rs3d Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 I'm looking for a secondary camera for underwater shooting with decent low-light support for 1080P. Most GoPro footage I've seen fails in low-light and I'm somewhat afraid of housing my A6300... The Olympus Stylus Tough TG-5 looks interesting, it's rugged & compact, but I would love to hear your personal experience. salim 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonpais Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Maybe @Fritz Pierre can chime in. He's just got himself one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Kotlos Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 I used the tg-5 for a couple of weeks before I returned it, and its an impressive little camera. Olympus is using the same processor as in E-M1II and makes this a very speedy little camera. AF is very fast, and it carries most of the menus from E-M1ii, but unfortunately not all. It does have a small sensor though, as large as the go pro, so don't expect something much better. If your output is HD you might be able to get around the quality loss by shooting 4K and downsampling. My suggestion would be that if you need an action camera that is small, quick and easy to start shooting with then either the TG-5 or go pro are good choices. But if you want good quality video you should definitely get a cage for the A6300 since there is a HUGE difference. There are good cages out there which offer much much better sealing than either the TG-5 or go pro, not cheap though but TG-5 is fairly expensive as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inazuma Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 ive used a generic underwater housing for my Sony rx1r ii. It was scary but worked a charm. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00B8L05Y6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_UPBPzb14MK9VZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markr041 Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 Among action cameras, the Sony X3000 has the best low-light performance. While it has a similar sized sensor as the rest, it only has 8.3 megapixels, just enough for UHD. The others pack 12 megapixels in the same space. The sensor is 16:9 in shape, as opposed to 4:3, so there are no wasted pixels for video either. The larger pixel size gives it the advantage, beside the sensor being BSI. This was shot in low light using the X3000: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rs3d Posted August 30, 2017 Author Share Posted August 30, 2017 Thanks guys, I appreciate the input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt3rs Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 What kind of underwater shooting are you doing? Snorkeling? Pool? Diving? For diving buy or rent (if you find a place) a real housing with a port, dome etc.. but is really expensive and you need to change it when you change your camera. You need various ports depending on the lenses that you want to use. On the cheap side you can buy the bag has Inazuma suggested but that one is a pita because you always need to press the port to the lens... I had one and it was a real pain. I now use an ewamarine bag with the lens ring and is much better because the lens stays perfectly aligned with the port. It is still a pain to use but IMO way better: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/464106-REG/Ewa_Marine_EM_U_BXP100_U_BXP100_Underwater_Housing.html You need to setup all before because changing setting when inside the bag is a real pain... also you should lock the settings because it is so easy to change things by mistake. I even use my 1Dx in there but there is for sure a risk and you should double check every time that there is no leaking. My camera is insured so I take the risk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Kotlos Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 The last picture from @gt3rs reminded me one more thing: If you want these half in/ half out shots, you need a lens with a large diameter front glass. I never really thought about it, and I found out that it was almost impossible to get with the TG-5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt3rs Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 split shoots are quite hard with the ewamarine so you need to try and retry... best would be a dome instead of a flat port I think we tried like 20 dives for getting this one: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Kotlos Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 FYI Sony just released RX0, a new action camera: https://www.sony.com/electronics/cyber-shot-compact-cameras/dsc-rx0#editorial_hotspots_747101713265964054322088 It is quite bit more expensive compared to the other action cameras but it has a better & larger sensor and it comes with picture profiles! That f/4 aperture though is going to sacrifice quite a bit of light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JurijTurnsek Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 Yup, that aperture probably knocks down the maximum performance back to regular action cam levels when the light levels drop down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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