dhaas

PS - These days my remaining dive buddies who shoot a mirrorless ILC camera all shoot FULL FRAME (!!!!!!) Mainly because they want to and can afford to no matter what. I only recently went to an APS-C camera after 9 years shooting nothing underwater but 1" sensor compacts. The reasons? Battery life and CMOS DPAF incredible AF over what I'd been shooting with. Also the improved high ISO capability whether shooting ambient light or any flash or fixed lighting. I'm also testing myself against high f-stops so prevalent in most US shooting. Surface photography, especially creative work is 100% the opposite with isolated focus, bokeh, etc. The only place that's seen in UW imaging is macro and also Super macro. But still......We seem obsessed with technical everything in focus more than the "feeling" of images. It kind of bums me out....... One area isolationism is evident are contests....There's many images that make one stop, look, look again and those keep me even interested in hauling any camera set up on trips and underwater. The "thrill of the hunt" as the saying goes...... Stay safe, dive often and have fun! David Haas

Friends, I've only been an APS-C camera owner and shooter over 25 years of digital. I truly have never understood all the obsession with corner sharpness. If that's what you're looking at as THE important element in your image I just don't get it, but that's just me..... I head to Red Sea in a couple days and like last October on a Cozumel trip will attempt to "shoot different". I take a new lowly APS-C 24 megapixel Canon R100 camera, the unbelievably sharp Canon RF-S 10-18mm IS STM lens and compact Ikelite DLM housing with 6" dome port. I have a pair of 2,000 lumen 120 degree beam lights plus a smaller slightly narrower 1000 lumen light especially for inside the Thistlegorm and other wrecks to play with. That's it...... I can borrow a small Inon S220 or Sea and Sea YS-03 flash from some buddies on board our liveaboard if I care to shoot something with flash, or maybe not....... I'm becoming bored with what I've coined as: "SS" for "Shampoo Shooting" as in "lather, rinse, repeat". Been there done that for too long. I don't mean to sound dismissive, again it's just where I'm at after decades of taking pictures. I won't be obsessing over corner sharpness as I also crop every photo I take (well, usually) and fine tune images to my liking. I realize most of this forum has high end talented shooters desiring top technical quality and have the means to buy top shelf gear, etc. Most (all?) are not making a living from photography as hobbyists not selling or licensing photos. Many win contests showcasing their photos and that's great ! Just thought I'd share different thoughts versus debating age old technical discussions that seem to dominate the forums (sometimes, not always......) Keep diving, shooting and more importantly have fun :) David Haas Some pics shot with everything from 1" sensor compacts to APS-C dSLR even with lowly "kit" lenses......

PS - On the Canon R50 there IS a digital teleconverter built in 2.0X and 4.0X. I've played with a shot or two but not to any extent. That could be a feature to try with the Canon RF-S 18-45mm IS STM lens at 45mm focal length. I'd think LESS is MORE as in don't be too greedy trying to tele-convert too far out......Maybe kick in the 2.0X and see how it look on the proposed Jawfish pics...... DH

When I used compacts notably the Canon G7X II and especially the Sony RX100 VII one feature on these fixed lens 1" sensor cameras was their built in digital teleconverters. The Canon G7X II allowed me to get a sequence of a humpback whale jumping at the max tele-converted range but the pics are only really usable for social media / online. By contrast the small Sony RX100 VII has a built in teleconverter that doubles the optical 200mm long focal length to 400mm. It worked great partly owing to the AF in the Sony RX100 VII (being the same as the Sony A9 dSLR. I think.) It had limitations only applicable on JPEG format and Single Shot. But still in Africa I made pics I was really happy even making some large prints (13" X 19") As to the Canon R50 and Nauticam NA-R50 housing perhaps an internal focus lens choice to limit any length change with a teleconverter like the fixed RF 50mm f1.8 MIGHT give Gary an option for the type of shots he's looking to capture. Personally I'd just shoot the spec'd 18-45mm IS STM kit lens at 45mm. Don't shoot at crazy high ISOs and f-stops (maybe ISO 400 and f11 max) and simply crop and edit utilizing any up-rez and sharpening program. That's just me being the world's laziest photographer :) In today's world it's 50% capture the file and 50% editing no matter how simple you choose to do so. Nauticam's decision for the nice low price point Canon R50 using a fixed port was likely a trade off aimed at the typical mirrorless shooter wanting a small simple to use housing that could still use Nauticam's very capable wet lenses. David Haas

