Brandon Cole

Yes, that would help lower the water's freezing temp a few degrees. But I never risked this again on this trip during the cold snap. Went back to shooting a dedicated dome attached directly to housing.

You're welcome. And humidity/condensation is also a problem in a place like Norway. Keeping the housing in the warm boat cabin and then rushing out onto the cold deck and jumping in the cold ocean can sometimes create additional problems...

Be careful with this strategy if you are working in very cold conditions, such as Norway in winter. I tried this workaround last year in Norway, assembling WWL-1 onto flat port in my hotel in the morning, in a tub, filling the gap with freshwater. Well, a few hours later on the boat when I went to jump into the ocean to photograph orcas, I noticed that the water trapped between flat port and back of WWL had frozen solid. Yes. Ocean water temp was above freezing, but the air temp was below. Housing had cooled down sufficiently on the boat deck, and water trapped within the space froze into an ice cube. And it wasn't perfectly clear- it had veins, etc. So, I could not photograph the whales, as the lens was focused on the ice layer. The strategy Glasshouse mentioned works in warmer places if you do it correctly.

I too will caution against reliance on the WWL for orcas in Norway due the "bubbles" issue, needing to burp the lens. And I speak from experience. I have been to Norway for orcas many times, including last year when I shot the Sony A7RV and the WWL1. I will not do that again. Next time I will go either "dedicated water contract lens" mounted straight onto the housing, or back to old fashioned dome, or a combination of both. HCLdiver- as you know, sometimes you slip into the water and have time to organize yourself before you need to shoot. In this case, you have time to remove the WWL and reattach to make sure no air is trapped between flat port and back of WWL. But, sometimes you do not have time to do that, as you need to start swimming and or shooting immediately upon getting into the water. And, even when you have time, because of the cold water, cold air, cold fingers, thick gloves etc. the delicate operation of removing and reattaching WWL in the water is risky. I am clumsy, and dropping it (obviously, attach it to housing with a lanyard) is very real... I have used many combinations in Norway. With Canon, 16-35 f2.8 Canon behind a 230mm dome at f2.8 and f4. Same lens behind smaller 170mm dome. Also the 16-35 f4 lens. Canon 8-15 f4 fisheye behind 140 and 170 domes. Canon 15mm 2.8 fisheye behind 140 and 170 and 230 domes. Nikon D850 with fisheye, rect zoom, etc.. Nikon D500. And Sony A7RV with 28-60 and WWL1. And I have never been fortunate to have ASA 800 light at 70 degrees north in NOvember. Most of my shooting is ASA 3200 to 6400, trying to keep 1/100 shutter speed or so. (ASA 1600 is lucky, in my experience.) So lots of wide open and near wide open. I did not like the noise generated by the Sony A7RV at ASA 6400 and 10,000 with the 28-60/WWL when on a baitball with orcas feeding late in the day while it was snowing... Super dark conditions, yes, definitely not ideal. But that is a summary of this exercise. Visibility, light, time, action, distance, shooting angle etc are very, very rarely ideal, so you have to take what you get. The noise was more objectionable (at least to me) with the Sony setup than with either Canon 5D4 and Nikon D850. I personally feel that 60mp is just too demanding. Remember, the moment you zoom in from 28mm the lens stops down. So, you are rarely shooting at f4 unless you leave the lens at 28mm and shoot 130 degrees. In summary, I would take both, and see what you think about the 28-60 and WWL and A7RV at wide open and high ISO... butd also have that 16-35 2.8 (and dome) with you... Being able to-- when necessary-- shoot at f2.8 or 4, rather than 4/4.5 or 5.6, keeps your ASA a stop or two lower for cleaner files- or gives you faster shutter shutter speed. Both can be (IMO) very important. Sometimes you have whales stretching to the corners/edges of the frame, and sometimes you are super close to the baitball and whales... but usually, most of the time you are shooting from at least a few meters away, sometimes farther. I wish you best of luck this year. Sadly, I will not be there this year. But hoping to return to Skjervoy in 2026. Sincerely, Brandon

Thank you, Isaac. Sorry to hear that you've had a rough go of it lately. Hope you power through the Covid soon-

Thank you very much for your message, Isaac. As always, your detailed information is very helpful to all of us. (And your stunning freshwater photography shames me for never having seriously pursued such... You've shown us absolutely beautiful fish and critters right here in the USA!) I first noticed that particular RS 13 lens on eBay a while back, and saw the water spots, and that has given me pause. But it is good to know that you have the wizardry necessary to remove them. I think I will most likely wait for a better one to materialize. (I know I have let a few slip through my fingers over the last year...) And then I will certainly be in touch. Approximately how much of a backlog/waiting list do you have for conversions? Thanks again! Brandon

WTB: old Nikonos RS 13mm lens with great glass, or better yet a newly converted RS/Sony lens by Isaac Szabo Thank you, Brandon Cole brandoncole(at)msn.com

DM sent

And I have at least a couple, still assembled but with old cells meaning they don't hold a charge that well any more.

Thank you very much, DreiFish!

Thank you for explaining, ChipBPhoto!

Thank you Phil. Yes indeed, beautiful pink/green light show off our porch the other night. I know, weird that they make manual focus for Canon R but not autofocus. I was wondering if it's just a timing issue, that they need more time to work out the AF for Canon. But if that were the case I would think they would announce "AF version coming soon!" RE Sony- Yes, I did sell the camera, housing, a couple lenses, and some bits and bobs. I still have the WWL-1 and flatport, and the FCP. I am going to try the FCP on both Nikon D850 (with ancient 28-70 kit lens) and Canon 5D4 (with ancient 28-70 kit lens). Wouldn't be surprised if I revisit Sonyland sometime in the not too distant future (maybe A1 mk 2 if/when?) but for big 6 week South Africa sardine run coming up soon I want to go with muscle memory of Canon and Nikon.

