SP350 Wide Angle update

I just paired my oly SP350 with the Sea&Sea 16mm lens for a Nikonos V and have some interesting test data.

1. Added quite a bit to the Wide Angle and took great pictures.

2. It ran me $125 bucks on Ebay ... used.

3. Its a Wet Conversion Lens so you can add it, or remove it underwater.

4. It requires a 46mm to 58mm step-up ring to add the lens.

5. It does vignet (clip) a little when zoomed all the way out but at 95% zoomed out it works fine with no clipping of the photo.

6. With that said...here's the results...the girl is my lovely 12 year old daughter who makes a great underwater model!

The following two photos from the same distance from a pool wall showing 4" tiles. Photos were taken approx. 2ft from the pool wall.

Here is the comparison photo with the WA lens attached.

...and finally a swimming pool pelagic!

Some side notes....

Impossible to do over/under shots unless you're real quick haha. because the lens needs water in order to focus properly.

When zoomed out with no distortion, the f-stop was auto adjusted to 2.9 versus 2.8 for wide open.

Overall...I've very happy with it. Any comments/criticism would be greatly appreciated

That looks brilliant. Do the images come out sharp?

I'd like to take a similar setup and mount it below my Nikonos wide angle system. And I'm looking to do it cheap!

I actually used to own that lens but lent it to someone on a dive boat and forgot about it. If I can find a cheap Olympus housing with a 46mm thread, I'll be all set. And I don't think that will be much of a problem. This could also be a nice backup to my UW Nikkor 15mm.

Desert,

The lens has a 58mm thread so any camera with a housing that has a threaded barrel should work with the appropriate adapter. I've haven't noticed any lack of sharpness or detail using the lens. The photo of my daughter and the one above were take with the lens on. Anyway, I'm happy with the lens and the results. Those lenses pop fairly regularly on Ebay for $125-$200

Does the combination work on land?

It looks like the Inon 105 AD lens actually functions as a fisheye above land, and a 105 degree lens underwater. The cost is a bit higher: $259 for the lens and $61 for the adapter.

Another choice is to spend $260 on an Epoque adapter. It's a 46mm screw on lens. For a little more money I'd rather have the Inon which has a bayonett.

Desert,

I knew about the Inon but got tired of waiting for the adapter for my camera. The Epoque is the same as the Sea&Sea...both are wet conversion lenses that do not work above water. I will probably invest in the Inon when it is available anyway because they also have some macro lens for it.

Gary

Gary,

I just bought one of the Sea & Sea lenses on eBay. At $119 it was hard to resist.

Did you have any issues focusing the lens? When I owned one before and used it on the Nikkor 35, you had to set that lens at infinity. But now with a digiam I suppose that all changes.

Desert,

I had no problems at all with the lens except for the clipping or vignetting at the widest angle. The camera resets to this position so you'll just have to tap the zoom briefly to get rid of it. Other than that, it worked perfectly. I think you'll enjoy the results the lens brings. Later,

Gary