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Sony a9 underwater review: Shooting great white sharks

22 Aug

Backscatter Underwater Video & Photo is the largest underwater imaging equipment supplier in the world. They love the water, and they personally dive and shoot with the gear they sell. This article originally appeared on their website, and is reproduced here with permission.


With the high speed shooting of the Sony a9 mirrorless camera and just released Nauticam NA-A9 underwater housing, we decided the best underwater photography test was to take it to the island of Guadalupe off the Baja California coast to shoot great white sharks.

The white sharks are a perfect subject to test with this camera due to their speed, relative unpredictability, stealthiness, and camouflage. All of these factors require a camera to have fast and accurate autofocus, fast continuous shooting mode, and a really deep image buffer to capture as many pictures as possible to nail that one special shot.

Sony designed the Sony a9 to do just that and aimed this camera to directly compete with the Nikon D5 and Canon 1DX II, both of which are the top cameras from Nikon and Canon for high-speed shooting.

Sony a9 Camera, Nauticam NA-A9 Housing, Sony 16-35mm Lens. Shot at 1/250 F8 ISO 320

Blazing Fast Autofocus Performance

The Sony a9 has a crazy amount of AF points at 693 when set in wide mode that covers 93% of the frame and updates focus at a stunning rate of 60 times per second. I used the Sony 16-35mm f/4 lens exclusively for this trip and let the camera pick from the 693 autofocus points on its own.

With this camera and lens combination, I did not have any problems with the camera and lens not tracking the subject, even during high speed “attacks” of the sharks going after the bait, when letting the camera choose on its own among the 693 AF points. Only when a shark was at the limit of visibility did the AF system lose the subject and started to track the water surface instead. When a shark came back to be within the limits of visibility, the AF system immediately picked it back up again. That being said, the visibility at Guadalupe Island is about 70 to 100 feet, which is so far beyond what any acceptable composition distance is for underwater photography.

A major advantage of the autofocus system of the Sony a9 is the ability to track focus WHILE rapid fire burst shooting without any screen or viewfinder blackout. This allows continuous shooting, auto focusing, framing, and zooming all to happen at the same time seamlessly. This was a godsend for the rapidly changing distance to subject and framing that happens as these sharks move through the scene.

For shooting technique, I just mashed down and held the AF-ON button on the back of the camera and the shutter release simultaneously, while at the same time moving the zoom knob and panning the camera for framing the shot. The camera continued to shoot and focus track the subject with no issues. This technique might seem rather crude, but worked quite well given the task at hand.

The Sony a9 is the fastest shooting full frame camera on the planet. Combined with super fast autofocus, it has the ability to capture the subtlest movements. This image sequence was shoot at 20 frames per second. 1/400, F11, ISO 1000

Fastest Shooting Speed for a Full Frame Camera Ever

The Sony a9 can shoot up to 20 frames per second in RAW with a 241 shot buffer when using the electronic shutter, and 5 frames per second with the mechanical shutter. The electronic shutter does not sync with strobes (not that a strobe could keep up!) while the mechanical shutter does sync with strobes. The custom function button C3 is setup from the factory to allow the photographer to choose between mechanical or electronic shutter.

There are three continuous shooting modes on the camera–high, medium, and low. I kept it on continuous high the whole time and used the C3 button to choose between mechanical and electronic depending on whether I wanted to use strobes in the shots.

For shots with strobes, I kept my strobes at 1/4 power to ensure a super fast recycle that would keep up with the camera’s 5 frames per second shutter. We hope that in the future Sony will make an electronic shutter that will sync with strobes and get past the mechanical flash sync speed limit of 1/250 second.

Sony a9 Camera, Nauticam NA-A9 Housing, Sony 16-35mm Lens. Shot at 1/250 F9 ISO 400

Exposure Technique for White Sharks—Auto ISO

With distances and the amount of light reaching the subject changing rapidly with shooting great white sharks, it’s hard to shoot fully manual and nail each exposure each time.

We’re up against a few limits that aren’t exactly ideal for going over to program auto exposure, aperture priority, or shutter priority. A fast shutter speed is needed to freeze the motion of the shark. A higher aperture is needed to get the corners sharp with a wide angle zoom lens behind a dome.