Thank you

Does anyone know if Laowa has said if they will be releasing an autofocus version of the 10mm for Canon R mount? Or will the autofocus only ever be available for Nikon Z and Sony E mirrorless?

Just returned a few weeks ago from my second trip to Triton Bay. Love Triton. Only option from SOQ to KNG (Kaimana) was (and I assume still is) the Lion Air Group (Wings, Batik, and Lion airlines). Lion Air can be very frustrating RE cancellations and changes. We had 5 total schedule changes (some time changes, and some cancellations) between the time we booked (directly on Lion site) and our actual arrival and departure from KNG. In fact, we had to leave the resort a day earlier than originally planned just to make it back to SOQ and on to Manado (MDC) at a reasonable time. Our trip 5 years ago was marginally better in terms of flights, but still had changes and cancellations. Long ago, Garuda serviced Kaimana and was less erratic, but I wouldn't expect them to restart that flight anytime soon. So, it's really important-- IMO-- to build in at least one overnight to and from. And after you book flights, check the status of them regularly. Communication from Lion Group to customers can be very poor. Sometimes they send texts and emails, sometimes they don't. You need to be proactive and monitor things. Good luck!

@Kamaros- I am indeed reading this (as I sit in the airport before flying home!), and I thank you for your kind words and willingness to entertain my unorthodox offer out of the blue. Win-win swap for both of us. Waterpixels as a community is off to a great start and I hope everyone here contributes to and benefits from the collective positive energy, supportive spirit and wealth of wisdom of the groups quickly-growing membership. Happy shooting and safe diving to all-

Hello sea_ledford, I have one in excellent condition, only used on about 10 snorkeling sessions. I have been thinking of selling, but hadn't yet posted. Please feel free to contact me via DM or email and we can discuss further. Cheers, Brandon e: brandoncole(at)msn(dot)com

Please let me know if you have a sharp copy in very good condition that you would like to sell. Thank you, Brandon Cole brandoncole(at)msn.com

Thank you for your comments, DreiFish. And I'm glad you had a better experience than I did! I was using the Canon 5D mark 4, so not a mirrorless. But it's a camera with good AF, and when paired with good (to good enough lenses) I never felt it noticeably slow to focus in otherwise normal light and with pelagic fast moving subjects, often at distance and then racing in. But all three of the lenses I used (purchased from different parties, all on e-bay, of course) were disappointing. (I did shoot some reef scenics where AF was not really tested, and it worked acceptably well. But certainly wasn't anywhere near as sharp as a native fisheye, and with no real splits ability, I did not want to lug around the WACP and the 230 on every trip.) So I abandoned the whole endeavor, selling the WACP, thinking I would revisit in the future. Though I also shoot Nikon (then and still now), I generally prefer Canon for wide angle. More because of the camera controls, auto white balance, and so on. So I did not try the Nikon old kit lenses with that WACP. But many people have been, and continue to use that combo and seem very happy with it. I'm hoping better experience with the FCP in the future. Obvious with different lenses.

Hopefully the much newer (and more expensive) Canon RF lenses would deliver sharper results, and faster autofocus. I would think so, but do not have any firsthand experience.

Folks, I recommend you try to test/demo water contact lenses with the ancient Canon 28-70 and 28-80 lenses before making the big purchase. I bought 2 copies of 28-70, and 1 of 28-80, for use with WACP-1 on Canon 5d4 and I was disappointed with all 3 Canon. None of those lenses were sharp enough, in my opinion, and the AF was slow. The speed at which they autofocused was not what I needed for fast action pelagic stuff. Between the slow AF and mediocre sharpness, I thought they were a waste behind the WACP and I discontinued use. Perhaps your needs and expectations and results would be different than mine. I hope so. Perhaps it would be fine for normal reef scenery and critter work. The zoom range is amazing, yes... Nikon shooters with their ancient 28-70 seemed much happier behind the same WACP. I can only surmise that the Nikon kit lens is a better optic than the two Canons models. Of course I have not tested either of the Canons behind the new FCP. My comments are exclusively for the WACP.

Thank you for that FOV information, Alex

Thanks to everyone who replied! Very helpful.

Hi, Does anyone know the true angle of coverage zoom range of the FCP with the popular lenses? I've read 170 (and also 180) degrees at the widest... which I assume is at 28mm, whether it's the Sony 28-60 or the ancient Nikon 28-70 or the new Nikon Z 24-50 (when zoomed in to 28mm.) But what about the long/narrow end? I've read (and heard) "130 degrees"... and also "about the Tokina 10-17 at 17", which I believe was 100 degrees at 17mm on DX... 130 and 100 degrees are noticeably different, so apparently there's some inaccuracies in the grapevine at this time. I've also heard "about 110 degrees." I assume that the narrow end of the particular zoom lens being used with the FCP will dictate the narrowest angle of coverage... So, does anyone know the true angle of view at 60mm on the Sony 28-60 lens? At 50 on the Nikon Z 24-50? And, not to forget the past, the long end of the ancient Nikon 28-70 and Canon 28-70 slow, cheap, kit lenses?

I'm certainly looking forward to the FCP. I've long missed the fov range between fisheye and the wide rectilinear lenses (14mm, 16-35mm, etc.)