The A7Siii has been one of the most hotly anticipated cameras of 2020.
Many people have been asking us about housing options for this camera, and we have finally got our hands on one.
Luckily, the housing fits perfectly in our existing A-PROii housings that are designed for use with the A7RiV and A9ii cameras.
We have these housings in stock, available now!
The BOOSTED housing allows for fitment of the battery grip, which is ideal for long sessions shooting video with the A7Siii.
Our A7Siii and housings are also available for rental from AUD200/day.
We have been secretly working with RED for the last few months to develop a dedicated surf housing for the exciting new KOMODO camera.
And we are stoked to announce that our KOMODO housings are now shipping, and are officially RED APPROVED!
RED were also kind enough to create a one of a kind, custom painted KOMODO, inspired by our custom painted housings.
We have two housing offerings for the KOMODO – the standard housing, and a compact offering.
Both housings accomodate the KOMODO camera with up to BP-975 sized batteries. The standard housing also fits the Atomos Shinobi monitor. The compact housing is designed to be used with an external monitor, or as a remotely rigged solution (using waterproof SDI cabling), or simply as a tiny housing using the top screen for image review.
If you are keen to get the KOMODO in the water our housings are shipping now!
We are also offering rentals of our KOMODO camera and housing, from AUD350/day.
We have two rental options available for RED DSMC2 cameras.
Our compact DSMC2 housing, and our DMSC2 I/O housing.
Both housings work with the Raven, Scarlet-W, Epic-W, Weapon, and DSMC2 (Gemini, Helium & Monstro) cameras.
The DSMC2 housing is great for action shots or where a compact housing is required.
The I/O housing provides opportunity for larger monitors and SDI output.
Both come with leak detection systems fitted, for peace of mind.
The I/O housing can be optioned with a SDI bulkhead and waterproof cabling, providing directors monitoring.
15m and 45m cables available.
Various ports, including Leica-R CINE-MOD available.
Rates from AUD500/day or $1500/week.
We now have an amazing set of Leica-R CINE-MOD EF mount lenses available for rental.
Leica Elmarit-R 24mm f2.8
Leica Summicron-R 35mm f2
Leica Summicron-R 50mm f2
Flat port with focus and iris control – suits Salty RED DSMC2 housings.
6 inch dome port with focus control – suits Salty RED DSMC2 housings.
These lenses have been CINE-MOD’d by Duclos lenses, which involves a Canon EF mount conversion, 0.8 module gears, declicked iris, and a 80mm front ring on all lenses.
We chose these 3 lenses because they all work in the same lens port on our RED housings.
Lenses available to rent individually or as a kit in a custom Pelican case.
Rates from AUD125/day/lens or AUD350/day/kit.
Email matt@saltysurfhousings.com for more info.
One of the most asked questions lately is ‘what fisheye can I use with the A7iii/A9’?
There are a handful of options out there, however in my opinion, at the moment there is no ‘perfect solution’.
If you are after the highest quality option, and have no budget constraints, then go for the Canon 8-15mm + Sigma MC-11 adapter.
If your budget can’t stretch for the 8-15mm, and you don’t think you will need autofocus, then the Rokinon 12mm f2.8 is a great option.
My top four options:
| Lens | Price | Pros | Cons | Salty Port |
| Sony FE 28mm + 16mm Fisheye Converter | US750 | Autofocus.
Relatively affordable. Gives you two lenses (16mm + 28mm) |
Quality concerns of converter.
Long and heavy with the converter. |
M-D6.3
M-D8.3 |
| Canon 8-15mm + Sigma MC-11 Adapter | US1400 | Canon ‘L’ quality.
Very fast autofocus. Circular and full frame fisheye options. |
Expensive.
Only slightly lighter and smaller than the 28mm + converter. |
M-D6.3
M-D8.3 |
| Rokinon/Samyang 12mm f2.8 | US500 | Cheap.
Good quality. |
Manual focus and manual aperture. | M-D6.1 + 25mm extension
M-D8.1 + 25mm extension |
| Rokinon 8mm f2.8 | US300 | Cheapest.
Super compact setup. |
Manual focus and manual aperture.
Only covers APSC size sensor. |
M-D4.1
M-D6.1 M-D8.1 |
The ultimate solution
If you want the highest quality fisheye lens, and budget isn’t of concern, then the Canon 8-15mm fisheye coupled with the Sigma MC-11 adapter is the ultimate solution. It is significantly more expensive than other options, however you may already have the 8-15mm if you are a recent ‘Canon to Sony’ convert, or you may be able to find a cheaper second hand one from someone also switching to mirrorless.
The 8-15mm range provides opportunities to shoot circular, as well as 180 degree full frame fisheye. The autofocus is amazingingly fast, even though it is not a native Sony lens. It fits perfectly in our M-D6.3 dome port.
This is my personal setup, mostly because I also use the lens on my RED Scarlet-W camera for video/cinema work.
Why not the Rokinon lenses?
The Rokinon/ Samyang fisheye lenses are definitely an enticing option at the low price point. However the downside to these lenses is that they are manual focus, and manual aperture only.
The 8mm is a really nice compact option, however only covers the APSC sensor size, meaning you won’t be taking advantage of the full frame sensor size of the A7iii/A9. However it is the smallest lens of the options, meaning it will give you the most compact setup in a housing.
Historically, fisheye is shot in manual focus, mostly to give you reliable results. However, with the speed and accuracy of autofocus on the new Sony A7iii and A9 cameras, focus reliability is less of a concern that it was 5 years ago.
The difficulty with manual focus, is that your focus point needs to be set before you close your housing. This limits you in the style of shots during that session. This is because when shooting underwater you need to focus differently to focusing above water (the reason is a whole other lesson in itself – Google “dome port virtual image”).
So, if you have your focus point set for shooting above water and you want to shoot underwater in the same session, all your underwater shots will be out of focus. An autofocus lens obviously overcomes these issues.
Wide Angle Alternatives
If fisheye isn’t your thing, but still want to shoot wide with your full-frame Sony camera, there are a handful of wide angle lenses. In order of my personal preference:
- Sony 12-24mm (requires the larger STANDARD port system)
- Sony 10-18mm (No vignetting in full frame mode at 14-16mm)
- Sony 16-35mm (not super wide, but is super versatile with the reach to 35mm).
- Laowa 12mm f2.8 Zero-D
There are a few other fisheye and wide angle options out there, however I have not tested them so cannot comment on them. These include the old school Canon 15mm fisheye + MC-11, and a couple of Sigma EF fisheye option + MC-11.
Do you have any other recommendations for fisheye or wide angle on a Sony full-frame camera? Email matt@saltysurfhousings.com, and I can include them in this article.