Nauticam NA-A9 Housing for Sony Alpha 9 announced

Nauticamannounced their new housing for the Sony A9: nauticam.com/product/17419/.

Here is the Press Text:

Sony A9 :: The New Pro Mirrorless Standard

Aimed squarely at professional image makers, the Sony Alpha 9 provides 20 frame per second continuous shooting with full autofocus and UHD 4K Video. A new 24 megapixel full frame Stacked CMOS sensor with excellent image quality, even at high ISO, and ultra-fast readout that enables the blazing speed this camera is capable of.

The Nauticam NA-A9 Housing

A professional housing befitting of a flagship camera, the NA-A9 underwater housing provides fingertip access to all key camera controls in a rugged and reliable aluminum underwater housing.  Critical camera parameter changes are made from the handles, without awkward reaches.

A patented port locking lever allows lens changes to be made in seconds. Opening the housing for quick battery and media changes is fast and easy with the locking housing latches.

Optics

Sharing the same lens port accessories as the Nauticam NA-A7II housing, a list of thirteen Sony FE mount lenses are currently supported. An adaptor allows the entire N120 DSLR lens lineup to be used as well, supporting the popular Canon EF lenses attached to the A9 with an EF to Sony E mount lens adapter. Also available is an adaptor to attach the water contact UW-Nikkor series lenses originally used on the Nikonos underwater range finder systems. From ultra wide fisheye lenses to long macros, the Nauticam A9 system has all focal lengths covered.

Modern Water Contact Optics

Inspired by the water contact lens designs of decades before, Nauticam is continually developing new optical accessories that raise the bar of what is possible in underwater imaging.  Designed with modern lens design software, and fully optimized for in water use, these lenses provide significantly better performance than an in air lens behind a dome or flat port alone.

Integrated Vacuum Check and Leak Detection System

The Nauticam vacuum check and leak detection system is shipped with NA-A9 as standard equipment. Combined with an accessory vacuum valve (PN 25624), this monitoring system provides constant updates on the water tight and safe-to-dive status of the housing. A simple color coded LED lighting system lets the user know that the vacuum is solid, or that the housing is losing vacuum. Leak detection is built into the same circuit, so if there is water intrusion, an audible and visual indication will occur.

The Nauticam system is temperature compensated, eliminating false alarms caused by a change in outside temperature, or from a camera heating up on an action packed dive.

Viewfinders

The standard optical glass viewfinder is very good and travel friendly, but many photographers prefer the ease of a magnified viewfinder with adjustable diopter. Nauticam produces a “straight” 180º enlarging viewfinder and a 45º angled enlarging viewfinder to enhance the ease of close quarters work often associated with macro shooting. Both viewfinders have high quality optics, and allow bright viewing of the entire image. A patented external dioptric adjustment allows personal adjustment to a sharp-as-a-tack standard underwater and viewfinder changes can be executed in less than 30 seconds without using tools. Exceptional composition and focus accuracy have never been more accessible.

Flash Triggering

An optional LED flash trigger (26302) provides rapid fire strobe triggering with optical slave strobes over fiber optic cables. Flash systems that use electrical sync cables are connected to a Nikonos Bulkhead and Hotshoe (25056).

Build Quality

Nauticam build quality is simply unmatched, using cutting edge product design and modern, innovative manufacturing techniques that result in trouble-free reliability. A bit like a fine Swiss time piece, the complexity under the hood results in a trouble free user experience that just works, and keeps working for years to come.

J.B. announces new Grip-Case Pro for Sony A9 and A7II Series Bodies

J.B. announced the new Grip-Case Pro for Sony A9 (here on Amazon) and A7II Series Bodies (here on Amazon).

Here is the press text:

July 25, 2017
Today, I’m excited to announce our new Grip-Case Pro for the Sony A9 and Sony A7II Series of bodies. These Grip-Cases give your camera that extra height that is so needed for photographers with larger hands or those that wish these Sony bodies had more height for better holding larger Pro lenses. In addition, these new Grip-Cases give tons of protection, much improved grip and a unique look to your Sony camera body.

I personally use the A9 as my main system camera, and in my opinion, Sony should have made the body larger (more like the Leica SL) to help handle the Pro lenses on it. I am NOT a fan of the battery grips as they add too much bulk and weight to the camera, and totally change the size of camera bag that you can use. For this reason, I designed this new Grip-Case blending the design from our best selling Wood Grip and our best selling Fuji X100 series Grip-Case.

The Sony A7sII is the first Commercial Camera Mounted Outside International Space Station!