My only comment to this is will it apply to selfie stick GoPro / DJI Osmo / Insta36 / iPhone and Android shooters too? What about once a year divers who barely "survive the dive" as I call it? AOW rating means nothing in today's world.....I tink I read somewhere 50 dives is a bare minimum people get their weighting and buoyancy anywhere approaching horizontal and balanced. I think it's window dressing but maybe it'll at least divers will think: "Some old guy told me if you can't feel your feet they're likely destroying the reef below !!!!!! !" Reefs need protection and publicizing this is a good thing overall :) DH

Back from Florida and being almost exclusively a wide angle shooter I tried 3 different wet lenses. Day one I used a friend's Inon UWL-H100 (designed for 28mm focal length, close the Canon RF-S 18-45mm IS STM lens through the Nauticam NA-50 flat port. I also shot another friend's Nauticacm WWL-B lens. As expected with great results. Last day I used my El Cheapo' Sea and Sea .67X wide angle wet lens. Like the Inon UWL-H100 in the Bayonet to 67mm adapter those less expensive wide angle optics vignette a bit and aren't as wide as a Nauticam WWL-B / WWL-C / WWL-1. I let another friend shoot his WWL-1 with buoyancy "donut" and bayonet mount on his. Mated perfectly on the Nauticam NA-R50. He rwas impressed with the Nauticam NA-R50 and I had the * button set up to BBF for him too :) All in all the Nauticam NA-R50 is an impressive camera and package in a small size. The Canon R50 pop up flash synchs to 1/250 and the LCD screen is bright and easy to maneuver around. The 18-45mm Canon lens designed to be used exclusively with the housing delivers fine results. It's a great choice if you'll never go full frame. I also got some great shots of Phil Rudin, my dear friend and fellow UW shooter since 1990 !!! Using his Marelux rigs he's a master of his gear. He let me try an Apollo S strobe as I only shot one strobe. The first few days a single Inon S220 and the last day the Marelux Apollo S. I have to say if "Buy Once, Cry Once" the Apollo S price of $840.00 is in your budget get one !!!! It does Manual, Manual Rapid mode flash (MTL I think it's called) super accurate TTL from my Canon R50's pop up flash, HSS (High Speed Synch if your cameras does that) and more........It only requires two Lion 18650 batteries lightening your travel load for hundreds of flashes per charged set. Hope this helps potential UW shooters in the price point of a fabulous housing / camera combination :) David Haas

There's a feature built into the Canon R50 I have yet to play with on mine in the Nauticam NA-R50 housing. In Canon RED Menu tab there is Digital TeleConvertor feature of 2.0X and 4.0X. I have barely played with the 2.0X on the 45mm zoom end of the Canon RF-S 18-45mm IS STM lens. I'm pretty sure this only works in JPEG mode (have to find details in the 814 page Canon R50 PDF manual, LOL) to be sure. Still, if shooting through the NA-R50 flat port it could be what I call a "poor man's semi-close up" lens option. With today's software including sharpening, uprezzing, backscatter removal, etc. I contend shooting any photo is 50% capture / 50% editing to make photos shine 🙂 I'll try it while diving some Florida freshwater springs next week 🙂 David Haas

Owned the Canon R50 for a few months and still exploring if one rear button can be mapped to back button focus start. Personally I don't find the "feel" of the Nauticam NA-R50 housing trigger and spring tension difficult to 1/2 lock and then shoot. Flash synch speed is 1/250. Nice........ As to having a port for vacuum AND another to rig a data transfer / charging USB-C not likely.... Only one M16 port and my housing has the vacuum system in it. Works fine and popping the camera in an out is a breeze anyway. The housing fixed port hasn't been limiting since numerous macro 67mm choices out via Nauticam's 67mm / bayonet t adapter. For wide shooting a WWL-B, WWL-C lenses (likely a WWL-1 too just not sure of any fdifferences in corners, vignetting, etc. Possibly less expensive wet WA choices with less wide to zoom in full focus coverage, some vignetting, etc. depending what lens you try with the 67mm / bayonet ring. I'm realistic and don't expect WWL-B or WWL-C total quality in this silly experiments. I'll try various ideas mid-April in North Florida's clear freshwater springs and share some pics 🙂 David Haas

As I said if it works for you that's fine. The focus stacking is one I hadn't thought of but might make sense in today's modern cameras with a sessile type creature. Hmmmmm........ DH

