On this episode of the underwater photography show, Alex Mustard mentions using Nikon 5T diopter to allow his macro lens to focus closer.

 

I was wondering what the advantages of using the Nikon 5T were versus using a wet lens diopter like the SMC.

 

As a relative newbie, it feels that a wet lens diopter would give the same result with the flexibility of being able to take it off underwater if needed.

There's also the limitation of getting an extension ring to fit the diopter, which Alex mentioned he had to get custom made.

 

Does anyone have experience with the Nikon 5T and other filter based diopters?

The magnification obtained with the 5T is not as high as typical wet diopters like the Nauticam SMC-1 which achieve something around 2x magnification.   It will get you something like 1.3x on a 105mm macro lens. Also it means you can't shoot larger things that you find as the lens no longer focuses to infinity, being able to take the diopter off UW is the bige benefit of thaw wet lenses.

Having only just started down this road, I've gone for the wet lens options, as it allows me to use different magnifications or to flip out all magnification and just shoot with my either my nikon 60mm or 105mm, whichever is fitted. I'm very happy with the results with a wet lens paired with either lens.

 

I'm also a little confused why Alex championed the 5T; maybe it is just additional extra zoom if you know you are going to be photographing macro? 105 + 5T (+ multiple wet lenses for the very smallest stuff) on a definite macro dive?? May be great in say Lembeh but I don't think it is the right option for me at the moment.

For me the Nikon T5 is just another option, I also have 10mm and 16mm extension tubes for Sony full frame.

 

Most of use who shoot a lot of macro are in the area 0f 1:1 out to about 1:4/1:5. At 1:5 you are over half a meter from the subject. Very few macro shooters are shooting from two/three meters away with a macro lens.

 

The T5 is a X 1.5 diopter closeup lens where you are shooting through extra glass. The 16mm extension tube gets you about the same amount of additional magnification but without shooting through extra glass. The downside for the extension tube is it requires extra light, one stop at the most where the T5 does not. Both put you in a range where you can't get to infinity. Both can also be used with wet closeup lenses for greater magnification.

 

An additional upside is a quality used Nikon T5 cost around $50.00 and a new set of extensions is around $83.00, The SMC-1 recommended for full frame cameras is currently $589.00. For budget minded folks starting out these are great options V. Wet lenses.