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NAUTI TIME 154x116x119mm dimensions), it was hard to believe that it might have been borne from a solid block of aircraft grade aluminum. On closer inspection though, it’s most likely because of the less than 2mm walled construction in various places. But with it rated to 75m and with Nauticam’s housing reputation, which believe it or not, includes a recent tsunami survivor in Japan... just google it!... I had few worries about pocketing it in my BCD or doubts about its performance underwater.
> IMAGINE YOUR NEW SEXZ-1 WRAPPED IN A SKIN-HUGGING
METALLIC ARMOUR CHISELED TO FIT EFFORTLESSLY IN ONE HAND. FULL FINGER ACCESS TO ALL THE CAMERA'S PETITE DIALS, A VERY SENSITIVE TRIGGER AND A FRONT SCREW PORT THREADED TO TRY OUT ALL THE LATEST 67MM THREADED ACCESSORIES. NOT A BUTTON OR DIAL ON THIS BEAST IS MISSED TO TAME YOUR NEWEST SEXZ BEAUTY!
H
aving already toyed around with this Olympus compact underwater for hours of macro diving at Seafari 2011 in the Philippines, pairing her with this Nauticam (NA-XZ1) was more than just an interesting fantasy. My first impressions of him out of the box and my few minutes fiddling and bonding with my hot-off-thepress Nauticam conjured up scenes from a 007 flick with Q saying "Please return this in one piece, Bond". With its sleek black anodized finish, form fitting ergonomics and smooth mechanisms, all it lacked was
a bow tie, a ritzy reception, of course a 007 bombshell and a coral martini... shaken, not stirred! Carefully carved using Computer Numerical Controlled machining - code name ‘CNC’ and Nauti-agent-Part Number #17801 - this sleek little housing in my hand felt more like Mr. Bond’s signature 0.25 caliber Beretta 418 than the arms lugged by his targets. Weighing in at only 505 grams more than its OEM red plastic comrade and yet smaller in size (156x108x105mm versus the PT-50’s
sportdiving magazine october/november 2011
De-Gearing the Gear Needless to say, the SeXZ-1 slipped right into him snugly with all her buttons and dials perfectly aligned for him to control. In fact her main front dial ring, one of the most twiddled parts, slides right into a interior dial hugging o-ring mechanism accessed from the front exterior of the housing via a well crafted gear system just behind its sleek finish. Underwater, albeit without neoprene gloves, this proved to be smooth operating, full of sensitivity and flawless! So not a shot was missed from wrong settings or my fumbling fingers.
LAWRENCE ALEX WU www.aguapictures.com
WITH THE SeXZ-1 UNDERWATER WAS WHERE THIS PAIR REALLY PERFORMED FOR ME. WITH MY 67MM THREADED WIDE AND MACRO LENSES, SEVERAL STROBES AND 25 METRES OF VISIBILITY, DIVING AND SHOOTING WITH THEM WAS SHEER PLEASURE. worked! Simply a mechanical marvel I thought – and countless minutes of simple entertainment I might add – even before getting this Nauti-couple all wild and wet!
25 metres of visibility, diving and shooting with them was sheer pleasure. Coupled together, the pair was only slightly negatively buoyant. But if I could wave my magic strobe arms, X-ray vision to check the o-ring portion behind the housing lock and dual o-rings on the main housing opening would have been nice. Nonetheless, with my five strobes of various brands the Nauticam’s removable flash cover/optical fibre mount had connections for my INON/Olympus/Sea&Sea type optical sync cables and bare optical wires which solved all my strobe triggering headaches.
Going Under the Covers Underwater was where this pair really Switching between macro and wide angle performed for me. With my 67mm threaded shots took just a few seconds and a few wide and macro lenses, several strobes and twists of my domed INON wide lens or
10x magnifying SubSee macro wet lenses. With a super sensitive shutter trigger and staring through the anti-scratch, antireflective coated LCD window straight down the barrel of the housing’s optically coated port glass, I felt like I had a license to shoot anything daring to whisk a tail at me – and all with the blessings from her majesty’s MI6! However, the Q, Mr L, I presume, doesn’t stop there. On the top of the housing is a standard M10 threaded strobe/target light mount and flash mount base. On the base are two standard ¼" tripod sockets which solve the ever annoying spinning-housing on a tray syndrome. Dual sacrificial zinc anodes prevent housing corrosion which typically cements aluminum to stainless
In fact, all his controls performed seamlessly; from buttons to knobs and latches to levers. In comparison to the Olympus OEM housing the additional housing knob for the camera’s wheel dial and an OK button actually ‘centered’ amidst the main 4-way buttons (macro/flash/EV/multi-shot), changing settings was quicker and much more intuitive. But speaking of levers, this Nauticam’s introduced one to get her popup flash turned on underwater... so more sexz-nauti-shots both day and night! On closer inspection of the OK and 4-way buttons configurations, more of Q Branch’s type engineering shone through. Assembled like gyro parts from the Moonraker shuttle, I couldn’t stop fidgeting with all the buttons and knob on the front of the housing to figure out how it all
Left: No bigger than my thumb and with my SubSee magnifying diopter on the Nauticam's 67mm port this critter's an easy shot. Right: Drift diving in crystal clear waters with masses of schooling fish packed into the view of my screwed on wet wide lens under the MV1 Chumphon Cabana Liveaboard.
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