Usefulness of pistol grip for underwater housing

Good day!

Trying to decide which housing will be more comfortable while snorkeling - with or without pistol grip (https://seafrogs.com.hk/collections/sony/products/seafrogs-60m-195ft-waterproof-housing-for-sony-a6xxx-series-salted-line-with-pistol-grip).

Manufacturer position this model with pistol grip specially for surfers, but what I need is good and steady hold while snorkeling.

What is your opinion on such grips?

Thanks in advance.

I think the pistol grip is more useful when you need to hold the camera out of the water. Submerged, a side handle or a full tray would be more comfortable. Note that Meikon has mentioned that they're working on a tray handle-mounted trigger for this housing.

fotonboxx wrote:

Good day!

Trying to decide which housing will be more comfortable while snorkeling - with or without pistol grip (https://seafrogs.com.hk/collections/sony/products/seafrogs-60m-195ft-waterproof-housing-for-sony-a6xxx-series-salted-line-with-pistol-grip).

Manufacturer position this model with pistol grip specially for surfers, but what I need is good and steady hold while snorkeling.

What is your opinion on such grips?

Thanks in advance.

Common sense:

Pistol grip is used only in surfing photography and only there.

For diving there are handles and underwater trays.

Under no circumstances you should take pistol grip underwater!

Pistol grip is tested, but at depth of 20M.

Conclusion:

Not recommended for diving.

kelpdiver wrote:

Aquadrone wrote:

Under no circumstances you should take pistol grip underwater!

Pistol grip is tested, but at depth of 20M.

Why would a gip have a depth rating?

It's not just a plastic handle - there is a two-stage electronic trigger and a cable that penetrates the housing and plugs into the camera's USB port, see here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BffEpkynx0u/

Barmaglot_07 wrote:

kelpdiver wrote:

Aquadrone wrote:

Under no circumstances you should take pistol grip underwater!

Pistol grip is tested, but at depth of 20M.

Why would a gip have a depth rating?

It's not just a plastic handle - there is a two-stage electronic trigger and a cable that penetrates the housing and plugs into the camera's USB port, see here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BffEpkynx0u/

That seems risky, and/or weird.  Does the handle mount to a hole in the bottom of the housing, or is there some way of running that wire through a grommet?   Does sound risky for depth.

PHXAZCRAIG wrote:

It's not just a plastic handle - there is a two-stage electronic trigger and a cable that penetrates the housing and plugs into the camera's USB port, see here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BffEpkynx0u/

That seems risky, and/or weird. Does the handle mount to a hole in the bottom of the housing, or is there some way of running that wire through a grommet? Does sound risky for depth.

I don't have the housing (yet - planning to order it when I get home next week, without the pistol grip option), but looking at photos, there is an opening in the bottom of the housing, which is normally covered by a screw-in plug:

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0897/7576/products/04.jpg?v=1517548377

The four threaded holes around it are used to mount the pistol grip. The grip is meant to be used for surf photography on the surface, and it's likely not very resistant to pressure, hence the warning by Aquadrone not to take it below 20 meters.

Aquadrone wrote:

fotonboxx wrote:

Good day!

Trying to decide which housing will be more comfortable while snorkeling - with or without pistol grip (https://seafrogs.com.hk/collections/sony/products/seafrogs-60m-195ft-waterproof-housing-for-sony-a6xxx-series-salted-line-with-pistol-grip).

Manufacturer position this model with pistol grip specially for surfers, but what I need is good and steady hold while snorkeling.

What is your opinion on such grips?

Thanks in advance.

Common sense:

Pistol grip is used only in surfing photography and only there.

For diving there are handles and underwater trays.

Under no circumstances you should take pistol grip underwater!

Pistol grip is tested, but at depth of 20M.

Conclusion:

Not recommended for diving.

Hello! I'm late to this party and I'm also a complete newbie to underwater photography.

What about an Aquatech housing for example, that only has a handle on one side and no option to add another on the other side. Is one handle still better than a pistol grip underwater?

Miguel_A81 wrote:

Hello! I'm late to this party and I'm also a complete newbie to underwater photography.

What about an Aquatech housing for example, that only has a handle on one side and no option to add another on the other side. Is one handle still better than a pistol grip underwater?

Aquatech housings are made for surf photography, not diving - they're rated to a depth of only 10 meters. The pistol grip is useful for holding the camera up above the water, and the side handle is for extra stability while waves are tossing you around - neither of these things apply to dive photography. Conversely, when you're diving, you often need to get your rig down to the bottom to shoot small critters, or just to obtain an upward-looking perspective, and that's where a pistol grip sticking out of the bottom of your housing will get in the way. You are also likely to carry big lights or strobes, which you rarely need above water, and you need to distance them from the lens to reduce backscatter - tray handles provide attachment points for strobe arms and they help you stabilize the large and bulky rig.

Barmaglot_07 wrote:

Miguel_A81 wrote:

Hello! I'm late to this party and I'm also a complete newbie to underwater photography.

What about an Aquatech housing for example, that only has a handle on one side and no option to add another on the other side. Is one handle still better than a pistol grip underwater?

Aquatech housings are made for surf photography, not diving - they're rated to a depth of only 10 meters. The pistol grip is useful for holding the camera up above the water, and the side handle is for extra stability while waves are tossing you around - neither of these things apply to dive photography. Conversely, when you're diving, you often need to get your rig down to the bottom to shoot small critters, or just to obtain an upward-looking perspective, and that's where a pistol grip sticking out of the bottom of your housing will get in the way. You are also likely to carry big lights or strobes, which you rarely need above water, and you need to distance them from the lens to reduce backscatter - tray handles provide attachment points for strobe arms and they help you stabilize the large and bulky rig.

Wow! I thought I had read all about the housings but how wrong I was. I didn't notice that aquatech housing are only rated for a depth of only 10m. Thanks for the heads up!

I think i'll go with ikelite instead.