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The Holy Trinity of underwater photography: Strobes Camera and housing Lens and accommodating ports (including water contact optics) Each is equally important. I think that sometimes strobes are like an afterthought. A lens that can accomplish your shooting style/vision and strobes that can light up the frame are at least as important as what camera body and housing and sensor size is chosen.

Additional specs on this new lens. Focal length: 10mm Maximum aperture: f/2.5 Lens type/format: Full-frame autofocus fisheye Angle of view: 185° Optical construction: 11 elements in 8 groups (includes 2 ED/extra-low dispersion elements + 1 aspherical element) Aperture blades: 9 (produces 18-point starbursts) Minimum focus distance: 0.15 m Autofocus motor: STM silent stepper motor (fast, quiet, suitable for stills and video) Weight: 510 g Body construction: Full metal Available mounts: Sony E, Nikon Z, Leica L Other notes: AF/MF switch; aperture ring; firmware upgrade support; compact design for a full-frame fisheye

No. The bumper extends about 10-15mm from the glass. The beam is very tight and not impacted at all.

For snorkeling without strobes I run auto ISO and try for 1/125 with F8 at a minimum.

Hi Dave, thank you so much! Does the protective bumper affect the light beam in any way?

Where are you shopping in Japan? I might have a chance at a last minute trip to Mikomoto in a few weeks.

It would be interesting to have a flip open cover like on a rifle scope.

If anyone wants to loan me an MFO-3 i will get right on it! I just made a similar protective Bumper for the BS OS-3 snoot. It really needed one as it is a big unit.

Matt and Alex are on here from time to time. Perhaps they can help if you have detailed questions about shooting that particular (z5ii+Nauticam) set-up. It will be a 7000-8000ish US$ investment which is money, but not a lot in the UW photo business tbh. But I heard mines are doing well down under 😁

What can you say about size and weight? Small, light and travel friendly compared to other strobes you’ve had/encountered?

Am giving the Nikon Z5 ii a bit more thought now after reading what you said about sensor size etc. and watching that review. Lots to think about!

Stocks went up another 5% today on very big volume for this stock - it has basically been a sleeper/under the radar for a long time and completely ignored or unknown by most - partly due to a lack of marketing by the company, but a major rerate is definitely underway now.

I'm very fortunate here that I have a really nice protected bay with heavy very white sand - visibility is usually excellent, and usually no surge. Get some small shrimps and sea spiders here - the spiders aren'ty too bad to spot as they are bright yellow. Have to be careful when swearing while on CCR - everyone around can hear you!

I use the neoprene pouch it comes in to cover the MFO3 during shore dive entries and exits. I pull it off once I reach the bottom, clip it off then re-install on the safety stop. This is rocky entries from the shore with some swell on occasions, it has worked well so far.

Good to know that the AF is good OM-1 MkII - one less thing to be concerned about! I'm actually considering the Panasonic 45mm instead of the OM 60mm for that and a couple of other reasons - it seems like a better way to go.

Some really good information there - will definitely add the reduction rings to the list! A 24mm equivalent should be fine for most things underwater archaeology - amphoras etc - anything bigger will be covered by photogrammetry usually. Interesting what you have said about the need to fit some lenses from the front with the Nauticam housing - I guess it would be OK to do but would prefer not to!

45 degree viewfinder could be an alternative. Inmo the EVF:s in the new mirrorless cameras is a huge wow! Let’s pray for your stocks to sky rocket 🙏🏻

Was the OM-1 she had the OM-1 MkII?

OK that is an option too! I've got to get used to this whole idea of wet-mateable diopters etc - we didn't really have them available to us way back when.

I've only recently acquired the MFO-3 and haven't had a chance to try it out yet, but the unprotected front lens is a concern for me too. If I remember correctly, @Dave_Hicks had a 3D-printed front lens protection for the predecessor, but I haven't seen anywhere whether it also fits the version 3. If anyone sees an effective front lens protection online, please post it here!

I'm kind of getting the feeling that APS-C isn't really a middle ground - its almost a FF lens paired with a downscaled sensor in a slightly smaller camera body - which kind of leaves my wondering why? I think that really one needs to look at either M43 or FF - not a compromised compromise in the middle - if that makes sense? Some will probably argue differently. The need for the monitor is mainly due to my neck - I can only tilt my head back about 25 degrees, and so doing things like shooting macro on the bottom just isn't possible as I just wouldn't be able to see the standard screen from a viewable angle.

Many thanks - that picture does give me a really good idea of the size of the Maxis - probably they are a little bigger than I was expecting, but if they are neutrally buoyant then that will be fine.

I've not dived in Tonga but have dived a couple of times with whale sharks. As @akarnani wisely points out, you are going to be either swimming flat out or hovering close to where they might stop to feed. In either case, keep the gear as minimal as possible. I'd suggest not taking strobes. If it's a flat out fast swim, they are a nuisance and a drag; if the whales are feeding that implies very turbid water, and the backscatter from strobes would spoil the image. As @Dave_Hicks suggests, I too would go with an FE. FE zoom if doable. Definitely a small dome. Whales are big (!) and if you do get the chance to get reasonably close, possible when feeding, you definitely want the FE. Even if you can't get close, being able to get a diver in the image as well as the whale gives a sense of scale. Just keep it simple. I get rid of the strobes but maybe keep a Stix-loaded arm or two for reasonably neutral buoyancy. I usually set up for Manual exposure, 400 ISO, reasonable depth of field, as fast a shutter as I can get away with, then take a few test shots once in the water to tweak the settings. Maybe use burst mode - say 3-5 shots a second; then get ready to swim like you're being chased by a great white...... Great fun. And exhausting. Enjoy!!!!

I use MFO-3 wit Sony 100mm GM on A7R5 (I am a little bit late to the party). It is a great extension of capability with o.k. IQ (MFO-3 sits an a single flip mount, can easily be switched in and out). If someone is out for the ultimate IQ, the Sony 20-70mm f/4 G lens behind Zen 170 domeport is still better for intemediate focal length, but who, except puristic professionals who are out for just this single shot, would be willing to lug lens, extension and domeport arounf half of the world for this seldom used focal lengths? Since I have MFO-3, the DP170-N120 stays at home. Sony 20-70mm f/4 and Tamron 50-300mm I take with me, but for over the water; I think I need soon a second body, A7R5 is sitting all the time in the Nauticam housing and over the water photography is rudimentary)... Wolfgang

I didn't have my big rig when I did the snorkle tour in Tonga, so no first hand recommendations. But, you'll be swimming flat out just to keep up with the whales. Be careful bringing too much additional drag with you, as it'll end up slowing you down and make you miss a bunch of photos. Like @Dave_Hicks suggested something with a zoom where you can easily adjust to the rapidly changing distances/angles will be super helpful. Finally, the whales are there to eat, and there's a ton of plankton in the water. Be prepared for logs of cloudy water.