Hi @Alex_Mustard and @MatthewSullivan ,

I remember seeing a post somewhere where you were asking for ideas for future episode topics for the Underwater Photography Show ( #UWPS ) on YouTube. I can't remember where it was, but it reminded me of something I'd genuinely love to see discussed on the show.

I recently watched your "Nauticam Optics Primer" episode, which I really enjoyed. It covers a great range of Nauticam optics, and of course the EMWL earned its own dedicated episode.

However, it left me wondering: was there a particular reason why the Nauticam MWL-1 wasn't mentioned at all? Was it and I just cannot remember? I've always found the concept behind such a lens fascinating, converting back from macro to true wide angle on a dive.

There is also a review by Matthew, about its main (or so far only) competitor, the Kraken KRL-09S: Testing the Kraken KRL-09S Macro Wide-Angle Conversion Lens which makes him highly qualified to show some test images and discuss the pros and cons of such a lens. It would be really interesting to hear both of your opinions on this whole category of optics. The MWL-1 never really seemed to gain widespread adoption, and I've often wondered why. Was it image quality? Sharpness? Handling? Cost? Or was the concept itself simply too niche? I know if was mainly developed for the Nikon AF-S 60mm, but seem also to work on some Canon and Sony Macro 90-100mm lenses with less AOV as a result.

I'd especially be interested to hear how you think the MWL-1 compares today with more recent water-contact optics such as the Nauticam MFO-1, MFO-3, and now the Marelux MacroView MV-60. These products seem to point towards an interesting philosophy: instead of owning separate dedicated wide-angle and macro systems, perhaps photographers could build a very flexible setup around a single 90–100 mm macro lens (Canon, Sony, Nikon, etc.) and then simply swap between one or two wet optics during a dive depending on the subjects they encounter. Do you think this concept has a future, or do the compromises still outweigh the advantages? Has this category quietly evolved, or was it ultimately a technological dead end?

I'd love to hear your thoughts in a future episode.
AND MOST IMPORTANT: see some you your excellent sample images discussed in such an episode!

Furthermore everybody is invited to discuss experience and photos with these lenses in this thread on waterpixels.

Edited July 11Jul 11 by Adventurer

Here is a set of 4 photos taken with the Kraken 09s and Nikon 60mm., all on the same dive. The first three are of an 8 foot long Sixgill shark taken from just a few inches away. The fourth is a 1cm hermit crab taken with the 60mm and MFO-1.

The Kraken (and I presume the MWL) is very versatile. Excellent for CFWA, and then you have the option for true macro with the 60mm. I tend to use it on dives where they might be a chance for bigger subjects, but also good macro opportunities. The Sixgill dives are ideal for it. You spend about 30 minutes (hoping to see a shark) at 90-100 feet until you exhaust NDL then you head up to shallow water with great macro subjects. Aside from that I like to use it for CFWA scenes and not standard wide angle subjects. Corners are not awesome, but that is not always relevant as you can see below.

Nikon Z8 w/Nikon 60mm lens, Kraken KRL09 WA, f8@1/50s iso800, pair of Backscatter HF-1 strobes

Nikon Z8 w/Nikon 60mm lens, MOF, f18@1/160s iso250, pair of Backscatter HF-1 strobes

BTW, one of my regular dive buddies has been borrowing my Kraken for the last several muck dives we have done off the beach in West Seattle. He is really having fun with CFWA shots of giant nudibranchs and loves shooting the Kraken.

the MWL-1 sounds great but was never particularly popular, A prime reason seems to be the recommended aperture of f16. I only ever found one review of it which confirmed f16 was required to be at its best and that you could use at f14 at a stretch. Here's a link to the review:

Wetpixel.com

Review: Nauticam MWL-1 Conversion Lens by Jack Connick ::

Wetpixel is the premiere community website dedicated to underwater photography and videography

10 minutes ago, Chris Ross said:

the MWL-1 sounds great but was never particularly popular, A prime reason seems to be the recommended aperture of f16. I only ever found one review of it which confirmed f16 was required to be at its best and that you could use at f14 at a stretch. Here's a link to the review:

Wetpixel.com

Review: Nauticam MWL-1 Conversion Lens by Jack Connick ::

Wetpixel is the premiere community website dedicated to underwater photography and videography

If the Kraken is in any way similar, that's an exaggeration at best. I often shoot it at f8 and up. The shark photos above were all F8 and they are very sharp.

36 minutes ago, Dave_Hicks said:

If the Kraken is in any way similar, that's an exaggeration at best. I often shoot it at f8 and up. The shark photos above were all F8 and they are very sharp.

I don't doubt your images in anyway and I have no idea if the MWL-1 is optically similar. The link includes some sample images but unfortunately they are locked away behind a password. The f13 image seems visibly less sharp in the corners, though it's hard to tell at that scale. I seem to recall looking at the linked samples images years ago, but can't access them now.

I too have been intrigued by the MWL but kind of didn’t pursue due to the allegedly poor results unless shooting very stopped down. As @Chris Ross I too couldn’t find a lot of feedback on it. @Dave_Hicks does the Kraken glass give the same FoV (150 degrees IIRC) on the wide end? Am using a WWL now and find myself at either end, never in between, so zooming in between not that useful to me.

Edited July 12Jul 12 by Christian K

The Kraken KRL09 provides a 154.8deg FOV. And it focuses right up to zero range.

I've never used the MWL but from what i gather, the image quality left a lot to be desired, especially in the corners. I'll reiterate though, not havig shot it, i cannot comment first hand. I don't believe alex has shot it either. I shot the kraken for a few years and while it isn't flawless optically, i found i acceptable for most applications I used it for. i do not have access to any of my hard drives with images from it currently but ill circle back to this and post some once I do. It still does need to be stopped down to f11 or so (imo) before it gets good enough on the edges but for things like sharks or whatever else in open water id shoot it at f8 no problem

The Kraken got a lot less use once i got WWL-1 which is a great option for Wide-Macro shoots. Pretty wide to Near macro and high quality at all ranges.

The Kraken has corner issues for sure, but it does not always matter. But i still pull it out for some scenarios. When I want true macro abilities with the 60mm and a diopter with wide options. The CFWA of the Kraken is better than WWL as it has something of a fisheye effect in accentuating the center subject. It is also even wider than the 130degs of the WWL/WACP so close up it works like a fisheye.

I would not chose the Kraken for a reef shoot, my 8-15 FE is better for that. A good all rounder picks the WWL. But kraken still get in the rotation a few times every year. It has some real useful abilities.

Edited July 14Jul 14 by Dave_Hicks

Attaching a photo shot with the Kraken at F11 at near zero range from the subject. This was taken in pretty chunky water, but if you look at the lower left you can get an idea of corner sharpness. The upper right is much further away and not in the plane of focus, plus chunks...