Macro equivalent to housed nikon & 105micro

I'm looking into entering the digital underwater world, mainly for macro. Is there a system that comes close to providing the 1:1 ratio, at 12 inches or so, that a housed nikon with the 105mm micro does?? For those tiny fish photos where the little guys won't allow you to get 2 inches away (or get that framer around them!).

Not sure 1:1 means the same thing in the digital world. Just looking for a camera/housing/lens setup that allows a large magnification at 12 inches or further.

Thanks in advance for any advice out there!

The Nikon coolpix series cameras have the closest macro. With the 5000 and it's native lens you can do better than the equivalent of 1:1 macro with a 35 mm system. Even using the 19 mm lens the 5000 will focus to about 1:1. The 5000 in particular is a great macro camera. Just make sure you have a strobe that gives you a lot of power settings.

Just tested my Nikon 5000 with the 19mm equivalent lens. At the closest focus I could get, 1/4" from the lens, I got 1:2 (35mm equivalent). At 2" it's 1:4. Putting it behind a dome I think 1:4 would be a stretch even without strobes. Still good for such wide angle though.

The Nikon 5000 without the wide lens can get to 1:1 equivalent but the working distance is only 3" or so. The 5050 can also do it but the working distance there is even less (1.5"-2"). With supplemental closeup lenses you may do better, but as-is neither is as powerful as a housed Nikon with the 60mm, much less the 105mm. I doubt you can get to 1:1 with a working distance of 12" with any P&S solution although I be happy to be proven wrong.

I haven't used the 5000 underwater but I do carry the 5050/PT-015 with me and am quite pleased with it. It can't go as big or as small as an SLR, but it's small, easy to use, and provides nice results. The price is right as well.

So, do we define 1:1 as taking a photo where the subject is 24mm tall and 36mm wide?

I think so.

Most consumer digicams will shoot that, but you have to be VERY close. That is because the lenses have VERY short focal lengths - like 8mm-27mm. If you want to back off a bit to get skittish fish or more light in front of the lens, I suggest trying an Inon wet-mount macro lens (diopter).

Cheers

James

Using magnification ratios to compare formats is touchy.

Thanks to everybody for their input!

When I think 1:1, if the subject is 1 inch (25mm) wide, it should then be 25mm wide on the negative. When comparing film to digital (using the coolpix 5000 and its 2560x1920 pixels), I would think 1:1 with this same 25mm subject would mean it was about 1775 pixels wide (25mm/36mm * 2,560) in the raw/tiff mode. Does this sound right??

Appears from the responses that there might not be a P & S solution for those 1:1 at 12 inch situations. But that maybe an add-on lens might give a few more inches over the standard lens?

Getting those skittish blenny pics (or tiny critters in crevices) is just not easy!

While what you say is most useful and agrees with both James' and my descriptions, it's technically incorrect. 1:1 refers only to the absolute magnification where 1 unit of subject equals one unit on the imager. That's why I say "1:1 35mm equivalent". Sorry to be so pedantic, but the language so commonly used among film shooters is a little more problematic with digital.

What we really want to describe is the size of the smallest creature that fills the frame and that's what you've described so nicely. A 105 can fill the frame with a creature about 25mm, or 1" and still have a working distance around 12". Digital P&S's can't quite do that realistically. Digital SLR's can do better by virtue of their crop factors even though the optics are the same. A 105 can focus down to 1:1 regardless of the body it's attached to, yet the perceived magnification will be 1.5:1 with the D100/S2. What's the real magnification? Still 1:1. Sorry for the confusion. I doubt that helped!

I really have a hard time trying to achieve 1:1 style shots with my 5000.

I dive cold water and find that the 19mm lens for macro is not a great idea. Even with the standard lens, I have a hard time getting close, without encountering strobe issues due to the lens distance to the subject.

Is there a close up filter style lens that might give macro magnifications, and still fit under the Aquatica flat port?

Are there any other options for increasing the distance/magnification?