INTRODUCTION
Aloha guys! After a few emails and some inquiry about my current setup in the water, I thought I put together a piece on the gear I use and when I use it. I hope this can shed some light on any future decisions in buying your next camera or lens. From a semi-wide angle prime to a telephoto lens, this setup is in my current go to bag of tricks!
CAMERA
I currently use theSony A7rII. The king of kings and on the top of the food chain. That perfect camera is here in my book. I couldn't be more happy with this excellent piece of engineering. Being a Sony user for 4 years now, I've watched the steady climb on which they have built upon on with their very first NEX cameras until now. I am in no way sponsored or part of the Sony ambassador program. I'm just so thrilled and excited to spread the word and see a company that I've supported for many years now create a line up of mirror-less cameras that may be the best thing to hit the market since apple pie. JOKE JOKE JOKE. HAHA! But in all seriousness. It kicks major ass!
CAMERA WATER HOUSING
The best in the biz and a company that is constantly out doing themselves. I've been an ambassador for Aqutech for close to 4 years now and without a doubt still to this day I could not be any happier with their amazing line up of camera and flash housings.
A tested and proven fine tuned piece of equipment in the powerful surf of both Hawaii and California. I would highly recommend to anyone the purchase of a Aquatech water housing to protect your investment in the water.
Aquatech imaging Solutions Elite A7 Series II Water Housing designed for the Sony A7RII, A7SII, A7II.
Aquatech lens ports
P-190 - designed for use with the Canon and Nikon telephoto zoom lenses.
P-65 - designed for use with short to medium length prime lenses.
LENSES
Sony 28mm f2.0 - I'm a huge fan of small light weight primes that can pack a punch! If I'm in the thick of things in the pounding surf and in no need for that extra reach in focal length. The 28mm is the first choice on my list. It's light in weight, sharp and very fast to focus. I use the Aquatech P-65 port for this lens.
Shot with the Sony 28mm F2.0 @ shutter 1000 / ISO 250 / F7.1
Tokina SD 24-70 F2.8 Canon version - One of my favorite lenses to date. A new lens that recently hit the market on October 2015. My all around lens that I can't do without. From composing a line up shot in the water from the safety of the channel to being right on top of things. Attached to the Metabones Mark IV adapter it's a match made in heaven.
This lens is quick to focus and one of the sharpest lenses that I have had the privilege of shooting with. The perfect focal length for your everyday water men. I use the P-190 Aquatech port for this lens.
Shot with the Tokina 24-70mm F2.8 @ 70mm shutter 1000 / ISO 250 / F11
Tokina Macro 100 F2.8 Canon version - A lens I fell in love with 3 years ago. Being a 100mm Macro and a smaller semi light weight lens, it opens a whole new world to the artistry of surf photography. I take this lens out quite often when the waves are smaller. Especially, early in the morning when you get that first light.
I tend to open the lens all the way up to F2.8 and focus very closely on the calm and reflective surfaces of a breaking wave. This lens will pick up each and every detail of moving water. Producing a dreamy look to your photography. A must have lens into obtaining that unique look in surf photography. I use the Aquatech P-190 port for this lens.
Shot with the Tokina 100mm F 2.8 @ shutter 1250 / ISO 100 / F2.8
LENS ADAPTER
Metabones Canon EF lens to Sony NEX camera lens mount adapter Mark IV - At the moment I found the Metabones Mark IV to be the fastest and most reliable lens adapter on the market. To be honest, most of the time I forget that I'm using a 3rd party lens. The auto focusing is REALLY that responsive. This single capability of the Metabones adapter alone makes it feel like a native Sony lens. A true piece of genius.
STORAGE CARD & BATTERIES
I personally use a Sony 128GB Class 10 UHS-1/U3 SDXC memory card for all my surfing and shore break imagery. The buffer refresh rate with this card is by far the FASTEST that I ever used. Another plus because it's a class 10 rated card. Another advantage is its capabilities of handling and recording 4k video. LAST BUT NOT LEAST. BATTERIES!!! I bring along 3 fully charged puppies with me on every photo session. Making sure they are all fully charged up from the night before.
This is probably the one and only thing I dislike about the Sony A7 series of cameras. They all last for about a few hours and then done! You can't blame them though. In order to keep the camera body small, they had to give on something right?! And this something was the size of the battery. No big deal though. Just buy a few extra like I do and there you go.
CONCLUSION
So there you have it! My current setup that I use to photograph from sun up to sun down. I really hope you enjoyed this write up.
I hope I could shine some light on a few things to help guide you along your way in making the right decision in your next purchase to capture some awesome new imagery in the beautiful waves where ever you are in the world.
Please do leave a comment below if you have any questions, I would be happy to help you out.
AS ALWAYS, IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING PURCHASING ANY OF THESE FINE PRODUCTS. PLEASE DO USE THE LINKS PROVIDED ON THE SITE. THEY DON'T COST YOU A PENNY AND THEY HELP KEEP THE SITE RUNNING IN TURN BRINGING YOU MORE TUTORIALS, REVIEWS, AND AWESOME NEW CONTENT.
TILL NEXT TIME HAPPY SHOOTING