10.5mm or other prefered wideangle lense?

i was wondering if anybody had experience using a 10.5mm underwater? or are there any other better wideangle lenses? trying to get a wide angle lense. Pls advise

Hi, to me the 10.5 is the best wide angle lens for Nikon dSLRs. But it takes some time to get used to, the coverage is very wide, and it is easy to have things in the photograph that weren't supposed to be there, like your fins, the strobes, etc. Another excellent lens is the 16mm fisheye, with a bit less coverage.

Hi Imp,

I have been shooting the 10.5mm underwater since it came out in 2003. It is a great lens for UW shooting, and if you want proof check out the success of JP Trenque, Wetpixel member "Frogmansub", who has just won the vote in the BBC Photographer of the Year Final (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4392574.stm) with the 10.5mm.

That said the 10.5mm is not the right lens for everything. What are you planning to photograph?

Alex

Don't forget the Sigma 15mm.

Yep it doesn't have the coverage of the 10.5mm but it's cheaper if that's a concern.

I have a d100 and subal housing and I was thinking about getting the 10.5. Do you know which extenstion rings I need? Someone told me the 10.5 would not work with my set up (vignetting issues). Is that right?

I have the nessary dome port and extension rings already for the 12-24, 105 and 60. I wonder if I have what need for the 10.5?

I was going to send an email to Subal, but I thought one you might know.

Thanks,

Mathis

Hey Mathis

I have the same set-up as you and have no problems with the 10.5 in a Subal housing with the DP-FE2 and NO extension.

As both Alex and Rocha say, the lens is excellent and is capable of producing awesome images. But it is not straight-forward to use and needs practice. The 12-24 was my "standard" UW WA - but I am starting to use the 10.5 more and more.

I find the 10.5 less-good topside and the 12-24 remains the best on dryland.

Tim

THANKS. This is quite helpful.

Question: when you put the dome port on with no ext ring, do you find that some fo the controls are harder to move (because the dome port touches them?). I seem to remember that happening to me, but only at depths ... i think.

It was not a problem to turn the knobs, I just noticed they stuck a little more.

Mathis.

FYI - I just ordered my 10.5 lens. I plan to use it in Bonaire in December! Thanks again.

Mathis

You will enjoy this lens!! Congrats!!

Check out this link;

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showt...876entry66876

In posts #24, 25, and 26 I showed an example of de-fishing with the 10.5.

Have fun!!!

Tom

Hey Mathis

Question: when you put the dome port on with no ext ring, do you find that some fo the controls are harder to move (because the dome port touches them?). I seem to remember that happening to me, but only at depths ... i think.

Nope, not found that a problem. I checked the dome port/lens proximity - and they do not touch.

Tim,

I seem to recall the knobs were not touching the dome until I was at depth. I guess the pressure moves the dome in a bit? Sounds scary, but I almost certain that was the case. I will double check myself on that next month in Bonaire.

It really did not cause an operational issue ... just something I noticed.

Thanks.

Hi Mathis

I'd certainly be interested to know how you get on. I guess I have probably only used my 10.5 down to about 20-25m. I'm not sure it has gone any deeper.

Enjoy Bonaire. It's one of my favourite places for photo-diving. I was thinking of going there myself this month - but business is taking me out to Indonesia. Its a tough life.