Hoping that we might be able to compile a list of 3rd Party Full Frame wide and macro lenses for mirrorless cameras that are suitable for underwater photography.

In another thread @Phil Rudin mentioned the Laowa 12mm F2.8 Lite Zero-D FF rectilinier lens - available for Sony E & Nikon Z in AF, and Sony E, Nikon Z, Canon RF and L Mount as MF - US$699 for all versions - usable behind a 180mm port.

Once we get a few sugegstions up here I will start a spreadsheet.

I would add the Sigma 24 and Sigma 17, but frankly, the Sony 16-25 makes these redundant. However if you fancy a prime, those Sigmas are great. Another goody is the Zeiss Batis 40mm CF with a suitable dome, but that is surely a niche lens.

I bought and sold the Laowa 10mm, because I couldn't get decent corners with either the Nauticam 140 or 8.5" domes, and wasn't prepared to go larger. So that one is not recommended for casual users who care about IQ.

Let's begin by saying that when it comes to Canon RF FF users you will be mainly locked out of the after market auto focus lens segment because of restrictions put in place by Canon. Manual lenses seem to be excepted at least in some cases.

For L-mount, Nikon Z and Sony FE the platforms are generally open with some restrictions like Sony limiting auto focus speeds to 15 frames a second. Not an issue for most U/W photographers but a big issue for sports photographers wanting to shoot from 30 to 120 FPS.

While you will be able to find many YouTube videos on some of the lenses I will be listing they will be from terrestrial reviews and not U/W reviewers.

Starting with Fisheye lenses I have not had much luck with manual focus lenses and that is what is exciting about the Canon RF 7-14mm and Sony FE 8-14mm AF fisheyes. My additions to this list would be the new AF 7Artisans 10mm F/2.5 MAX with a US retail of $449.00 offered in E, L & Z FF mounts. This lens is close focusing at 15cm and works well behind a 140mm dome port. It has a 185 degree AOV and excellent AF and tracking ability. This lens is great value for money. If you want to do circular fisheye on a budget you may want to consider the Manual focus SteHori 6mm F/2.8 EF, RF, L and Z mounts retailing for $299.00 US. This lens has a 220 degree AOV and a minimum focus distance of just 8cm. In some cases this lens will see some of the inside of the housing depending on how far forward your camera sits in your housing brand. This lens requires a port with a removable sun shade to prevent vignetting just like the 7 & 8mm ends of the zoom lenses. This lens has so much DOF I set the lens at F/11 and per set focus distance for my 140mm dome port with everything from about 10 inches to infinity in focus. With these two fisheye lenses you won't of course be able to zoom and they both top out at F/16 while the Canon zoom tops out at F/22-F/29 and the Sony zoom tops out at F/22.

In the rectilinear lens department I agree with Dentrock that the Sony FE 16-25mm is an excellent choice because of the 18cm minimum focus distance and lower cost V the F/2.8 line of Sony 16-35mm lenses which all have higher minimum focus distances. I love the Sigma 17mm but it is now on the chopping block replaced by the 16-25mm. I am a big fan of the Laowa 12mm AF in Sony EF and Nikon Z for $699.00 US. This is a lens that is excellent of split shots in large domes and has 72mm filter threads making it possible to use graduated neutral density filters when shooting splits at up to F/22. I have used the Laowa 10mm as well but found it more suited to video than stills. The 12mm's 122 degree AOV is excellent for all sorts of W/A shooting situations and the 15cm minimum DOF allows it to be used in a 140mm dome in a pinch like shooting large animals in open wate or other situations where corner sharpness is not critical. If you want a 12mm that is a zoom look to the just released Tamron 12-20mm F/2.8 for Sony FE and Nikon Z at $1699.00 and $1799.00 retrospectively. The Tamron 12-20mm is half the cost of the Sony FE 12-24mm F/2.8 (the Sony F/4 is $2298.00) the Tamron also has a minimum focus distance of 18cm v. the 28cm for the Sony F/2.8 and F/4 lenses. The Tamron is the clear Winner for U/W use and I expect to see manufactures supporting this lens with a zoom gear. Nikon has no Z zoom at 12mm but they do have the Z 14-24mm F/2.8 at $2697.00 retail and the 14-30mm F/4S at $1397.00 retail. Minimum focus distance for these lenses is 28cm. By comparison the Samyang/Rokinon 14-24mm F/2.8 for Sony and L mount for $1199.00 retail, it has a minimum focus distance of 18cm and a 77mm filter threads. This lens is well suited to 200 to 230mm domes. I have reviewed the Rokinon 14-24, Sony FE 16-25mm and Laowa 10mm plus many more lenses for uwpmag.com, those reviews can be found on the home page by going to back issues and typing my mane into the search engine. On the subject of 14mm lenses Viltrox makes a tiny 14mm F/4 Air lens with a minimum focus distance of 13cm for FE, L and Z mounts and retails for $199.00. I have used several of the latest Viltrox lenses from the 14mm to 85mm with a new 26mm F/2.8 EVO on my land camera for quick shots of just about anything. Viltrox newest Air, EVO and Pro lenses are some of the best bargain lenses I have used. Many of the lenses I have listed can be found on sale especially around the holidays.

