Nauticam MFO-3 | Unlocking Wide Angle Macro | Results from Lembeh

Note: This is a repost from the Video Gear forum, as I believe it would be of great interest for photographers as well.

I finally found the game-changer I'd been searching for.

Just before my dive trip to Lembeh in October 2025, I purchased the Mid-Range Focus Optimizer 3 (MFO-3) from Divesea Indonesia. Their service was excellent—the lens was promptly delivered to the Dive Into Lembeh Resort, waiting for me upon arrival.

The Problem with Traditional Macro

For too long, I've been frustrated by the limitations of my standard macro setup (Nauticam-Sony FX3-Sony 90mm lens). The experience of missing a shot of a large subject, like a magnificent octopus, because it simply wouldn't fit in the frame was constantly disappointing. Even when shooting small, spectacular critters like nudibranchs or a blue-ring octopus, I often felt constrained by a lack of compositional variety. I needed more space, more context, and a different perspective.

A New Name for a Revolutionary Lens

While the Nauticam MFO-3 delivers incredible results, I believe its name—"Mid-Range Focus Optimizer 3"—is overly technical and confusing. The official descriptions, with their heavy emphasis on blackwater photography, do not adequately capture its true, versatile benefits. Honestly, if I hadn't taken the leap and tried it myself, I would never have understood its immense potential.

If you ask me, this lens should be renamed the Wide Angle Macro Lens (WAML).

Why WAML? Because it perfectly describes its function: it gives you the power to shoot with a wide-angle perspective while keeping your macro setup. While it won't offer full wide-angle capability, it tremendously expands your range of possible subjects and compositional opportunities.


Beyond the Lenses

I own several other Nauticam lenses, including the SMC-2, SMC-3, and MFO-1, but the MFO-3 quickly became the most-used lens on my Lembeh trip. It truly unlocks a new dimension in muck and macro diving photography.

To show you exactly what this lens can do—and the incredible footage you can capture—I’ve put together a short video demonstration. A few print-screens from the video (with MFO-3 and without MFO-3) are posted below.

WITH MFO-3:

WITHOUT MFO-3:

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https://youtu.be/bi6gxZ-RvLM