I have done a few blackwater dives and really enjoy them.  I will be spending a couple weeks in the Philippines early next year and am looking forward to doing several more.  

Most recently I have been using the Nikkor Z105 on a Z8, with the MFO-3.   I recently re-watched an interview with Mike Bartick from a year ago, in which he enthused over the AF-S 60mm on a Z8 for blackwater.   I have been tempted to give that a try, since I already have the lens, but it means taking not only the lens but an FTZ and I will be taking the 105 and MFO-3 either way.  Not a big deal, but I am always dealing with weight and size limits on the airlines.

I am guessing no one has really done any comparison between the 60 and the 105/MFO-3 on a mirrorless body, but if so, I would be interested in hearing about it.  My guess is that there is no benefit to the 60mm in this situation.  If I can meet weight and size limits,  I might just take both lenses and experiment, but as I said, I would enjoy hearing about others' experience.

I have penned a hands on review of a MFO-3 using a Nikon Z8 and Z105 which included some blackwater shooting - https://www.underwaterjournal.com/nauticam-mfo-3/

Currently, I no longer see the point of shooting with a 60mm Macro anymore.

I have a different take. The 60mm setup is still compact, but adding the MFO-3 to the 105mm brings the total length to around 200mm. That's probably too long and heavy for some divers.

One of the claimed advantages of the MFO3 is that is corrects for the distortion and abberations caused by the flat port, these abberations are more of a concern for shorter focal lengths/wider fields like you get with a bare 60mm lens. So it should be sharper than a bare 60mm. The MFO3 is fairly hefty however the in-water weight is quite low and it balances quite well in use.

34 minutes ago, Chris Ross said:

One of the claimed advantages of the MFO3 is that is corrects for the distortion and abberations caused by the flat port, these abberations are more of a concern for shorter focal lengths/wider fields like you get with a bare 60mm lens. So it should be sharper than a bare 60mm. The MFO3 is fairly hefty however the in-water weight is quite low and it balances quite well in use.

Chris, you’re using it on an M43 system with the Zuiko 60mm, right?

Thank you for the article, Walt. Nicely done, by the way. Pretty much confirms my expectations. Jyuny1, the 105 and MFO-3 is long, but I have not found that to be a problem, and I use it extensively on daytime macro dives to have that "2 lenses in 1" benefit. Interestingly, Alex Mustard has expressed a preference for using a 90 or 100 on blackwater, but I found that focal length difficult to use in that setting and pretty much left the MFO-3 in place on previous blackwater dives.

If I lived near dive sites and could dive more often I would experiment more, but with the cost and time constraints of being a long way from dive locations, I have to rely a lot on others' experiments and experience when I get curious.

JohnD, the few people I see using a 90 to 105 on blackwater, most were using it with a MFO-1. One of local blackwater divers uses both a MFO-1 and MFO-3 with is Canon 100.

On 26/09/2026 at 20:32, JohnD said:

Ho fatto alcune immersioni in acque nere e mi piacciono molto. Trascorrerò un paio di settimane nelle Filippine all'inizio del prossimo anno e non vedo l'ora di farne molte altre.  

Ultimamente ho usato il Nikkor Z105 su una Z8, con l'adattatore MFO-3. Ho rivisto di recente un'intervista a Mike Bartick di un anno fa, in cui si entusiasmava per l'AF-S 60mm su una Z8 per la pesca in acque profonde. Sono stato tentato di provarlo, visto che ho già l'obiettivo, ma significherebbe portare non solo l'obiettivo ma anche un adattatore FTZ, e in ogni caso porterei il 105 e l'MFO-3. Non è un grosso problema, ma devo sempre fare i conti con i limiti di peso e dimensioni imposti dalle compagnie aeree.

Immagino che nessuno abbia mai fatto un vero confronto tra il 60mm e il 105mm/MFO-3 su un corpo macchina mirrorless, ma se così fosse, sarei interessato a saperne di più. Suppongo che in questa situazione il 60mm non offra alcun vantaggio. Se riesco a rispettare i limiti di peso e dimensioni, potrei portare entrambi gli obiettivi e fare qualche esperimento, ma come ho detto, mi piacerebbe conoscere le esperienze altrui.

If you already have the 105 plus the mfo-3, that's already an excellent setup, but since you're shooting with a Nikon system, the 60 AF-S is absolutely perfect for BW. As others have already mentioned, the 60mm setup will be more compact, easier to handle underwater, and simpler for managing your strobes. The 105 + mfo-3 is bulkier, plus the optical quality of the 60mm is remarkable. My advice is to go with this latter setup if you can

Edited September 28Sep 28 by Giancarlo M.

On 9/27/2026 at 10:03 AM, TimG said:

Chris, you’re using it on an M43 system with the Zuiko 60mm, right?

yes that's correct, it's not something I'd claim for that system as the 60mm macro is 120mm FF equivalent. It will be better corners than a 30mm macro. I've used the 30mm macro a little and while it produces nice images if you are shooting at 0.5x or higher magnification it gets too hard to light as you are so close. In m43 specifically the MFO3 is certainly a better option than using a 30mm macro.

On handling I don't see any noticeable downside, the rig remains balanced and easy to use.

I've shot both a 60mm (with the FTZ) and the 105mm with a MFO-3 on a Z8 on a number of blackwater dives (in Anilao).

Both are very good... I prefer the 60 on my D850, and the 105(Z) on my Z8. The haptic feedback shooting the 60mm through the FTZ just isn't the same - you get a better feel with the 105 and the MF0-3, esp. getting geting to focus.

Both are more than usable to great images - this likely comes down to choice. As an aside, the 105 + MF03 handles fine for BW dives, you just need to bring your lights forward a bit.