I have only used Sony RX100 VII compact but common complaints I hear from Sony Axxx models underwater are in no particular order: * Slower than other camera brands top synch speed with flash * Flash triggers "problematic" * On built in pop up flash if your model has one there's no small tripping flashes versus TTL only. Nikon cameras have a 1/128 on some built in pop up flashes and Canon's do 1/3 - 2/3 - FULL increments plus TTL on their built in pop up flashes. Being a Canon fan I've never had anywhere near the flash problems I read about over decades shooting manual or TTL whether in an Ikelite, Fantasea, Nauticam or whatever housing. I usually had direct hot shoe connection (Ikelite corded ) or took any flash trigger out of the equation using a camera's built in flash which simply works for manual or TTL on Nikon or Canon. The latest obsession seems to be shooting in low or high speed multi-frame flash, even with macro nudibranch shooters (WTH ?????) I can see maybe low speed continuous but seriously, as a "standard" way of shooting? I guess I don't feel the need to have that, but hey, if it's your jam go for it !!!!! Just another nobody's opinion 🙂 David Haas PS - I'll be trying an Ikelite Canon TT5 Optical TTL trigger in a different camera and housing in a couple weeks and will report on results 🙂 I'll use Ikelite DS160 strobes (for years I shot back to the DS125.) Using one or two wide beam strobes despite the size always delivered nice warm images and recycle time was never an issue. Stay tuned!

Very sharp pics! Well done :)

All these lenses had Type 2 rear mounts. Not sure if the Type 1 Inon would make the rear element too close to the housings front port glass as water in between is required. Results in no particular order shooting dry. Full wide, then zooming a tad to eliminate vignetting, then zoom in to 45mm on my Canon 18-45mm lens all with WA lens attached. Both the UWL-H100 and UWL-100 vignette require zoom but not much to eliminate vignetting. Corners not impressive even at f8 on any of them. This isn't surprising as these lenses were designed for compact cameras with smaller sensors up to the 1" popular models. The Fantasea / AOI UWL-09f lens barrel is too fat to fit in the Nauticam 67mm / bayonet adapter on my fixed port kit lens housing. So that's out but for those wiht interchangeable port housings and a skinny 67mm threaded from it might work. Surprisingly the cheap Sea and Sea .6X lens almost looks the same center sharpness but again corners are crap no matter what f-stop 😞 Your results may vary but I'm inclined to not use any of these choices. The Nauticam WWL-B or WWL-C seem to be the best for overall wide to medium kit lens shooting and the price justifies their performance! DH

Both my friend's UWL-100 and UWL-H100 have no additional dome. The UWL-100 front element is larger diameter front element yet the stubbier UWL-H100 feels heavier (!!!!!!) The UWL-H100 rear element also doesn't end up as flush with the Nauticam bayonet / 67mm adapter. Either Inon UWL-100 / H100 lens is shorter that a WWL choice. How much vignetting at 18mm wide focal length of my Canon kit lens is the first consideration plus how much one needs to zoom in to eliminate it. I've always cropped any pic anyway and mild dark corners I really don't care to waste precious underwater time zooming to some exact focal length. Just crop it....... The crap old Sea and Sea .6X lens actually had very minimal vignetting but the corners shooting close in my last pool dive weren't anything to rave about. But it did work and was much lighter and smaller than my buddy's WWL-B. I have a sneaking feeling after all this screwing around I'll just shoot my kit lens through the port and and add whatever cheap WA lens is available. Mainly because I'm weight OCD about packing and diving. We'll see! DH

I just received from a friend the following lenses to test on my Nauticam NA-R50 housing bayonet to 67mm adapter: * Inon UWL-100 (designed for 35mm compact focal length) * Inon UWL-H100 (designed for 28mm compact focal length) * Fantasea / AOI UWL-09f (polycarbonate dome designed for 28mm focal length) My Canon R50 camera is a 24MP APS-C sensor and the Nauticam NA-R50 is a fixed port for using only the Canon RF-S 18-45mm IS STM kit lens. Like my buddy Nemrod I'm looking for possible medium wider solutions if not using the very wonderful bit large and heavier (and $$$$) Nauticam WWL-B or WWL-C. Doing some dry tests today with all 3 then will try to get into a pool soon. If none are worth the size / weight / travel hassle of just shooting my housing with the built in flat port won't be as disappointing as many surmise it will be. Stay tuned! David Haas

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