Sony A7ii (A7rII) Meikon underwater housing + Rokinon (Samyang) 14mm f2.8 AF

Despite what was written in other threads the Meikon housing for the A7 mark 2 series will fit a Rokinon/Samyang 14mm AF lens!

Need to mount the camera first

The barrel needs to be mounted first, then the lens should be mounted.

Finally, the dome can be placed.

Taking the lens out is the process in reverse, however, it requires releasing the lens from inside the casing after the dome is taken off. Small fingers are a must!

Haven't tested this underwater, still trying to modify the casing to accept a vacuum valve.

Whoa, that's... involved. How does the 14mm lens line up with the dome's nodal point in this setup? Also, can you change the camera battery without taking the whole thing apart, or do you recharge via USB between dives?

plasticsdoc wrote:

Yes, quite a tedious process. It would be best to do USB charging since the camera needs to be taken out to change the battery.

Need to see is IQ is worth the hassle, but this is the lens I am using for astrophotography. I wanted to see if I could get away without buying a new WA lens.

Very interesting. I tried it with my Batis 18 mm, but of course it wouldn't even fit into the dome, which I should have tried first. Getting the lens off was tricky, but got it done reaching in to depress the lens release with a thin screwdriver.

Yes, battery life for scuba can be a problem. I'm hoping the solution is the external box with 7x capacity battery that I built a couple of weeks ago.

I also made a box that fits under the camera and connects via a Case Relay battery adaptor for astrophotography on a scope or on a tripod for timelapse.  Box plus battery weighs 1 lb.

Tripod attaches at same X-Y position as camera.

Those are very thoughtful considerations. Please feed us with some underwater images

Hi Plasticdoc, have you tried it underwater? How's the 14mm AF speed & performance?

Last Christmas on a diving equipment show, I have asked Meikon's boss trying to put my 16-34/4 and A7rII combo into this housing and it took him over an hour to do so. The "engineer“  and the promoters were standing by the side helplessly.

I hope I can see better products and more ports.

Great thread, thank you for sharing. Question: do you really need extra batteries for underwater ? How long do you stay underwater and how many shots do you take?

Here is why I am asking: i do most of my  Underwater photo shoots in shallow waters. I used external strobes (Sea and Sea), and I shoot only stills. I average about 600-700 shots per photo shoot, 2.5 hours in average, one battery.

I try using fresh genuine Sony batteries for my A7rII. After 20-30 uses, i usually relegate the battery to over water use, and start a new one.

Thanks,

Ned

Here's the Seafrogs 2nd Gen housing for the a7RII with the dome detached from its extension. The small retainer is shown at the rear of the dome. The extension ID near the dome is 3.9" and near the housing it necks down to 3.6". This 2nd housing has the port for vacuum checker and the zoom knob. I've used it on about 15 dives with no problems.

The two fiberoptic ports shown at the front of the housing, above the extension, are my addition and are not supplied with the stock housing.