News
S.U.P.E.R. Part 15: Fantasea FG9X Housing
In our ongoing series S.U.P.E.R. (Scubaverse’s Underwater Photography Equipment Reviews), Scubaverse.com’s underwater photography editors Nick and Caroline Robertson Brown review new underwater photography equipment, general diving equipment, and some older favourites too.
For the fifteenth instalment of S.U.P.E.R., Nick and Caroline take a look at the FG9X Housing from Fantasea.
The Canon G9X in the Fantasea housing is an excellent package at a truly affordable price. This latest addition to the canon range is one of the few cameras on the market with the so-called one-inch super sensor. The sensor is a 20.1 megapixel CMOS sensor, offering an ISO range between 125 and 12800 and your images can be recorded in both JPEG and raw formats. The zoom facility is reasonable, offering a 28 to 84 mm equivalent, which makes it a versatile set up, allowing both macro and wide-angle photography on an underwater outing. The camera also shoots 1080 video, and whilst this is no longer regarded as stunning quality, it is quite hard to see any significant difference when shooting under water.
When paired with the Fantasea housing, the system works really well. The G9X was designed primarily as a touchscreen camera, but all the exposure controls can be operated by a single knurled knob on the front of the housing. This operates a dial on the front of the camera and by continuous cycling of the function button (one of only four buttons on the back of the camera), the aperture, shutter speed and ISO setting are all very easy to change if you are using the camera in manual mode. I like to test all housings with 5mm gloves on, to check out how easy it will be to use in the winter in the UK (even though there was no need to wear gloves on this dive), and found no issues with changing settings and controls. The camera is very light and small, and this, therefore, allows the housing to be small and easy to take away on your foreign dive trips.
The lens on the Fantasea housing has a 67 mm thread which allows it to be able to take wet lenses. When I took it underwater, I had two macro lenses with me, the AOI ULC – 05 +6 close-up lens M67 and the AOI ULC – 06 +12. It is great that so many housings for compact cameras now have this option to add wet lenses whilst underwater to give the user more creative options. There is a huge array of lenses that are compatible with the 67mm screw thread on the front of the housing. I got some nice shots of the Capernwray Sturgeon with the macro lenses removed and despite being regularly bombarded by divers under training, the results from a compact camera under these conditions were very impressive.
The housing is depth rated to 60m, and is clearly marked so that if you are not familiar with the controls, you can still find your way around whilst underwater. It has connections for two fibre optic cables, a cold shoe mount for accessories, moisture detector and alarm. So it is not short of desirable features.
My overall opinion of the Canon 9 GX in the Fantasea housing was that this is a great package at a great price. The cameras are priced at around £350 and the housing runs out at just over £400. This setup is a great way for beginners in underwater photography to get into the water and capture good quality images. With easy access to all the camera’s functions and the ability to add wet lenses, strobes and lights, this really is a terrific starter pack at approx. £750.
Fantasea is distributed in the UK by www.blue-orb.uk.
For more from Nick and Caroline, visit www.frogfishphotography.com.
News
Dive Worldwide Announces Bite-Back as its Charity of the Year
Over the next 12 months, specialist scuba holiday company Dive Worldwide will be supporting Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with donations collected from client bookings to any one of its stunning dive destinations around the world. The independently-owned operator expects to raise £3000 for the UK charity.
Manager at Dive Worldwide, Phil North, said: “We’re especially excited to work with Bite-Back and support its intelligent, creative and results-driven campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products and prompt a change in attitudes to the ocean’s most maligned inhabitant.”
Bite-Back is running campaigns to hold the media to account on the way it reports shark news along with a brand new nationwide education programme. Last year the charity was credited for spearheading a UK ban on the import and export of shark fins.
Campaign director at Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’re enormously grateful to Dive Worldwide for choosing to support Bite-Back. The company’s commitment to conservation helps set it apart from other tour operators and we’re certain its clients admire and respect that policy. For us, the affiliation is huge and helps us look to the future with confidence we can deliver against key conservation programmes.”
To launch the fundraising initiative, Phil North presented Graham Buckingham with a cheque for £1,000.
Visit Dive Worldwide to discover its diverse range of international scuba adventures and visit Bite-Back to learn more about the charity’s campaigns.
MORE INFORMATION
Call Graham Buckingham on 07810 454 266 or email graham@bite-back.com
Gear News
Scubapro Free Octopus Promotion 2024
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
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