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https://vimeo.com/190419876 - Every once in a while you get the call to go outside your comfort zone. Answer the call. 
Déjà Mae and I have shot quite a few photos together but recently she asked me to shoot a video for the next song on her recently released album “Sloan” I was totally into creating something magical except there was one major obstacle… She asked if I could shoot it underwater??? Underwater cinematography is not my forte but being pushed out of your comfort zone is where creativity lives and it’s been a while since someone asked me how long I could hold my breath. For this particular project I chose the Sony A6300. It’s small shoots 4k and 120 fps at 1080p which helps slow down the erratic motion of swimming. The water housings are more economical and the dynamic range is pretty damn close to the high end Sony. The down side, it overheats like a mofo. Even in water which makes for longer breaks in between takes. I used the Meikon underwater case for a few reasons. It’s easier to open quickly to dissipate heat and cheaper since Sony keeps releasing A6000 model cameras (3 models in the last year A6000, A6300, A6500) which most of the underwater housings are incompatible from body to body, also you can adjust zoom, focus, shutter and aperture all underwater. I hate the flat light of shooting underwater so I came up with a bit of an interesting solution to provide key and fill light underwater. I took a couple of c- stands and positioned a gold fill card to reflect the sun where I wanted. So the gold fleck highlights in the water are from that. Cheap and simple continuous light sources don’t have to be expensive. Just take note of the sun’s path and adjust accordingly. If you are still reading this, I appreciate it because sometimes people don’t quite understand what goes in to making a shot but there’s a lot going on. Thanks Deja for trusting me with your vision and inspiring me to get weird. Do yourself a favor and check out her new album and her full-length video coming soon.

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    • That's a pity and certainly doesn't match with my experience with the 18-105: mine is definately on par with the 16-50 kit lens (which on its own was as decent as I could expect from such a cheap lens). Sure, dont expect sharp corners especially wide open, but in the center my 18-105 left little to be desired across most of the zoom range. The 16-55 does beat it in every regard except zoom range though. The Tamron 17-70 trades blows with the 16-55 and might be the better choice in some cases. I went for the 16-55 because of the smaller size (I also found the 18-105 too bulky most of the time) and slightly wider FoV. My camera has a stabilized sensor so stabilized optics was no requirement for me. As you noted, I kept the 18-105 on my old A6000 for the occasional video project.
    • Thanks! The 18-105 mm /f4 was PERFECT lens for my needs but a HUGE disappointed. I bought it with the camera, then I brought it with me on a trip. To my disappointed, all pictures came out slightly blurred, like the lens was slightly out of focus. Stepping down was not solving the issue. The kit lens was definitely better, to my surprise. Thinking that I got a lemon, I went back to the shop where I bought It (luckily, I has bought both the camera and the lens in a brick and mortar store). We tested the lens on another camera and it was the same. Then we tested other copies of the same lens that the store had in stock and all showed the same lack if sharpness. All pictures slightly out of focus. In the end I returned the lens and used the money to buy other equipment. I must admit that it was a perfect lens for video but it is not what I use my camera for. Actually this was confirmed by the shop owner, most buyers of the 18-105 mm are interested in its video capabilities. I will have a look at the Tamron, the Sony 16-55 is almost double the price, at least here, so I will keep it out of the picture, at least for the time being. The Sigma also looks as an interesting option.  
    • Hello ! A friend gave me an old Sony SLT A65 that was locked in a suitcase for some years and guess what... It was pretty dirty. The translucent mirror looks strange. I know it's a pellicle mirror, but something is really weird , at least to me who never saw this entity before. It shows a rainbow pattern when lit, like a diffraction grid. And when I point the camera to a strong light source, let´s say streets lights or car lights, a huge halo and a diffuse pattern appears, almost like one of that photographic filters from the '70s. I guess the mirror is damaged. Does enyone have any experience with this ? I managed to remove the mirror and carefully rinse it with water and detergent solution , rinse again and dry, but the rainbow patter persists. My question is basically about the translucent mirror behavior with strong highlights and if the rainbow pattern on its surface is normal.   Thanks!  
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