MFO-1 and focus limiter

[Whiskeyjack]

12 hours ago, Floris Bennema said:

Would be great to hear about experiences with a MFT camera. For instance with the Olympus 60mm macro (quite a hunter) and the Nauticam 45mm macro. 

I'm also interested in this, including the newer Olympus 90mm. I care less about the working distance change and more about the image quality increase I've heard people talk about.

[Floris Bennema]

11 hours ago, Byron said:

I Just did around 30 dives in Lembeh and had the MFO for most of it, I think it's very easy good ot leave on for general macro shooting. You kind of don't notice it's on until you nee dit and it just allows you to get a tiny bit closer than normal. With regard to focusing quicker, I didn't notice that but I am pretty used to shooting macro and generally start off with the camera in pretty much the right place to make focusing instant. The image quality from it and it doesn't have any colour casts like some other macro lens such as the EMWL 

 

Hi Byron, did you notice a change in DOF using the MFO?  You separated the pigmy seahorse by panning, it made me wonder whether the MFO make it harder to get separation by DOF. Specialy relevant for small sensors.

Edited April 2 by Floris Bennema

[makar0n]

14 hours ago, Floris Bennema said:

Would be great to hear about experiences with a MFT camera. For instance with the Olympus 60mm macro (quite a hunter) and the Nauticam 45mm macro. 

 

Same here.  Also while the port chart mentions 45 and 60mm lense, 90mm is conspicuously absent.

[Steen N]

Does anyone know if it is possible to use the smc1 in front of the mfo without loosing iq?

I normally have the smc1 on a flip holder, when using my sony 90 mm, just in case I need it.

Would be nice to do the same, using the mfo.

[Dave_Hicks]

3 hours ago, Steen N said:

Does anyone know if it is possible to use the smc1 in front of the mfo without loosing iq?

I normally have the smc1 on a flip holder, when using my sony 90 mm, just in case I need it.

Would be nice to do the same, using the mfo.

The MFO is standalone only. No stacking.

[Chris Ross]

The answer was that both SMC and MFO correct for the air water interface across the port.  If you used both you would have double correction, which would reduce image quality.

[Byron]

Here's a few thoughts I wrote on the MFO after doing around 30 dives or so in Lembeh with it last month 

 

https://insidescuba.online/p/why-the-nauticam-mfo-1-is-a-must-have-for-underwater-macro-photography

[CaolIla]

Thanks, Your experience confirm exactly what I find using the new MFO-1.

It's a great lense, it change "all" 

[Edy PARK]

On 4/5/2025 at 10:04 PM, Dave_Hicks said:

The MFO is standalone only. No stacking.

I'm also considering purchasing mfo-1, so I'm looking at it with interest.

 Looks like there's a thread on the front. Is the No staking official?

Is it also impossible to use +10 Diopter Stacking, not smc1 for example?

 I wonder if there's a thread on the front of mfo-1

[Dave_Hicks]

6 hours ago, Edy PARK said:

I'm also considering purchasing mfo-1, so I'm looking at it with interest.

 Looks like there's a thread on the front. Is the No staking official?

Is it also impossible to use +10 Diopter Stacking, not smc1 for example?

 I wonder if there's a thread on the front of mfo-1

Yes, official on no stacking. There is no front thread.

[Chris Ross]

There is also this: 

 

You can see in the image the MFO (yellow band ) appears to have a thread, however as @Dave Hicks mentions his doesn't have one.  I expect the image shows a prototype version.  The discussion in the video mentions the reason they are not stacked.

[Dave_Hicks]

3 minutes ago, Chris Ross said:

There is also this: 

 

You can see in the image the MFO (yellow band ) appears to have a thread, however as @Dave Hicks mentions his doesn't have one.  I expect the image shows a prototype version.  The discussion in the video mentions the reason they are not stacked.

No, i was mistaken. The MFO does have a front thread. Maybe it's meant for a filter or something?

