Are you looking for affordable and reliable underwater housing of your Sony camera system? If yes, please read on and check out the video review below…

If you are interested in seeing a review on the Seafrogs a6xxx salted line housings which my colleague Gary Tyson reviewed please click the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qXNBsT_Yfs

Free divers from Azul Freediving shooting with Sea Frogs UW housing for Sony A6xxx series Salted Line. Image taken with Sony a9 www.christiaanhart.com

After doing some extensive research online I came across Seafrogs based in Hong Kong who specialise in underwater housings of Sony, Fuji and many other camera systems.

At first, the price of other brands put me off the idea of purchasing an underwater camera housing. Generally, most housings cost much more than your entire camera and lens system, which can feel out of reach for a lot of photograpers.

Bearing in mind of course that I understand the importance of using a housing that will fully protect my gear. A large portion of my photograph assignments are on the water, ranging from wake surfing, wakeboarding, paddle boarding and other watersports.

Image taken with Sony a9, 16-35mm f/4.0 www.christiaanhart.com

Previously I had been using a cheap pouch system for wake surfing. This mostly consisted in me being positioned low on the back of the speed boat. I was nowhere near confident enough to submerge the camera. It was enough to stop salt water splashes but not ideal. I quickly realised I needed a housing that I could trust and take into the water to help me get the dynamic angles I wanted.

Over the past 8 months, I have been using the Seafrogs Sony a9 housing with the 16-35mm f/4 Sony Zeiss lens. I have used this with the dome port and flat port which enables wet (underwater and half in/half out of the water) and dry shooting (above the surface).

Recently the team from Seafrogs invited myself and my colleague Gary Tyson to test some of their new under water camera housings in Puerto Galera in the Philippines. Of course, we were very excited to be part of the week-long testing with free divers from Azul Freediving as or subjects. I am not a scuba diver so I was shooting from just below the surface as well as diving down to 4-5 meters to shoot the models.

Behind the Scenes with our team shooting a free diver in Puerto Galera, Philippines.

Over the week’s shoot, I tested the newly released seafrogs a7r3 housing against the a9 housing.

I must say they are very similar and both performed flawlessly. For photographers who want the option of using a higher resolution camera for stills and video, the a7r3 housing is the way to go. One of the advantages I found in the new a7r3 housing was being able to attach a pistol grip which is great for shooting in the surf.

There is also a tray system available for all housings with two handles for videographers which enables smoother controlled movements and the ability to attach a variety of lighting accessories.

The dome port is very versatile when using larger lenses such as the 16-35mm f/2.8 and 24-70mm 2.8. The housings cover almost all of the Sony lenses (full details of combative lenses can be found below and on the seafrogs website.

Another great addition is the white color housing which definitely stands out more, especially for surf photographers to be more visible in the water.

One of the main features which I would like to see on both housings is to have the ability to move the joystick on the back of the camera. This wasn’t a huge concern but having the ability to be able to move the focus points would be an advantage when wanting to frame a shot differently. In saying this there are options within the focus point set up in the camera to track subjects.

All other buttons on the camera are accessible. For stills I didn’t have the need to adjust much once the shoot had started. I played around with aperture f/2.8-f/8, depending on the light and depth of the water I was shooting in, shutter speed ranged from 1/320sec up to 1/640sec, ISO Auto, I set the max to 3200, the majority of the images ranged from ISO 100-320 and in deeper water 3200. The view finder is very nice but I must admit I prefer to use the live view screen.

Housing Safety specs - This is a big deal! Anyone placing a valuable camera into an underwater housing needs to be sure their gear is safe! Having the vacuum pump seal and leak detection alarm gives me the confidence every time I use the housing. Double O rings are another added benefit for peace of mind.

