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Thanks Chris! to the best of my knowledge, all camera settings for the flashes are set according to the manual of the converter. I will conduct several test dives here in cold Austria to see how the setup behaves. Real live testing is always better than dry training... Cheers, Jens

Yes, the WWL-C is more versatile with a range of full wide angle to near macro. That would a great first lens.

Thanks. So it sounds like it is hard to go wrong with the 24-50 + WWL-C combo or the 8-15 fish + 140 dome combo....but the z24-50+WWL-C is a bit more versatile? Probably a better "first rig" setup to get my feet wet? To be clear....we are talking about the Z24-50 f/4-6.3 that costs about $450 new correct? Kristian.....I travelled around in Sweden a bit. 2-6 months in Helsingborg, Ostersund, Gotland, Stockholm, Uppsala. Haven't been back yet :( I want to do a month+ long motorcycle trip at some point and hit Sweden and Norway.

You might want to consider getting both for those trips. The fisheye works best when you can get really close. Like 1-3 feet. The WWL-C can zoom in and can get good images a bit further away, like 5-6 feet. By good I mean "fill the frame". In Socorro you will get to fisheye distance of 1-3 feet from the Mantas, no problems. The sharks and hammerheads, not so much. The WWL-C is better for sharks. You can probably do great with FE in Socorro and be happy. In Coco's you will likely see more hammerheads but they probably won't be in fisheye range. Maybe if you see whalesharks the FE will pay off, but the WWL-C will be better overall I would think. Don't be afraid to crop or switch the camera to DX mode if you want to get even more reach. The Z8 will let you program a quick menu or even a single button to make the switch. The good thing is that both of these lens setups will focus right up to the glass. It makes them both very nice for reef scenes and creatures. The FE excels when you have a massive animal just in front of you.

With the risk of sounding like a Nauticam rep 🙂 hammerheads, galapagos sharks, manta rays … 110-130ish FoV is pretty damn perfect… I’m from the South of Sweden originally but live in Stockholm since a long time. Have also spent a few years in New Paltz, NY and NYC as a student and then a couple of years in Minneapolis, MN in the 10’s. Where were you in Sweden?

Thanks much. Exactly the feedback I'm looking for. 140 + fish eye is my plan. I'm going to Socorro early 2026 and Cocos in 2027. Couple others on the books as well....but those are the ones I want to leave with a great pic from. Hoping to sneak out to Catalina before the Socorro trip to give it a test run. Anywho...thanks a ton. Any extra tips for a total noob bumping from GoPro to a FF rig greatly appreciated. Kristian...where in Sweden are you from? I lived there a couple of years back in the early 90's

The prospect of using the WWL-C was a big reason I upgraded to a Nikon mirrorless Z8 last year. It is just a fantastic setup that combined excellent quality, compact setup, and a reasonable price/performance. (Looking suspiciously at you WACP/FCP! Too big, heavy, and expensive. Not that much better the the WWL-C for 5X or more $$$)

Here one can inspect photos of testcharts taken with the new 100mm macro, also with 1.4x and 2x TCs and compare to other macro lenses (e.g. Sony 90mm): https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=1019&Camera=1175&Sample=0&FLI=0&API=2&LensComp=1757&CameraComp=1538&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=2 The test pattern in the extreme periphery with 2x TC attached is even better compared to the blank 90mm lens. It is difficult to judge the sharpness in the center. I guess it is reduced with TCs attached (I could not find yet accurate measurements of resolution in numbers), but it still looks very good...

Thanks. I actually had a D500 that I gave to my daughter....I just have a hard time buying an underwater rig for a 9 year old camera system. I think my initial path is going to be a 8-15 + the 140mm port.

Flying from Jakarta to Sorong a few months ago, we used Garuda and they were really good. We paid a few dollars more and went Business and had a ton of gear in the cabin with us. No problem at all. I've used Emirates a lot too for travelling and no problem with them either on weighing. So much depends, we find, on making the luggage look compact and lightweight. My partner, bless her, carries the really heavy stuff and seldom gets asked about it. I just bimble along with the light gear..... She insists we swap airside. Darn.

I'm with Chris on the M43 or APS-C. I switched back from FF (Nikon D800) to APSC (Nikon D500) to get away from the massive lenses and ports. Can't say I have seen any difference in image quality. But... you already have the Z8 which, I believe, is excellent. So...... I'd be very tempted to check out that 24-50/WWL-C combination. Relatively small and compact; or an 8-15 a 140mm port.