[Chris Ross]

3 hours ago, Dave_Hicks said:

No, i was mistaken. The MFO does have a front thread. Maybe it's meant for a filter or something?

Thanks Dave,  in any case the video mentions they shouldn't be stacked.  If people are interested to rty they could perhaps add an ordinary diopter (not a Nauticam one) which doesn't have the correction built in.  If you already have a another diopter it would be simple to try it out.

[Tom Kline]

I use a lens shade in the threads of my SMC-1. Probably a good idea with the MFO unless one is overly concerned with extra drag.

Edited Wednesday at 06:30 AM by Tom Kline

[Dave_Hicks]

7 hours ago, Tom Kline said:

I use a lens shade in the threads of my SMC-1. Probably a good idea with the MFO unless one is overly concerned with extra drag.

Picture? What's the function?

[JohnD]

2 hours ago, Dave_Hicks said:

Picture? What's the function?

Just guessing...protection of the front element?  I can see where that could be useful around coral if not too much of a hindrance in general.  If it is protection then a wider and shorter shade than one might normally use for a 90 or 105 might be the way to go.

 

I have an MFO-1 on order and looking forward to experimenting with it in a few weeks.

[Dave_Hicks]

It looks like Nauticam makes a shade for the SMC series, but I don't think it uses the thread at all. It seems to slip over and can be raised or lowered. It's also probably too tall for the much more pancake MFO lens, at least if you want to retract it. 

 

It's an interesting idea, perhaps I'll try designing and printing one. 

 

[MatthewSullivan]

i would imagine its to guard against flare since the SMC/CMC lenses are very prone to it

[Tom Kline]

I do not have a pic of mine. Keep in mind that 67mm is a very common filter size with many lens shades available. Both for protection and flare reduction. The one I have in the case with my SMC is a vented shade like those made for rangefinder cameras. Possibly to have less drag.

[Dave_Hicks]

48 minutes ago, Tom Kline said:

I do not have a pic of mine. Keep in mind that 67mm is a very common filter size with many lens shades available. Both for protection and flare reduction. The one I have in the case with my SMC is a vented shade like those made for rangefinder cameras. Possibly to have less drag.

Does it screw on or slip over? 

 

Just for fun I made a slip-over shade while I was eating lunch. 🙂 TPU Rubber, it shades about 25mm from the glass and can be push down to only protrude about 12mm. I do not observe any vignetting.

 

 

[Tom Kline]

screws in

[Dave_Hicks]

12 minutes ago, Tom Kline said:

screws in

Who makes or sells it?

Edited Wednesday at 11:40 PM by Dave_Hicks

[Dave_Hicks]

51 minutes ago, Tom Kline said:

screws in

 

I am liking the idea of a slip over shade that fully protects the body and maybe shields the glass a bit from getting scratched. My old SubSea+5 diopter is scratched to hell on the body and a bit on the glass too. I tend to get down in the sands and rocks with super-macro shots.

 

I'll try this out for a while and confirm that it doesn't get in the way.

 

Thanks for sharing the idea, @Tom Kline

 

[Tom Kline]

The only marking on it is "67mm" like the first one in this search result:

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=67mm+vented+lens+shade&atb=v320-1&ia=shopping&iax=shopping

Edited yesterday at 03:22 AM by Tom Kline

[Byron]

On 4/8/2025 at 7:16 AM, Edy PARK said:

I'm also considering purchasing mfo-1, so I'm looking at it with interest.

 Looks like there's a thread on the front. Is the No staking official?

Is it also impossible to use +10 Diopter Stacking, not smc1 for example?

 I wonder if there's a thread on the front of mfo-1

So, this is an MFO and a Kraken plus 6 stacked. The real question is why would you want to stack them though? The SMC and the MFO are different, for different purposes. The only reason I stacked these is I couldn't get the ring off my Kraken to put it into a bayonet holder so the only work around was the screw it into the MFO .... However it all works fine and dandy