mattia_v, on Flickr

Banana nudi (very small, cropped image. RX100 not a perfect macro camera without wet lenses):
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DSC08006_DxO by mattia_v, on Flickr

Another nudibranch.
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DSC08051_DxO by mattia_v, on Flickr

I want to try some strobes at some point, but I'll probably just rent those rather than buy, considering how infrequently I manage to dive...
 
Great shots!

You can check camera size comparison web site, but there is also evf/flash hotshoe with m2 in addition to flip lcd thickness. M3 lost that and has a new design eg evf replaced internal flash and the flash is on the top etc plus the new lens...
 
Thanks!

The hot shoe is not an issue, and I need/want to keep the onboard flash as an option to trigger strobes, so no EVF for me. I'm perfectly happy with my A7r/E-M1 pair for land-based shooting.

May just have to go to a local shop with the housing and try it out...
 
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