Needing to set both of these in the past has meant needing to shoot full manual exposure, but with Sony’s excellent ISO performance and customizable Auto ISO feature, manual exposure mode with Auto ISO is how I shot each one of these shots in this review.

Sony a9 vs. Sony A7R Mark II vs. Nikon D810

Sony’s stills image quality in their flagship cameras have been at the top of the heap of not only the mirrorless camera category, but also beating out top level SLRs as well for the last few years. The color, sharpness, detail, and noise levels are all excellent and find the Sony a9 among the top of the list in each of these categories.

While the higher resolution cameras of the Sony a7R II and Nikon D810 will edge out the Sony a9 in ultimate image quality, neither of those cameras come close to the speed of this camera, and it’s hard to find another camera besides these two that will outperform the Sony a9 in image quality with what we have available to shoot underwater.

Sony a9 Camera, Nauticam NA-A9 Housing, Sony 16-35mm Lens. Shot at 1/250 F8 ISO 400

Who Is This Camera For?

The Sony a9 doesn’t come cheap. At $ 4,500, it is the most expensive full frame mirrorless camera on the market today. Then again, it’s designed to run head to head against the Nikon D5 which does 12 frames per second, and the Canon 1DX II, which does 16 frames per second—those cameras are $ 6,500 and $ 6,000, respectively.

Sony definitely shakes up the established competition in this area by besting these cameras in terms of overall speed and image quality. While there may be additional features such as 4K 60p video and the best ambient light white balance out there with the Canon 1DX II, the Sony a9 comes in at a much lower price point, especially for the amount of still image shooting performance you’ll get.

If you are someone who likes to shoot fast moving pelagic sea life such as sharks, dolphins, whales, mantas, sailfish, etc., this is definitely the camera for you. The speed of focus, focus tracking and shooting, and 241 RAW shot image buffer is mind boggling and second to none. You’ll be able to get the shot with focus nailed better than any other camera out there today.

For someone who needs more resolution than 24 megapixels, and must have pro level 4K video with accurate custom white balance at depth, those are the only areas where this camera will fall short.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Sleep with Sharks: 10 of the World’s Most Extreme AirBNBs

31 Mar

[ By Steph in Boutique & Art Hotels & Travel. ]

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After a long day of traveling and sightseeing, how does a relaxing evening sleeping in a shark tank, a subterranean vault filled with human skeletons or the trunk of a Tesla sound? Some of the weirdest and most unique listings to ever be offered on AirBNB.com include actual museums, stunning ruins, a three-dimensional recreation of a Van Gogh painting, a hippie paradise and a hotel where giraffes stick their necks through the windows to steal your breakfast.

Glass Shark Suite, Paris
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It’s probably best if you don’t have a shark phobia prior to renting this AirBNB room at the Paris Aquarium, since the marine predators are virtually all you’ll be able to see all night. Just large enough for a circular bed for two guests, this glass room suspended inside the tank provides 360 degree views of 35 live sharks. Guests will get an intimate education on the lives of the animals from fervid and underwater photographer Fred Boyle, and can even enjoy their meals from another vantage point outside the aquarium. It’s open for just three nights in April and will then serve as an observation area for biologists.

Paris Catacombs
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You’d have to be fairly free of superstitions to get a decent night’s sleep right beside a wall of human remains, but for those brave enough, a night in the bowels of Paris is surely an unforgettable experience. On Halloween night, some lucky AirBNB contest winners got to take a tour of the city’s famous catacombs, enjoy a gourmet meal and a private concert “in some of the most incredible acoustics under the earth,” listen to a storyteller’s frightening tales about this subterranean hall of the dead, and then become the only living people to wake up there.

Van Gogh’s Bedroom, Chicago
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Step inside a Van Gogh painting, lay down in his slightly irregular bed and gaze at the walls and floors faithfully recreated in his own iconic brush strokes with this AirBNB offering from the Art Institute of Chicago. Recreating the Dutch artist’s famous ‘Bedroom,’ the exhibit rents for just $ 10 per night and aims to drum up interest in the original painting, which has long been an icon of the museum’s permanent collection. The nightly rate includes tickets to the museum.