Vacuum Pump System port
In-built leak detection sensor
Interchangeable port system
Synchro cable port
Standard flat port (Optical glass)
6" Dry dome port (Optical acrylic)
Stainless steel mounting plate 1/4" Thread
40m / 130ft Dept rate

Sony a7r3 compatible lens housing options

Dome port

Sony FE 12-24mm F4G (No manual zoom or focus available)
Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM (No manual zoom or focus available)
Sony FE 24mm F1.4 GM (No manual focus available)
Sony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM (No manual zoom or focus available)
Sony FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS (Only at 24mm. No manual zoom or focus available)
Sony Distagon T* FE 35mm F1.4 ZA (No manual focus available)
Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 16-35mm f/4 ZA OSS (No manual zoom or focus available)
Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm f/4 ZA OSS (No manual zoom or focus available)
Sony FE 28mm F2 + Fisheye Converter SEL057FEC (No manual focus available.Minor vignetting effect)
Sony FE 28mm F2 + Ultra Wide Converter SEL075UWC (No manual focus available)
Sony FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS (Manual zoom available)
Sony FE 55mm F1.8 ZA Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* (No manual focus available)

Standard port

Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 16-35mm f/4 ZA OSS (No manual zoom or focus available) - Works from 17mm to 35mm
Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm f/4 ZA OSS (No manual zoom or focus available)
Sony FE 24mm F1.4 GM (No manual focus available)
Sony FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS (Manual zoom available)
Sony FE 50mm F1.8
Sony FE 50mm F2.8 Macro
Sony FE 55mm F1.8 ZA Carl Zeiss Sonnar T*

Image taken with Sony a9 www.christiaanhart.com

Summary

In my view, Sea Frogs have created an exciting product which enables anyone from amateur to professional photographers/videographers to access the underwater photography world. Whether it’s shooting action water sports to recreational divers or commercial level shoots there is a housing to suit everyone. Why I recommend Sea Frogs, there are two key factors that stand out, quality and price. In the early days of researching Sea Frogs there weren’t many reviews. The reviews I could find were all very positive, this is another reason I wanted to express my thoughts on the product and to show what can be achieved through the images you see here which I captured.

To receive a discount on any Sea Frogs housing enter the code, f8ch at checkout, visit seafrogs.com.hk to order now.

Disclaimer:

The following review is based on my time using the housings and I must reinforce we were not paid to do this, all views are my own honest thoughts about the systems.

35 degrees, 85% humidity and clear blue skies, it’s damn hot! I wouldn’t rather be anywhere else.

Race circuits have always been interesting places, the atmosphere, the smell of burning rubber and petrol in the air, comradery of drivers and teams. Seeing familiar faces and catching up with clients which are now friends, it's a real buzz and a dream come true, to be working in this environment.

My colleague has arrived, accreditations in hand, scooters ready and off we set for a weekend covering the Blancpain GT Asia series at Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia.

Sepang International Circuit is, HUGE! Two massive straights, tight turns, and long sweeping bends. Covering a race here is exciting, and at times very challenging, it pushes you to think outside of the box. Some days are better than others, getting the creative ideas to flow is hard at times, other days, it just happens.

For photographers to be able to work in this exciting and at times a dangerous environment comes only with the assistance of dedicated team of people who make it all happen.

Thanks to the crew at Blancpain GT series Asia and SRO Motorsport Group for their support and hospitality over the weekend.

Recently I made the change from Canon to Sony and I must say I don't regret it one bit. Throughout the weekend the Sony a9 performed amazingly, super fast autofocus, lightweight and with 20 frames a second you are almost guaranteed not to miss! 20 frames a second may be an overkill but it's good to know you have that extra frame rate if you need it. The tilt screen came in handy, shooting in some positions when very low enables you to view the screen a lot easier and shoot more efficiently. Battery life was a non-issue, shooting for over 6 hours a day and still had plenty of juice left.

Overall I am very satisfied with the Sony system, durability may be an issue long term but let's see. Being able to carry two full camera systems all day and not feel it on the shoulders, to me, is a bonus. Looking forward to trying out the Sony 400mm 2.8 once it's launched.

Gear used: Sonya9 Sony a7R3, Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS, Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 GM OSS, Sony FE 2x Teleconverter, Sony Vertical battery grip.