Seacam Mini Fisheye-Macro Dome

Hey!

The last BOOT (Jan. 2009) in Germany Harald Hordosch presented a new Seacam Mini Fisheye-Macro Dome.

I was to busy to check the details, and now, I can not remember the details.

And I even can not find informations in the web.

Except a few infos at a Belgium site.

For example this pic:

Has somebody here more informations.

It it only for the Fish-eye or do you have to use a 1,4x converter?

Thanks for more informations

Schorsch

Hey!

 

The last BOOT (Jan. 2009) in Germany Harald Hordosch presented a new Seacam Mini Fisheye-Macro Dome.

I was to busy to check the details, and now, I can not remember the details.

And I even can not find informations in the web.

Except a few infos at a Belgium site.

 

For example this pic:

 

 

 

Has somebody here more informations.

It it only for the Fish-eye or do you have to use a 1,4x converter?

 

Thanks for more informations

Schorsch

This is the first mention of it here that I recall. Looks very cool! Thanks for the post!

It is designed for a straight fisheye. You would need to add a extension ring to add a teleconverter.

It was also shown at Antibes 2008 (and probably DEMA 2008 - I don't remember). It actually came up (in passing) in my interview with Kurt Amsler (my next in the A Conversation With series, that will be in UWP Mag at the end of the month) and he seemed to imply that it was released and on the market. But we didn't talk about it specifically - it was referred to as a product that Seacam have recently introduced.

Zen have a not-dissimilar dome on sale - which I heard that they were planning to produce in a Seacam mount.

Alex

- it was referred to as a product that Seacam have recently introduced.

 

....which I heard that they were planning to produce in a Seacam mount.

 

Alex

More great news!

That looks like a great piece of gear!

How long has the Zen one been out?

Does anyone have any experience of using it yet?

Adam

The Zen 100m Mini Fisheye-Macro port is out now. I picked one up from Reef Photo about a week and a half ago, and trying it our now.

Hey!

 

The last BOOT (Jan. 2009) in Germany Harald Hordosch presented a new Seacam Mini Fisheye-Macro Dome.

I was to busy to check the details, and now, I can not remember the details.

And I even can not find informations in the web.

Except a few infos at a Belgium site.

 

Has somebody here more informations.

It it only for the Fish-eye or do you have to use a 1,4x converter?

 

Thanks for more informations

Schorsch

Here it is on the new Seacam site, German only for now. English in 3 weeks Harald says:

Fisheye macro port - http://seacam.com/de/produkte/frontports/sonderports

Here it is on the new Seacam site, German only for now. English in 3 weeks Harald says:

 

Fisheye macro port - http://seacam.com/de/produkte/frontports/sonderports

If you follow the link there are a couple of interesting illustrations of what the port does:

photos ©SEACAM

Based on the obvious close focus and apparent lack of distortion, I ordered one of the ports. It appears like it should be a very useful wide angle tool & am eager to try it out.

Looks very similar to the nexus 4.75" dome for the tokina 10-17mm FE lens which has been out for a while now.

http://www.fun-in.com.tw/catalog/product_i...roducts_id=1038

Based on the obvious close focus and apparent lack of distortion, I ordered one of the ports. It appears like it should be a very useful wide angle tool & am eager to try it out.

Just a quick update after having used this new port during my recent trip to Maldives:

1. Worked great with traditional wide-angle subjects. This was shot with 15mm lens on Canon 1DsMKIII. The fact that it was quite small was a huge asset when freediving with whale sharks and other blue water pelagics. Obviously if it worked well in the corners with the full frame 1DsMKIII, it was perfect for the cropped sensor of the MKIV as well.

2. Worked well for intended purpose of close-focus wide-angle. Here the dome was actually inside the mantle of the tridacna clam, maybe 3 inches from the siphon.

Additionally, I've never heard anyone speak of using this port for fish photography, but it is great.

I used a PVL 45 with a Sigma 50mm macro, to allow enough room for the lens extension at minimum focus. The dome restores the lens' topside angle of view and eliminates refraction. It is small enough to get into tight places without fear of scratching the dome as I might have with a superdome. There is no upward torque from airspace within the dome. I never could get to 1:1 as that happened too near the front of the dome, probably actually at a point inside the glass. The lionfish was about as much magnifcation as I could achieve, but for most reef fish, it is stellar.

Other guests onboard used it with their 60mm Micro-Nikkors, both on full frame D3X and cropped D300 cameras. The internal focus of that lens made it even more convenient when sizing port extensions.

BTW ... the port extension length is fairly forgiving. I tried ranges from 57.5 to 35mm, but the corners suffered slightly, particularly with the PVL35, where the back of the port was nearly touching the front of the lens at full rack. The PVL45 was very clean in the corners.

My testing suggests it is suitable for any fisheye (10.5mm Nikkor, Tokina 10-17mm, Canon 15mm, Sigma 15mm) and Nikon 60mm Micro Nikkor, and Sigma 50mm macro lens.

Wow - I am LOVING that photo of the P. diacanthus (red sea variant of the Regal Angel - beautiful!)

