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Mickey is a fantastic teacher. The amount I progressed over 3 sessions with him blew me away. He literally opened up a whole new world to me.

I've now been using the MFO-3 with the Sony 100mm macro on the A7SIII for video, and it works great. I was warned that it could cause issues with the lens stabilisation when shooting video, so I turned OSS off on the 100mm and haven't seen any weirdness in the footage. Haven't tried it with OSS on, if anyone has a chance to do it without losing a dive, would love to know. It's a fantastic tool, mainly because, as others have pointed out, Sony doesn't have a solid 50/60mm macro lens with workable AF. It's also a great option for people like me who primarily shoot macro and supermacro with a default 90mm or 100mm lens, but occasionally want access to a more medium field of view, rather than use a wider lens and use diopters for occasional macro. Combined with a snappy lens like the Sony 100mm, video AF works great, even on an ageing system like the A7SIII, and image quality is excellent. I'm using primarily in blackwater like situations (shore-based bonfire dives), and it's much more practical than the 100mm, basically the ideal baseline fov. Reduced minimum focus distance is also very nice! The main downside so far is the overall length. The 100mm port + MFO-3 combination becomes something of a canon-like contraption... That's probably less of an issue for stills with powerful strobe lighting, but for our weaker video lights it means longer, more outstretched arms to get the light where it's needed. And this outstretched lighting position is an issue when a BW subject decides to come close to the glass, which is fine focus wise but requires serious light repositioning... The other downside is protecting that large front element. The Nauticam rubber cap seems to have been designed to get lost underwater, and is just not practical as is. I have my MFO-3 mounted on a triple flip and currently keep a large neoprene pouch over it. I think there have also been a few 3D-printed caps with lanyards floating around. cheers

I would definitely recommend going with 60mm at least initially. I have the 90mm macro for land use but don't take it UW. The 60mm macro goes to 1:1, but remember it's 1:1 on a m43 sensor, so it is the same framing as 2x on a full frame or film camera. I don't use diopters with it. It's quite adequate for shooting 10mm long nudis and Sydney pygmy pipehorses. The 90mm does 2x natively which 4x equivalent and covers a frame 8mm across. I don't know how good your critter spotting is, but I can't find anything that small locally - it's small and also camouflaged mostly, so really hard to find. and in some surge and you are soon swearing into your regulator even at 1x.

The AF with the 60mm macro is pretty decent on the OM-1. I previously shot the EM-1 MkII and prior to that the EM-5 MkII. The EM-1 MkII was a significant step up over the Em-5 mkII and the OM-1 a slight step up again. The EM-10 is a base model and I understand the AF is not as good. The 60mm AF works really well is you are close in, it can hunt if you suddenly decide to shoot a bigger subject a meter away, particularly if contrast is low with average vis or there are particulates. But it does snap on quickly if the focus distance is similar. I have it set up to use back button AF, controlling AF with my thumb, make sit easier to control AF. The 60mm is a bit long in focal length - 120mm FF equivalent so you may find yourself backing off more than you would like. Several solutions - one is to use the Panasonic 45mm, the other is the MFO3.

I have Retra pures - a model that was recently discontinued, slightly lower power, but it's enough with m43. You tend to shoot wider apertures because the depth of field is wider, so flash power is lower. If you get Retras - get the reduction rings! First thing I noticed after first dive was way less backscatter. It's not immune to backscatter and you still need to position strobes properly , but way less than the Z240s. You also mentioned rectilinears, basically you are stuck with a bigger dome with them otherwise the corners go off, I have used the 12-40 in the Zen 170mm dome around Sydney and it works well, if a 24mm equivalent lens is wide enough for you. One problem with Nauticam and the n85 ports is that some rectilinear lenses are too big to go through the port when you fit the camera/lens and you have to fit the body, then the lens from the front, then the port. The Port on Isotta is a B102, significantly bigger and it avoids this problem They also have a 6"port which will be smaller and probably OK with something like the 8-25 lens.

So it's confirmed... that's really not great news for UW applications, especially for wide-angle.

I went to Roatan 3 or 4 times in the early 2000's, always to CoCoView. It is a great place to rack up the dive count with at least 4 dives a day. I always had fun but the terrain of most dive sites is a bit similar everywhere. I am glad to hear the coral is recovering and it's still a good destination.

Thanks so much @ACHiPo and @Adrian Gresores for sharing your experience! I am super excited to go in a few months. It sounds like a terrific island and marine life to photo. Congrats, Evan, on your success with the new rig! It sounds like you came home with some nice "keepers" for sure. Our group is looking to do a workshop with Mickey. We are mostly experienced uw photogs, but I never turn down an opportunity to learn from a pro, especially someone familiar with the local life and spots. Thanks again to you both! chip

@TimG @Chris Ross definitely interested in information on the OM-1 II autofocus. I'm just wrapping up two weeks in Lembeh with my E-M10 IV with a 60 mm macro, and while I got some good to great shots, the AF continuous single point focus speed and accuracy was frustrating at times. I'm hoping the OM-1 is a significant step up, but one person was shooting the OM-1 for the first time and didn't see much improvement underwater compared to her EM-1 (not sure which model, but it is over 10 years old), and found focus tracking unusable underwater.

My wife and I were there last month. Absolutely gorgeous. Yes, there is some dead coral like all over the Caribbean, but lots on new coral growing everywhere. And so many sponges. Plenty of animal life. Our second time there and it won't be the last. If you want a nice, quiet boutique hotel with a great dive shop and restaurant on site in West Bay, I highly recommend Naboo.