Hey, jumper I understand. Like me, my LSD gets cold and I hate people being cold. On the other hand, I also hate seeing my gear getting scratched up. So in a moment of utter nerdiness, I crafted a little coat both to keep my LSD warm and to help it not get scratched. Amazing what you can do with all old wetsuit and a pair of scissors. I may be crazy but I'm not uncaring...... 🤪

FS: Nauticam WACP-1 for Canon 28-70 This is the WACP-1 for Canon 28-70mm both items are in excellent condition and the glass is flawless in both Include items - Nauticam WACP-1Padded carrying bag - Nauticam 25mm Extension Ring 25 II - Canon EF 28-70 f3.5-4.5 II + zoom gear Asking US$3,200 USD for both. Items are located in Vancouver Canada, I can ship anywhere in North America and to US from Washington if needed. If you are looking internationally please contact me. Can share additional photos. The manta was shot recently in Maldives. WACP has 70 dives on it.

Thanks! I am planning to use the onboard flash (I don’t think the TG-5 supports an LED trigger, but if it does I am planning to put more money to strobes vs the trigger)

Yes it is spendy to take anything full frame UW, you can save a lot with a smaller sensor system and IMO it's good enough for what most people us their photos for. Most people don't go with rectilinears and big domes due to the size and hassle for travelling. You can also use less powerful strobes with smaller systems as you don't need to stop down as much. a m43 or an APS_C system would be a massive step up from a go pro for still images. Big animals is generally WWL/WACP or fisheye territory, if you want a compact rig you can use a m43 8mm fisheye lens behind a 4" dome. If you want some flexibility for that shark that won't come close enough a WWL or one of he fisheye zoom options is worth looking at. Looking at some options in Nauticam a Canon R7 housing is $1800 less than a Z8 housing while an OM-1 is $2800 cheaper. The domes are potentially cheaper in smaller formats depending which way you go and in m43 in particular the lenses are significantly smaller lighter and cheaper. I'd suggest throwing together a spreadsheet and pricing up a few systems down to the lenses, domes, zoom gears and strobes in each sensor size range and seeing how you feel when comparing the prices.

I like the idea. I may have to try that when I get back from this trip. Why is your LSD wearing a sweater (jumper in UK speak)?

I was thinking specifically of flash settings, I assume you are not using R1C1 as that requires specific protocol to intrepret the signals. Presumably you would need to ensure red eye reduction is off and check the various flash settings in the menu. Regarding fibre optics I wasn't suggesting doing that with the subtronic strobes, just suggesting that many new strobes work quite well with TTL over fibre optics. I think the risk factor for new strobe sis quite small, many people are using both the mini flash and UWT riggers to trigger flash units both in manual and TTL. If you decide to go with new strobes juts put up another post asking about strobes that work well with the OM-1.

if you triggering using an on camera flash then either will work, the single connector with two cables may not work so well for a l LED trigger.

Qatar typically weigh and then add a tag to hand luggage at check in. They are not super strict on weight - but they always seem to weigh it. But after that initial check - there is no further check. So if you could ask a friend to hold a heavy item while you check in and then once your bag is tagged it won't be weighed again (although will be scanned again in Doha). Garuda don't usually strictly enforce hand baggage weight. One person's laptop bag is not the same as someone else's!

Im flying Qatar Airways+Garuda from the US to Manado next year and I was wondering if anyone had luck exceeding the Qatar airways 7kg limit or with their carry bag policy at all? Some forums say their "personal item" definition is very strict "if it has a laptop in it, its hand luggage not a personal item" strict.

I think with the LSD, leaving it attached and in snoot setup makes sense because it's so large. For my Sea&Sea D3's, the snoot is lightweight plastic and easy to clip off to one of the arms.

Thank you, disappointing on the lens then !

From petapixel: https://petapixel.com/2025/12/02/sony-upgrades-its-compact-28-70mm-f-3-5-5-6-zoom-to-shoot-at-120-fps/

Nauticam has it listed as compatible with the 90mm in normal macro mode. I'm planning on picking up an MFO 3 later this month and will report back

I saw some articles that said the optics are the same as the the first version of the 28-70 so i would expect that the it would be the same performance behind the WWL/WACP optics as the existing lens, so the 28-60 would likely still be the better choice.