Oh, and thanks for the info on the dome too Stephen :-)

Cheers

James

Yes, thanks Steven.

I've got one of the Zen domes on my Subal, and the idea of using it with macro lenses hadn't occured to me......!

Many thanks!

Adam

Wow - I am LOVING that photo of the P. diacanthus (red sea variant of the Regal Angel - beautiful!)

 

Oh, and thanks for the info on the dome too Stephen :-)

 

Cheers

James

Thanks James. But, I have to admit that the regal was with the MKIV and 50mm macro. The AF on that rig takes the sport away. Too easy these days

One of my group on my Florida trip this past week, was using one on her Seacam. We didn't do any objective testing, but she was very happy with her manatee images taken with it, which I guess is what matters most.

She had been using a third party mini-dome on her Seacam for the last few years, but commented that she was happy to be using the official Seacam one now.

Here it is in action. As Stephen points out it makes for a very compact rig, especially when shooting without strobes.

Alex

1. Worked great with traditional wide-angle subjects. This was shot with 15mm lens on Canon 1DsMKIII. The fact that it was quite small was a huge asset when freediving with whale sharks and other blue water pelagics. Obviously if it worked well in the corners with the full frame 1DsMKIII, it was perfect for the cropped sensor of the MKIV as well.

 

Hey!

Very nice pictures.

What I am wondering about: This year at the boot (2010) I asked Seacam how to use this port. Kurt Amsler and Harald Hordosch, both told me, that you should use it only for macro.

For normal fisheye photos like wracks or even this whale shark you can not use it, because the diameter is to small and you will have soft corners.

Now, I find, this pictures is sharp even in the corners.

What do you think. Is this port good ennove for normal fisheye-photos?

Schorsch

Hey!

 

Very nice pictures.

 

What I am wondering about: This year at the boot (2010) I asked Seacam how to use this port. Kurt Amsler and Harald Hordosch, both told me, that you should use it only for macro.

For normal fisheye photos like wracks or even this whale shark you can not use it, because the diameter is to small and you will have soft corners.

 

Now, I find, this pictures is sharp even in the corners.

What do you think. Is this port good ennove for normal fisheye-photos?

 

Schorsch

Schorsch - You question is quite timely, because I had an e-mail today from someone on that same Maldives trip with me who tried it with a 16mm on a full frame Nikon D3X and they did not like the corners for general wide-angle, just like Kurt Amsler and Harald Hordosch said at BOOT. So, I will not interpolate beyond my personal experience, which is no doubt a safer and more accurate position anyway. All I can say for sure is that it worked for me on my combination of Canon 1DsMKIII and Canon 15mm. Also, my Sigma 50mm lens on the same camera and housing (with a PVL45). I wouldn't typically use it instead of a Superdome for example, but it is a great tool for certain applications.

Sorry to not be more general in my answer, but UW optics tend to be quite specific and my testing is limited to one trip/one camera.

Schorsch - You question is quite timely, because I had an e-mail today from someone on that same Maldives trip with me who tried it with a 16mm on a full frame Nikon D3X and they did not like the corners for general wide-angle, just like Kurt Amsler and Harald Hordosch said at BOOT.

As a general comment, i would strongly advise avoiding using the Nikon 16mm with any mini-dome. This has nothing to do with the dome's brand, or the quality of construction, just the shape of the dome.

The lack of close focus ability of the Nikon 16mm means that your subject is smaller in the frame on minimum focus with the 16mm in a mini-dome than in a normal size dome (this is because it is not able to focus fully on the closer virtual image). And you have worse corners (because the virtual image is more curved). In other words you loose on the swings and on the roundabouts.

Use the Sigma 15mm if you are FF Nikon shooter with these domes (on DX the 10-17mm and 10.5mm both focus close enough). This focuses close enough to allow you to get the subject larger in the frame with the mini-dome than you can with the larger dome.

Alex

Schorsch - You question is quite timely, because I had an e-mail today from someone on that same Maldives trip with me who tried it with a 16mm on a full frame Nikon D3X and they did not like the corners for general wide-angle, just like Kurt Amsler and Harald Hordosch said at BOOT. So, I will not interpolate beyond my personal experience, which is no doubt a safer and more accurate position anyway. All I can say for sure is that it worked for me on my combination of Canon 1DsMKIII and Canon 15mm. Also, my Sigma 50mm lens on the same camera and housing (with a PVL45). I wouldn't typically use it instead of a Superdome for example, but it is a great tool for certain applications.

 

Sorry to not be more general in my answer, but UW optics tend to be quite specific and my testing is limited to one trip/one camera.

Oh, interesting news.

Kurt has tested the port with a Nikon as well. May be for the Nikon 10,5 or 16 mm you need a small PVL or even it is to fare away from the camera. Or what ever.

And may be it fits perfect for the 15mm from Canon.

Let me (and the others) know when you find out more...

Great.

Schorsch

A couple of questions:

1. Will the dome be available with optical coating?

2. Is the lens shade removable? - this is suggested by the first pic in post #8.