I’ve been using a Sony alpha a6000 water housing for surf photography for over a year, it’s the best camera I’ve used for shooting surf photos and I’ve never regretted moving from the Canon 70D that I had when I first bought it.
If you’ve got one too and you want to shoot surf photos in the water you’ll need a Sony a6000 water housing. The table below shows you all the options for surf housings (and a couple of more inexpensive dive housings) for the Sony a6000 camera.
| Price | Ports | Pistol grip | Material | Release date | Fasteners | Flash? | Controls | Shipped from | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aquatech ATB A6000 | $1,295 US for housing , flat port & pistol grip | LP range: Large selection, dome, flat, telephoto ($195 – $495 US) | Two stage, separate shutter and focus, plus removable side handle | Polyurethane | July 18th 2016 | 5 x bolts, back loading | No | Most (no video on a6000 housing) | USA/international dealers |
| CMT | ~$1,400 for housing, pistol grip and port, prices not listed on the CMT site | dome, flat, wide zoom, no telephoto zoom port (one included, dome ports approx $395 US) | Two stage, removable (included with housing) | Carbon Fiber | Custom order now through site | 5 x bolts, back loading (probably) | Optional custom extra (probably) | Custom | USA |
| Liquid Eye C6000S/C6300S | $600 US – with one flat port | flat port supplied, dome port available as extra. | None supplied, two stage removable pistol grip available as an extra | Polyurethane | Available now | 4 x bolts, back loading | Optional window for pop up flash | Most + zoom control on housing. | Indonesia |
| Liquid Eye C6000SP/C6300SP | $750 US – with one flat port and pistol grip | flat port supplied, dome port available as extra. | Two stage, removable. | Polyurethane | Available now | 4 x bolts, back loading | Optional window for pop up flash | Most + zoom control on housing. | Indonesia |
| Liquid Eye C6000SP/C6300SP package | $950 US – with a flat port, dome port and pistol grip | flat port and dome port supplied | Two stage, removable. | Polyurethane | Available now | 4 x bolts, back loading | Optional window for pop up flash | Most + zoom control on housing. | Indonesia |
| Meikon (dive housing) | $190 US on Amazon | Fixed flat port for 16-50mm kit lens, fits short primes too | No. DIY options |
Plastic | Available now | 1 x latch, back loading | connectors for fibre optic trigger cable, cold shoe. | all | China |
| Meikon Starbea (dive housing) | $730 US – Amazon (out of stock) | interchangeable – one available compatible with 16-50mm kit lens and other short primes | No. DIY options |
Aluminium – CNC machined | Available now | 1 x latch, back loading | connectors for fibre optic trigger cable, cold shoe. | all | China |
| Salty Surf Housings A6000 | ~$1,230 US ($1,649 AUS) |
Flat ports for 45mm or 70mm long lenses, 4″ dome and 6″ dome, telephoto ports available in future | Two stage, removable. | Aluminium – CNC machined | Available now | 6 x wingnuts, front loading | No | Most | Australia |
| Salty Surf Housings A6000 BASIC | ~$820 US ($1,099 AUS) |
Flat ports for 45mm or 70mm long lenses, 4″ dome and 6″ dome, telephoto ports available in future | One stage, removable (two stage upgrade available) | Aluminium – CNC machined | Available now | 6 x wingnuts, front loading | No | C2, Top dial | Australia |
| HCW | $800 US for basic housing, $100 US for each extra control | Dome or flat port | Two stage, permanently attached | fibreglass | custom order only | 8 x bolts, back loading | Optional custom extra | Custom options, $100 US for each control beyond shutter release | USA |
| RL Ashby aka rawbdizz | Not announced, currently not for sale | flat, dome being designed | Two stage, separate shutter and focus, removable | Aluminium, welded. | Unknown, currently not for sale. | 6 x bolts, back loading | No | Shutter via pistol grip | USA (if sold in future) |
| Brother housings | approx $490 US (8,000 South African rand) | flat, dome, can be bought with housing for a discount | two stage – adapter required as currently doesn’t support Sony multi port | Polycarbonate | Available now | 10 x bolts, back loading | No | Shutter via pistol grip | South Africa |
I have personally used the Meikon plastic housing and I love it, but I’ve also used my Sony a600 in my Aquatech CR-60 housing (originally designed for a Canon 60D DSLR) and the ergonomics of a pistol grip and the flexibility of interchangeable ports really make me want to get a proper surf housing for it.
Who else uses the Sony a6000 for surf photography?
Chris Burkard and Al Taylor, plus a whole host of others are using the Sony a6000 to create stunning surf photography.
Here’s a video showing Chris Burkard using the Sony a6000 in the Meikon housing to shoot surf photos, as well as using it on land with the Sony 70-200mm f4 lens to shoot from land too.
Al Taylor also uses the Meikon housing and shoots photos in some of the heaviest waves on the North shore of Hawaii, here’s a shot from his Instagram from Waimea shot with the Sony a6000:
There are plenty more surf photographers shooting with a Sony a6000 water housing, but soon they might be changing camera…
When will Sony release a replacement for the Sony a6000?
There have been rumours of a Sony a6100 or even Sony a7000 for over a year, but many people are saying that there will be an announcement in Spring 2016 of the release of the upgrade for the a6000.
It’s important to realise that just because they release a new version, it doesn’t mean the original Sony a6000 is any less of a camera, it’s still very capable of shooting amazing surf photographs and it’s likely to be available even cheaper after a replacement is released.
I’m hoping that the size of the camera and the layout of buttons doesn’t change very much on the new version, if it’s very similar it’s possible that it will fit inside an existing Sony a600 water housing, but if it’s slightly bigger it might require an upgraded housing as well as camera body.
Is there a new Sony a6000 water housing?
If I’ve missed an option off the list or you find out any more information that I haven’t been able to confirm let me know in the comments or send me an e-mail at ben@learningsurfphotography.com