@ChipBPhoto Chip, I loved CocoView. I was there for two weeks in April. Water was warm enough I dove in rash guard and/or trunks and a tee, although some folks dove in wetsuits or Sharkskin. Their dive operation is first rate--incredible organization and very well run. Diving was great as well. I've heard from others that Roatan is not as good as it used to be. While that may be true, I still found a lot of stuff to photograph and really enjoyed my time at "Scuba Camp' (a nickname that pretty accurately describes the experience--definitely not bougie!)m. I ended up diving 3x/day which was a good balance of diving, processing, and recovery/rest time for me. I wanted a place that would allow quite a bit of repetitive diving so I could study and learn critter behavior. I also wanted access to some great photography training as it was my innaugural outing with my underwater camera. Finally I wanted someplace that was safe, clean, with good food. CocoView Resort checked all the boxes. I was just learning photography, so shot mostly with my 14-42 Olympus micro 4/3 kit lens. I did shoot some macro with the help of Mickey Charteris, and there are certainly many suitable macro subjects. I did not shoot CFWA as I didn't have the proper lens/dome, although there were sites that could be pretty good for CFWA although some mediocre vis. days made macro or 12-42 shooting a good choice. If it was easier to get to for me, I could see going there 1-2 times a year. Unfortunately even though it's not as far as the Pacific, the two 3-5 hour flights with layover makes for a pretty tiring travel night even when riding up front. Evan

Thank you so much. For me is more than enough to spend 4 days diving.

TTL works amost perfect on my Canon R5 and HF-1 with e-TURTLE 3 SMART TTL trigger for Canon MILC systems.

I too have spent most of my career far from photo and scuba retail options whether in person or delivery. Many a business trip or holiday involve stopovers for gear acquisition. I feel the pain. As for Olympus autofocus it’s pretty good. I can’t compare to other brands, but I can say that my EM1 with 60mm locks on targets fast and reliably for me. It will even do continuous AF and follow anemone fish pretty well. As for super macro, before you assume you need the 90mm with its size and weight, look into wet diopters like the Nauticam CMC series. This shot was taken with the 60mm and an older +5 diopter that provides very close working distance and about 2x magnification:

Sorry but I can’t yet offer a sensible comment on the AF underwater. Mine hasn’t got wet yet. Chris is The Man though - longtime M43 user.

I was about to add that the Backscatter's HF series is small, great battery life, and that you may use high speed sync with the right flash triggers. Great for macro, and some have used it pretty successfully on larger subjects (see Phil Rudin and Dave Hicks forays into using these flashes). The OM-1 ii I believe already has an x-sync speed of 1/250th, which puts it right up there with most. A couple of other things to note - again, lens size! Many APS-c lenses are sized right for their systems, but oftentimes the lenses are large which happens with Canons and Nikons. It’s like hauling around full frame cameras with their added size and weight. Also, I was thinking about your desire to have a monitor. They are nice to look at, and I like having one to shoot video topside, but have you considered just composing on the standard screen? I have also tried using 45 and 90 degree viewfinders - great in some instances - but again, these add bulk and, in my view, are a throwback to film and DSLR days when live view was horrible.

The 240s/330s are outstanding at being a tight package with a good light punch. Both the HF-1 and Maxi will be noticeably larger, but they both still fit in my same photo backpack, just with a little more snug fit. HF-1 is slightly less of an investment, but very negative. Works fine, will just need a bit more floatation. **Requires Backscatter trigger for true HSS. Maxi has a circular flash tube for more even coverage and is almost neutrally buoyant. HSS works with UWT and Turtle, with a slightly more premium investment required. Marelux is also making some good strobe products, but I do not have personal experience with them. I just noticed Dave Hicks shared that same comment. He does have personal experience using them.

Just to follow up for anyone who encounters this in the future: I got brand new, quality 613 fibre cables (Thanks, Dave!), but they did not solve the problem. In trying to further diagnose, I can get the strobes to fire using the Nauticam triger, either with the strobe placed directly over the trigger (camera out of case) or directly over the window (camera in case), but the strobe is incredibly directionally sensitive when doing so. Only a slight tilt on any axis, and the strobe will not fire. No matter the orientation of the cable ends when using a cable, I cannot get the strobe to fire. So, I think it's likely a combo of the weak(ish) signal of the nauticam trigger and the poor pickup of the YS-D2 strobe that is the issue. For now, I'll just switch back to using sync cables. I'm debating whether to disassemble the nauticam trigger and attempt to replace the LED elements with brighter ones, try a compact flash from amazon with a reflector to direct it through the trigger windows in the case, or just let this project die. I'm no so eager to use fiber optics that I want to invest $$$ on a new trigger. Thanks, everyone, for the advice and help troubleshooting. Looks like just a bad combo of gear that may be unfixable. :(

Look into the Backscatter Atom https://www.backscatter.com/Backscatter-Atom-Flash-Underwater-Strobe-AF-1 Smaller, lighter, HSS support, good battery life. It is a mini HF-1 without the video light.

They are working, yes. And what you don’t know you don’t know. But I want HSS—that I know. A bit more light, sure, but not if it costs me too much size and weight. Have 0 issues with dropping AA:s. Video light nice to have, but again not if it means too much extra weight and size compared to my z240:s. So…