Fantasea

Fantasea build underwater housings and wet lenses for compact and mirrorless shooters. This is the full range Oyster Diving stocks: housings for Sony bodies, several with vacuum leak detection, wide-angle and macro wet lenses that share the standard 67mm thread, plus the O-ring grease and LCD magnifier that keep a system working. Everything here is picked by people who shoot underwater themselves.

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Start with the housing

A Fantasea system starts with the housing, and the housing is chosen by the camera you already own rather than the other way round. The FRX100-MKV fits the Sony RX100 MKIII, MKIV and MKV, and carries the upgraded 67mm native port thread. The FA6400 comes two ways: as a housing on its own, or as a vacuum kit bundled with the FML34 flat port and a gear for the Sony 16-50mm zoom. The FA6500 V2 is the other vacuum housing in the range.

Vacuum housings and the pre-dive check

Both vacuum housings use a valve and a leak detector. You draw the air out before you dive and watch the indicator, so a seal that is not holding shows itself on the boat rather than at depth. It is a two-minute habit that has saved more cameras than careful packing ever will.

Wet lenses and the 67mm thread

Wet lenses mount on the front of the port and come on and off in the water, which is what makes a compact or mirrorless rig genuinely versatile. Most of the Fantasea range shares a 67mm thread. The UWL-09Pro, UWL-09F, UCL-09F, UCL-06LF and UCL-05LF all use it, and that is the common standard across compact, mirrorless and SLR housings, so these lenses are not locked to Fantasea bodies. The UWL-400Q is the exception: it uses a 52mm thread and is designed for compact cameras with a 24mm-equivalent lens.

Wide angle

There are four wide-angle options here. The UWL-09Pro is the top of the range, built around an optical glass dome with a six-element construction. The UWL-09F is its close relative, sharing the same 130-degree field of view and adding rotatable wings you can turn underwater to keep the sun and your lighting off the dome. The UWL-04F and UWL-400Q complete the group. They are all doing the same job: getting close to a wreck, a reefscape or a diver and still fitting the whole thing in the frame, with less water between you and the subject.

Macro and close-up

The macro lenses are graded by diopter strength, and the numbers are in the titles: the UCL-05LF at +6, the UCL-06LF at +12, the UCL-09F at +12.5 and the UCL-900F at +15 for super macro. Stronger is not automatically better. A higher diopter magnifies more but shortens the distance you can work at and thins the depth of field, so if you are new to macro the +6 will land you far more keepers. The UCL-05LF and UCL-09F both take a front 67mm thread, which means you can stack a second lens or a filter when you want to go closer.

The small things that keep a rig alive

Two items on this page are easy to skip and should not be. The UMG-02 LCD magnifier makes a small rear screen readable through a mask, which matters when you are trying to confirm focus rather than guess at it. The silicone grease is for the periodic lubrication of O-ring seals, the simplest flood insurance there is, and the thing most people only buy after they have learned why they needed it.

Which Fantasea setup suits you

If you already shoot a Sony RX100 MKIII, MKIV or MKV, the FRX100-MKV settles the housing question and its 67mm port thread opens up the whole wet lens range on this page. If you are housing a mirrorless body, the FA6400 and FA6500 V2 bring vacuum leak detection, and the FA6400 Vacuum Kit saves you sourcing the FML34 port and the 16-50 zoom gear separately. Beyond that, buy one wide-angle and one macro lens before anything else. They will change your pictures more than any other addition to the rig. If you are stuck between options, ring the shop: we would rather spend ten minutes on the phone than have you send something back.

Frequently asked questions

Which underwater imaging brands does Oyster Diving stock on this page?

This is a brand collection, so every product on this page is Fantasea: housings, wide-angle and macro wet lenses, and the accessories that go with them. The housings here are built for Sony camera bodies, and the exact fit is named in each product title. If you want to compare Fantasea against the other manufacturers we carry, use the Cameras & Housings link at the top of the page.

Will a Fantasea wet lens fit a housing made by someone else?

Usually, yes. The UWL-09Pro, UWL-09F, UCL-09F, UCL-06LF and UCL-05LF all use a 67mm thread mount, which is the common standard on compact, mirrorless and SLR housings, and adaptors are supplied for ports of other dimensions. The UWL-400Q is the odd one out, using a 52mm thread. Check the thread on your port before you order, and ask us if you are not certain what you have.

Can I fit and remove these lenses during a dive?

Yes, and that is the whole point of a wet lens. Fantasea's wide-angle and macro lenses mount on the outside of the housing port and can be installed or taken off in the water, so one dive can cover a wreck in wide angle and a nudibranch in macro. Use the secure line or strap supplied with the lens so it stays attached to your rig while it is off the port.

Which Fantasea macro lens should I start with?

Start gentler than you expect. The UCL-05LF is a +6 and is the most forgiving to shoot, giving you magnification without taking away all your working distance. The UCL-06LF at +12 and the UCL-09F at +12.5 go closer, and the UCL-900F at +15 is a super macro lens for very small subjects. Stronger diopters mean a shorter focus distance and less depth of field, which is where most people start missing focus. The UCL-05LF and UCL-09F both have a front 67mm thread, so you can stack a second lens later.

What does a vacuum housing actually do?

The FA6400 Vacuum Kit and the FA6500 V2 Vacuum Housing use a valve and a leak detector. You draw the air out before the dive and watch the indicator: if the seal is not holding, you find out on the boat instead of at depth. It does not replace looking after your seals. Grease the O-rings periodically and check them for hair, sand and salt every single time you open the housing.

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