Mirrored House, Pittsburgh
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You kind of have to enjoy gazing at your own reflection to enjoy staying in this curious mirrored funhouse of a rental listing in the Pittsburgh suburb of Fox Chapel. Created by an artist, the house is like a giant habitable disco ball, with mirrors adhered to both the exterior and interior surfaces. The dining room is the crown jewel of the space, with a central aquarium reflected in all of the wall-mounted mirrors and chandeliers. The rental appears to no longer be available.

House of Collections, Brooklyn
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Like one big cabinet of curiosities, Brooklyn’s House of Collections features artfully arranged and carefully chosen objects on every imaginable surface, from patterns of rusted farm tools on the living room wall to cow bones hung beside historic local treasures. There are at least seventy house plants, exotic textiles, books, musical instruments, antique furniture and almost any kind of tchotchke you can imagine. Though it may look like an antique store, it’s a private residence, rented out occasionally to lucky AirBNB guests.

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Sleep With Sharks 10 Of The Worlds Craziest Airbnbs

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[ By Steph in Boutique & Art Hotels & Travel. ]

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Exposing sharks in a positive light

10 Aug

George Probst has been fascinated with sharks his whole life, but it wasn’t until he found himself newly single with some extra money in savings that his dream of diving with and photographing sharks became a reality. He hopes his photos will inspire others to see sharks in a light unlike their typical portrayal in movies and pop culture. Find out about his process and see his work. See gallery

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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3D Sharks Video 2 – No Glasses Needed yt3d

17 Oct

3D Sharks Video 2 – no 3d glasses needed – Deep Sea World Edinburgh, South Queensferry in 3D! Shot using the Panasonic SDT750 3D Camcorder. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Enhanced Dimensions is a blog dedicated to all things stereoscopic 3D. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ FREE – 3D VIDEOS & IMAGES Get FREE 3D Videos, 3D Birthday Cards, 3d Desktops and much more from enhanced-dimensions.com/wordpress FREE -LEARN HOW TO MAKE 3D VIDEOS FOR YouTube & YT3D Learn to create stereoscopic images, Stereo 3-d videos, or to convert 2d to 3d movies at enhanced-dimensions.com/wordpress for comprehensive free stereoscopic tutorials. Adobe After Effects 3D – Adobe Photoshop 3D – Adobe Premiere 3D — For more info on Enhanced Dimensions: Contact us on 3d@enhanced-dimensions.com — +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The Stereoscopic 3D Video Channel is an online 3D TV channel dedicated to showing the best in creative stereoscopic 3D videos and 3d animations. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The Stereoscopic 3D Video Channel on YouTube www.youtube.com The Stereoscopic 3D Channel on Vimeo vimeo.com/channels/stereoscopic3d The Stereoscopic 3D Channel TESTBED on Vimeo vimeo.com/groups/steroscopic3dchanneltestbed +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ This video was built and tested using Cyan Red 3D Glasses in Adobe After Effects. A 3D Stereoscopic Production for Enhanced Dimensions by Andrew Murchie.

LG showed off their new 3D mobile device for AT&T tonight in New York City. The LG THRILL 4G features a glasses-free, 4.3-inch, 3D display. It provides access to 3D content including preloaded 3D games, the Gameloft 3D Store, preloaded YouTube 3D, access to 3D movies from mSpot and more. It has a dual-core, dual-channel RAM processor, and runs on Android 2.2. The rear-facing dual five-megapixel stereoscopic cameras give users the ability to create and share photos and 720p videos in 3D. LG THRILL 4G also has a front-facing camera and is the first from AT&T to come preloaded with the Qik video calling service for use over Wi-Fi. The LG THRILL 4G features an HDMI connection with included micro cable and is DLNA capable for highest resolution playback of user-generated content. LG THRILL 4G also features AT&T Mobile Hotspot for connecting Wi-Fi enabled devices to the AT&T mobile broadband network. The LG THRILL 4G will arrive in AT&T company-owned stores and online this summer. Pricing to be announced soon.