turandot

I think I'll stick with the fixed ports option with 8mm fisheye for WA and 60mm for macro and as a flexible option the 14-42EZ with wet lenses. The options you have proposed are very expensive for amateur photography that makes 1 or 2 diving trips a year. I'm afraid that carrying all this in your hand luggage is going to be a lot hehe Do you think it is possible to reuse my current Fisheye FIX UWL-28M52 lens with approximate FOV of 168 degree for the 14-42EZ?>> https://www.gidivestore.com/intl/en/wide-angle-lenses-and-domes/fisheye-fix-uwl-28m52.html

My current setup is: Olympus 8mm Pro fisheye lens for almost everything with N85 4.33" Acrylic Fisheye Dome Port and Olympus 60mm with N85 Macro Port 65 for macro. I think the 8mm fisheye lens is too far away from objects and that I need to get very close.

I think it was my fault, the FOV does not change with the dome, it returns the angle of the target on the land and I am not wrong. By the way, I'm going to rule out the use of the 7" dome. Thank you Chriss for your recommendations. I would like to have a lens for everything, maybe for that the best solution is the 14-42EZ (28-84mm) lens with wet lenses.

I have both lenses for land with OMD EM5.3, the 12-45 and the 8-25 but I haven't tried them for underwater. I also have 8mm fisheye with the small 4.33 nauticam domo but I'm not convinced by the barrel effect it produces. I am going to look at the options you have proposed. I'm going to look at the Nauticam Port Chart settings map for these lenses, but it won't be cheap unfortunately. If I decide to install the nauticam 7" dome for 12-45mm f/4 PRO, what converted FOV would be left for wide angle considering that at 12mm (24mm in 35mm) it has an lens FOV of 84º on the land?

Anyone else who can tell us about the experience of underwater photography with this lens? I would like to use it as a complement to the Olympus 8mm fisheye. Any alternative options to the 12mm and 8mm fisheye for wide-angle photography?

Uppppsss thanks for informing. Another option is to use the Nauticam Mini Flash Trigger (#26306), but it's $300, very very expensive. https://www.nauticam.com/products/mini-flash-trigger-for-olympus-compatible-with-na-em5ii-em1-em1ii Another options is.... O-TURTLE 2 SMART RC TTL trigger for Panasonic and Olympus systems https://www.trt-electronics.com/shop/o-turtle-2-smart-ttl-trigger/35/

Traveling with 4 flashes.... I don't see, besides the price. Traveling light is the best thing and with the 2x Z330 I have lost that advantage. The bad thing is that selling the Z330 you lose a lot of money. Obviously the Z330 with its greater power, will illuminate the reef better, but I think the S220 can be perfectly valid for it. The S220 has significant improvements over the S2000, such as the standard dome, is equipped with a bayonet mount to use various dome filters or improved button size or pre-flash button placement, operates on four AA batteries and double o-rings that significantly reduce flooding risk. It has the best of both worlds S-2000 and Z330 Type 2.

After being a user of the S-2000 and now the Z-330 Type 2, I wouldn't mind going back to the size of the S220, the truth is that I was delighted with them.

The problem with the brands' proprietary battery packs is that if they stop manufacturing them, they leave you stranded. It has already happened to me with batteries from the X-Adventurer brand and one of their underwater video flashlight. Getting stranded with two underwater video spotlights is a big problem because of their high price and large investment. That's why I like the system chosen by Backscatter for its Video light MW4300 and Hybrid Flash HF-1.

I understand your approach @Jerry Diver, and I hope that brands do it because of what you mention. If it weren't for the fact that they triple the price of their batteries, when internally they carry 3-4 standard 18650 or 21700 batteries. And watch out! that many packs "die" just because a single cell "dies" or does not give enough voltage and it is only possible to replace the entire proprietary battery packs. The problem is low-cost standard batteries and unknown brands, or counterfeits. Another important issue is having a good charger that measures the amperage and voltage of standard batteries.

One of the most important features of both of Backscatter's solutions (Video Light MW4300 and Hybrid Flash HF-1) is the user-replaceable battery system. I think it's a great idea (of course, always with quality batteries) and it should be the market trend. I mean standard 18650 or 21700 batteries, not batteries fitted into a pack with a proprietary system of the brands. About the Backscatter MW4300, it's coming time for an upgrade: more power and better CRI with the same price and weight. 4 years without updates is a long time with the advancement of technology.

Of course!! In addition, competition between brands is always welcome for users. It's a good time for GoPro not to fall asleep. To be honest, GoPro is not the worst thing there is now, nor is the rest the best on the market. Let's not make people believe now that their equipment is "no longer worth anything" and that they need to upgrade to Ace360 Pro and the DJI Action 4.

Coincidence that many influencers advertise Insta 360 and DJI Action 4 through Instagram and Youtube and coincidence that they are now better than the GoPro 12. Before talking about "dethrone" I would talk about the perfect marketing campaign of the rest of the brands, be careful, something that GoPro has done for all these years.

Thank you so much @Robin.snapshots

@Robin.snapshots To confirm..... vignetting does not appear in the 16:9 format with the Backscatter sharp wide lens (uwl-03)? It is important to leave no doubts about this topic for future buyers... as is my case.

Totally agree.

I suspect SCUBALAMP (Kolta Electronic Co.,Ltd) is the manufacturer and FOTOCORE is a brand that puts its stickers on flashlights like DIVEVOLK.

This makes sense, the Backscatter mount has more space between the front of the housing and the wide-angle lens for the color filter. The AOI mount should be closer to the front of the underwater gopro case. Regarding the response of Backscatter in the 16:9 format, it makes sense, this format has the corners cropped compared to the 8:7 format (see attached image)

One question @Architeuthis..... How do I operate the zoom mechanism of the Zuiko 8-25mm f/4.0 lens inside the dome Zen DP170? 🤔 This lens is also retractable and must be operated before use at 8mm

Hi Robin, Did you solve the issue with the lens @Robin.snapshots? Does it have vignetting or not? I am interested in buying this model, but I'm worried that it has vignetting. Thanks.

I don't think the Backscatter MW4300 videolight model will reach its end of life, the most logical thing is that they release an upgrade of the videolight to 5000 or 7000 lumens with the same price and weight as the current model. Will we have any news in the near future Backscatter?

The good thing about this flash is that it has video lights. Is 5000 lumens not enough for underwater video? It may be, but less is nothing.

BigBlue is a very good brand and I like their models. But... I don't like video lights that have their own custom battery packs, I like standard batteries like 18650 or 21700 is better for me. In the future, it will be easier to replace batteries or have spare battery sets for travel.

Many times "the magic" of backscatter is called Photoshop or Lightroom. Most of the photos we see on social media have gone through LS or PS 😁

Very good thoughts about backscatter with underwater strobe lights. Thank you @Interceptor121