JayceeB

"I think, the marelux 180 glass dome or their 210 acrylic will not add much volume or load and dramatically improve lens performance." @Adventurer I'm considering the 180mm. I haven't had great luck with larger acrylic domes, as the ones I've used require weight to keep them from nosing up. "I assume the freshly introduced Marelux Aquista 135D - which is Marelux‘s take on Nauticam‘s WACP lineup - will give you the highest image quality with that lens," @Adventurer . For me, the improvement in image quality would need to be significant to justify the cost and heavier weight (for shore diving) of the Aquista 135D. A little out of my budget for testing purposes. I'm interested to see the results though, once someone is able to test and report back.

I haven't been able to find a way to turn off lens correction in camera. You can turn it off in Lightroom after importing, but Lightroom defaults to applying it. I prefer lens correction on for the 20-50mm and 14-35mm, but lens correction off for the 8-15mm fisheye.

Tiger @27mm. Dolphins @20mm.

1/250 sec at f/10, ISO 320 @45mm

I did not add a diopter. I have been shooting this setup with 140mm dome and 30mm extension, which is the recommended port and extension for the EF 8-15mm fisheye. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I was able to re-use the zoom gear from my RF 14-35. I've taken it on 5 dives and one offshore shoot for big animals. To be honest, I have been very surprised at how well it has worked in the tiny dome. I know the edges will not be acceptable for some, but for me, I am satisfied. I mainly shore dive, so lugging a bigger dome down rocky entries can be a handful, as well as exiting in rough conditions. There are definite dark corners without lens correction at 20mm, so lens correction is mandatory. This zoom range is very useful for most of my diving, and I think it may end up being a popular choice underwater use for some people. I have been able to shoot Harlequin shrimp (cropped) and dolphins on the same dive. I'll upload a few more shots at various focal lengths.

Yes. If I turn 'Enable Profile Corrections' to 'On', I get the banding. The banding is more exaggerated when zooming in. At 20mm, it is negligible.

Last photo cropped lower left to show the Lens Profile banding on the border introduced by Lightroom.

Same settings, but at 50mm. Color corrected a bit.

I was able to try this lens out yesterday underwater in a 140mm dome. 1/160 sec at f/8.0, ISO 100 @ 20mm. I bumped up the exposure +.55 in Lightroom, but otherwise no other changes. One negative, is the Lightroom Profile Correction for the new lens leaves a thin border banding. I assume future versions will fix this.

I use a couple of different blowers as part of my routine. Milwaukee compact leaf blower immediately after removing housing from the rinse tank. Blow off excess water on housing and dome/port. M18™ Compact Blower (Bare Tool) | Milwaukee ToolMILWAUKEE® M18™ Compact Blower delivers the fastest jobsite cleanup. Offers a best in class power to size ratio and comes with a universal inflator/deflatorWolfbox MF200 to blow off o-ring moisture on lights, strobes, housing, ports. https://wolfbox.com/products/compressed-air-duster-mf200?

Good news. Although the diameter lens spec for the 20-50mm is 80mm and 14-35mm is 84mm, the marelux zoom gear for the 14-35mm fits the 20-50mm (snugly). I took 3 of the rubber shims off the inside of the ring that contacts the lens barrel. Next will be figuring out the extensions required.

RF20-50mm lens arrived. I do not yet have a zoom gear. Tried mapping the PZ zoom in/out to custom buttons, but the R5 does not allow this option, even with the latest firmware. I see Nauticam has a zoom ring for the 20-50. Marelux does not list it, and I haven't heard back from them on whether they plan to. Does anyone know if the Nauticam zoom ring would work inside my Marelux housing?

Perhaps this setting prevented the optical sensor from being active for me. Menu->Setup Menu (yellow wrench)->Screen/viewfinder display (3)->Screen

I set the illumination button to 'display off'. It works with the camera out of housing, but in housing it does not work. I tested it in a Marelux housing. FYI, I have never mapped to this button or used this button via my housing before. Next, I tried covering up the entire back of the camera to see if it was linked to the eye sensor in the Viewfinder. Using the camera illumination button worked fine. I then started fiddling with the housing illumination button. Activating the housing button pushed a lever down that didn't even look close to where the button was on the camera. I wiggled the lever, and it actually rotated easily and was not even secured. I pulled the lever to the top, and it clicked into place. Tested again with the camera in housing, and it worked. The camera lock button lever behaved the same way. Looks like both those levers were never positioned and locked in place. I never noticed because I had never used those housing buttons before. Perhaps the Nauticam housing has the same lever design? Photos showing the lever before and after I rotated the levers up in place.

Hi Wahrmut, I have the R5. Here is how I set it up for Viewfinder/Display. Menu->Setup Menu (yellow wrench)->Screen/viewfinder display (3)->Screen Menu->Custom Functions->Customize buttons(3)->Assign the * (AE Lock button) to 'Switch between VF/screen'. I customized the * (AE Lock button) to toggle between screen and viewfinder, but you could choose another button instead.

I've put my order in for this lens. Shipping July 24. Waiting to hear back from Marelux on whether or when they will support zoom gear and extension.

Does anyone have an estimate on what extensions will be required for Marelux/Nauticam 180mm and 230mm domes?

I'm interested in this lens for use in the 230mm (primary) and 140mm dome (travel). I wonder if it will require a closeup diopter filter to focus on the inside of the dome, or if it can focus stand-a-lone.

This one looks interesting, particularly the Pro ILS model. Would require a much more expensive housing, extensions and ports though. Wet lenses would be compatible?

I picked up a Wolfbox MF200 several months ago to replace my dependance on 'Canned Air'. I tried another blower previous to this one, but found it too slow to get up to full power. The MF200 is quick to accelerate to full power and is very powerful. Aside from removing housing water and dust, I also use it for blowing up camping air mattresses, starting charcoal BBQ's, etc.

Looks like the RF-S 18-150mm is also being used underwater now.

Thanks. Was thinking it might be sufficient magnification for blackwater though.

Would the 30mm vignette in the FLP-02N / 02P ?

I have owned the Sony RX100IV, Olympus OM-D EM-1 MkII, Sony A7C and Canon R5 in that order. All 3 ILC cameras, after upgrading from the RX100, were a big performance improvement across the board. You probably will enjoy any ILC camera you upgrade to. Of the 3 ILCs, the Olympus was by far the most portable and lightweight travel package. So much so, that I continue toying with the thought of buying one again just to make traveling easier, given the ever increasing weight restrictions. Of the 3 ILCs, my favorite macro kit was the Olympus. If I were shooting more macro, I would go back to that setup. The 60mm macro was excellent and the newer 90mm macro is reportedly incredible for tiny critters, without the need for a wet lens. Of the 3 ILCs, The Canon has the best autofocus, but it isn't magnitudes better than the Olympus or Sony IMO. This is just my experience with the A7C, which I initially thought would be the perfect compact solution. In practice, I struggled with the following 'features': small viewfinder - my eyes are no longer 20/20, and I struggled with the viewfinder. Also, the viewfinder is on the far left side of the camera, so looking through it was awkward for me as my right eye is dominant. not as compact as I imagined - yes, the A7C is small, but the ports, lenses and strobes are the same as a full size full frame camera, so when you add it all up, the travel weight is not that significant. Also, if you stick with the Sony full sized A7 series, they are not significantly bigger than the A7C, and you get a better viewfinder more centrally located. buoyancy trim - The A7C is small, and so was the Nauticam housing, but it was quite negatively buoyant. I ended up having to add sizeable float arms, which added to the bulk of the rig.

Wow! I did not know this. Thank you.