Another sleeper supported by Marelux with a zoom gear is the Sigma 20-200mm F/3.5-6.3 DG in Sony FE and L-mount. Quite a few Sony U/W shooters are using the excellent Sony FE 20-70mm F/4 which works well with a 180mm dome. The Sigma also works in the 180mm in a range from 20 to around 140mm with 1:2 macro from 28 to 85mm's. Both lenses have minimum focus of 25cm but the Sony has a bit less magnification at 1:2.56 and of course stops at 70mm.

The after market lens industry has exploded over the last two plus years with many excellent choices for both land and sea. It's time we started requesting support for these lenses rather than just excepting the same old camera manufacturers lens solutions.

Images with the StrHori 6mm F/2.8 circular fisheye, Marelux 140mm port with the sun shade remover, Sony A7R V.

Edited September 22Sep 22 by Phil Rudin

4 hours ago, Phil Rudin said:

Another sleeper supported by Marelux with a zoom gear is the Sigma 20-200mm F/3.5-6.3 DG in Sony FE and L-mount. Quite a few Sony U/W shooters are using the excellent Sony FE 20-70mm F/4 which works well with a 180mm dome. The Sigma also works in the 180mm in a range from 20 to around 140mm with 1:2 macro from 28 to 85mm's.

That's interesting about the Sigma 20-200 offering 1:2 mag over that range. I had been thinking about that lens for 'one lens' land travels, but had ruled it out for UW.

Care to share your extension used with the 180, and if possible, a photo of your zoom gear so I can figure whether I can cobble up something out of Nauticam bits?

15 hours ago, dentrock said:

That's interesting about the Sigma 20-200 offering 1:2 mag over that range. I had been thinking about that lens for 'one lens' land travels, but had ruled it out for UW.

Care to share your extension used with the 180, and if possible, a photo of your zoom gear so I can figure whether I can cobble up something out of Nauticam bits?

First, yes it is a great travel lens choice for most situations.

I have only had this lens a short time so pool tests only but looks very promising with better range than Sony FE 20-70mm F/4. The attached pool images are full frame using Sony A1 II, Marelux housing with recommended 80mm's of extension for 180mm port (90mm recommended for 210 and 230mm ports) C/U photo is at 81.1mm, F/13, 1/200th, ISO 320, AV light. The W/A shot is at 20mm, (/9, 1/250th, ISO 250, AV light.

Marelux nylon zoom gear #51110, zoom gears are made in nylon for around $100.00 US and in aluminum starting around $135.00.

Also regarding the Zeiss Batis I don't see the 40mm as a U/W lens however one of the first Sony adapted lens reviews I did for uwpmag.com issue # 92 ten years ago was for the Zeiss Batis 18mmF/2.8. I used the Sony A7R II, Nauticam housing and the excellent Zen 200mm dome port. I moved that port over from an Olympus M4/3 system where I used it as the port for the Olympus 7-14mm zoom.

Edited September 23Sep 23 by Phil Rudin

Thanks, Phil. I will have to check dimensions and see if it could fit in the N100 ports system.

Your Marelux prices on zoom gears are a steal compared to Nauticam!

OK I've checked out the Sigma's specs and rewatched Christoper Frost's reviews.

Main points: Frost says it does 1:2 mag between 28 and 85mm which is handy. Optics look quite good.

Lens is very narrow - zoom ring is said to be 70.4mm D in Sigma specs. Also zoom ring is at the back (closest to camera) which is also handy and will easy fit N100 system.

Can't imagine Nauticam could be bothered to offer a zoom ring since it's clearly not interested in supporting non-mainstream stuff, so closest I have is the ring I use for 16-25 (actually 24-50 ring). Diameter of that lens is 74.8 so zoom gear could be padded out to work with Sigma.

Would I buy it?

Definite 'yes' if I didn't already own the Sony 70-200 macro (which takes a TC if that's your thing)...

This one is a bit big for my liking for UW, and anyway, it doesn't go to 20mm.

Don't need both, but...!

Many thanks @Phil Rudin and everyone else who has contributed to this so far - please keep the posts coming. Hopefully later tonight I will be able to start putting it all into a spreadsheet to post on here and then keep updating it.

Marelux also supports the Sony FE 70-200mm F/4 macro with focus gear #5110.

It uses 70mm’s of extension with macro port 71 for zoom range 70-100mm and 100mm of extension with macro port 71 for 100-200mm zoom range.

Other extension and port combos are possible.

I have used both lenses and the sigma 20-200mm is by far the most useful.