Underwater Macro – The SONY A7RII with the SONY FE 24-70mm f/4 ZA OSS lens

After testing the SONY FE 24-70mm f/4 ZA OSS extensively (I did over 200 dives with this lens already), I have to say - it's a pretty good setup for Lembeh! It gives me the flexibility of shooting a wide range of subjects and I'm not stuck with a macro or a wide-angle setup. I can shoot critters that are very small - I cannot fill the frame with a hairy shrimp, but when using an extra macro wet-lens (like the SubSee +5 or Nauticam SMC), I can fill the frame with subjects the size of around 1-2cm (around 1/2 inch) in Super35 mode. When shooting in full frame mode @24mm I get vignetting from the flat port, but I can shoot at the 32mm range of the lens without vignetting and shoot subjects the size of around 30 cm (1 foot) right in front of the port (I'm using a Subal Type4 flat port on a Nauticam NA-A7II housing with a Nauticam to Subal adapter).

I used the Nauticam SMC only for subjects smaller than 3cm (1 inch), for subjects between 3-8cm (1-3 inches) I used the SubSee +5 and everything larger than 8cm (3 inches) I was able to shoot without having to add an extra wet-lens.

 

Here are some example shots:

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Soft coral with a pygmy cuttlefish shot with the SONY A7RII and the SONY FE 24-70mm f/4 ZA OSS @32mm in FullFrame mode - F9, 1/60sec


©SaschaJanson_20160329_00015

Soft coral with a pygmy cuttlefish shot with the SONY A7RII and the SONY FE 24-70mm f/4 ZA OSS @69mm in Super 35 mode - F9, 1/160sec


©SaschaJanson_20160329_00019

Soft coral with a pygmy cuttlefish shot with the SONY A7RII and the SONY FE 24-70mm f/4 ZA OSS @68mm in Super 35 mode and 1x SubSee +5 diopter - F9, 1/160sec


The 24-70 is very sharp - even at smaller apertures.

Here are some Lightroom screenshots:

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Coconut Octopus (Amphioctopus marginatus) @42mm, f14, 1/60sec, ISO250


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Same image like above at 100%


Here's a shot @31mm - on the top left the port is still visible, that's why in full frame mode the lens has to be at @32mm (at least with my setup)

©SaschaJanson_20160327_00028

Coconut Octopus shot with the SONY A7RII and the SONY FE 24-70mm f/4 ZA OSS @31mm in full frame mode, f14, 1/60sec, ISO 320


Here's a short video shot with the A7R2 and the SONY FE 24-70mm f/4, for best viewing experience watch in 4K:

When shooting video I also use the Clear Image Zoom function of the A7R II - then I can shoot very small stuff like the Costasiella kuroshimae, also known as the "Shaun the sheep nudi" with the 24-70mm lens (with an additional Nauticam SMC) and I can fill the frame @70mm in Super35 mode with subjects smaller than 1cm in size - pretty amazing! 🙂

 

Don't get me wrong, I still use other lenses and the 90mm macro is a "must have" lens in Lembeh, but the 24-70 is also a very nice lens for shooting macro and even super macro in the Lembeh Strait (when combined with a flat port).

This test was done while diving with Critters@Lembeh Resort.

SONY A7RII with SONY FE 90mm F2.8 Macro G OSS & Reefnet SubSee +5 or Nauticam SMC

SONY A7RII with a 90mm macro lens – Image size comparison with the SubSee +5 and the Nauticam SMC

I was checking out different options of so called “wet-lenses” on the SONY A7RII in a Nauticam NA-A7II housing. I used the SONY FE 90mm F2.8 Macro G OSS lens without a wet-lens, with SubSee +5 and with the Nauticam SMC and compared the subject sizes at maximum magnification.

When using no “wet-lens” in Super 35mode, the image size is very similar to when using a SubSee+5 in Full Frame mode & when using a SubSee+5 in Super 35 mode the image size is very similar to when using a SMC in Full Frame mode.
The difference is that you have 42MP in Full Frame mode vs 18MP in Super 35 mode. Of course when shooting stills we want to have the full 42 MP (why else would we pay for them), but the Super 35 mode becomes really handy when shooting video. In both modes the A7RII is recording 4K in camera. It’s like having an extra teleconverter with you while diving. When I’m shooting video I try to use the Super 35 mode whenever possible, but when the subjects are a bit larger, it’s very nice to be able to shoot in full frame mode and get a tick closer.

Here are some images with my results:

SUBSEE-SMC-A7RII

All images taken at F18, 1/125sec, ISO ranged from 1250 – 2000 (I had the camera on AUTO ISO)

 

Final conclusion: For shooting video with the A7R2 there’s no need for the SubSee +5, but it can be useful when shooting stills. I will do some more testing and keep you posted.