Sony announced that the A7sII is the world’s first commercial camera mounted outside theInternationcal Space Station. Here is the press text:

Sony’s Full-Frame Mirrorless α7S II Shoots Astonishing 4K Videos from Outer Space
First Commercial Camera Mounted Outside International Space Station

Tokyo, Japan – Sony today released a variety of immersive 4K (QFHD 3840×2160) footage from outer space recorded by the acclaimed α7S II full-frame mirrorless camera. This is the world’s first*1 commercial camera to be mounted outside of the International Space Station (ISS) used to capture video in 4K. The videos showcase the Japanese islands from outer space with footage taken during day and night, showing off its majestic snow-covered peaks and metropolitan lights right down to the differences in color tone. These were able to be captured by virtue of the α7S II’s high sensitivity performance as well as high resolution 4K recording capability.

The α7S II has been selected*2 as the camera for the new exterior platform on the ISS’s Japanese Experiment Module known as “KIBO”. As a result of various tests conducted by JAXA, it was confirmed that the α7S II possesses the durability and reliability to withstand the unique and unforgiving environment of outer space, including high vacuum, cosmic radiation, and abrupt temperature fluctuations.
The α7S II was carried to the ISS by the “KOUNOTORI” cargo transporter that launched from the Tanegashima Space Center on December 9, 2016, and was subsequently installed on February 8, 2017*3. From 400 km above the surface of the earth, the α7S II completes an orbit around the planet approximately once every 90 minutes, recording a variety of 4K videos and still images from outer space.
*1 As of July 27, 2017
*2 Selected by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
*3 With the FE PZ 28-135mm F4 G OSS power zoom lens

Sample content taken outside of the ISS can be viewed at the “α Universe” official site. The English site includes the footage of the East coast of the United States by night.
Japanese: “α Universe” official site
English: “α Universe” official site

The α7S II boasts high sensitivity up to ISO 409600*4, wide dynamic range; 5-axis image stabilization; internal recording of 4K movies with full pixel readout and no pixel binning; and a 35 mm full-frame Exmor® CMOS image sensor packed into a compact body. It was honored as the top camera in its category at the prestigious EISA Awards (EUROPEAN PHOTO & VIDEO CAMERA 2016-2017), and its outstanding sensitivity in particular has met acclaim around the globe since its release. Its high sensitivity performance allows the camera to produce clear, high quality images with minimal noise, even in the extreme low light conditions of outer space. There is a lot of excitement around the camera’s ability to capture previously unobtainable footage such as the earth at night from space, and will take vivid 4K videos of sights such as cargo transporters like the “KOUNOTORI” approaching the ISS.

The immersive 4K videos captured by the α7S II have been released on the “α Universe” official site. The history of the α7S II’s implementation on the ISS can also be viewed on the site.
Japanese: “α Universe” official site
English: “α Universe” official site
*4 When set to expanded sensitivity mode.

Sony Tidbits…


Camera Comparison: Red Epic W vs Sony A7RII

Sony 12-24/4 on a7RII vs Fuji 23/4 on GFX (Jim Kasson).
What’s In Chris Burkard’s Travel Bag? (Adventurejournal).
Duclos Lenses Sony FZ mount kit for Fujinon’s new MK zooms (Newsshooter)
The Art of Portraiture Part 2: Light (Adorama Learning Center)
Infographic: Helping You Choose the Right Delkin Memory Card (Explora).
Laowa 15mm f/2 FE Zero-D – Initial Impressions by Luke Tscharke.

Bernie:Just dropped my 2017 film reel. 90% of the shots, the a6500 with Zhiyun Crane was used. With a few drone and A7s shots sprinkled in. Let me know what you think https://youtu.be/JmDpHzXIBHU

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The world fastest wide angle lens for Sony to ship on August 10 in China (Laowa 15mm f/2.0)

The Chinese site Weibo reports the new 15mm f/2.0 Dream Lens preorders will start on July 28 and the lens will start shipping out on August 10 in China. The official price is 4980 yuan (~€633). Gobal Launch will follow after.

Those are the specs posted on Weibo:

Lens weight w/o shade ~500g is much better than 12mm f2.8. And image samples can also be seen on Weibo.

The current Laowa E-mount lenses in the line up are:
Venus Optics Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D Lens for Sony E at [shopcountry 55644].
Venus Optics Laowa 15mm f/4 Macro Lens for Sony E at [shopcountry 55646].
Venus Optics Laowa 105mm f/2 Smooth Trans Focus Lens for Sony E at [shopcountry 55645].

Thanks Sven!