Stackable Inon lenses

http://seaoptics.com.au/products/lenses/inon28AD.html

UCL165AD Macro Lens w/28AD Extension - double stackable

Hi guys,

What advantage do these macro lenses give me exactly? I can see why I'd want a wide angle but you know, are the extra macro lenses overkill?

Ta

Adam

You can't have too much magnification underwater. There are many critters in the ocean that are too small for ordinary macro lenses. The stacked Inons are not easy to use, but the results are worthwhile.

I like stacked 165s. You have to zoom past the vignetting though. Its easy to do as I setup a custom mode on my G9 to zoom to the widest setting which eliminates the vignetting so its a cinch to accurately return to.

When you don't have a DSLR and want full frame images of super-small critters, there's no beating them.

There is definitely a learning curve, however. There is a very small sweet spot where the camera can lock focus... at the max zoom setting, which you would use to capture the smallest critters, 1cm out of place can easily be the difference between crisp focus and a blurred image (or no image, since the camera won't lock focus). Any surge can up the difficulty level considerably.

When you don't have a DSLR and want full frame images of super-small critters, there's no beating them.

 

There is definitely a learning curve, however. There is a very small sweet spot where the camera can lock focus... at the max zoom setting, which you would use to capture the smallest critters, 1cm out of place can easily be the difference between crisp focus and a blurred image (or no image, since the camera won't lock focus). Any surge can up the difficulty level considerably.

Why can't I just get closer to said critters? That shrimp looks about the same size as a clownfish?

And I don't know how I feel about how difficult the lenses are to use.. haha Would you leave it maxed out the whole time?

Why can't I just get closer to said critters? That shrimp looks about the same size as a clownfish?

And I don't know how I feel about how difficult the lenses are to use.. haha Would you leave it maxed out the whole time?

You should get as close as your lens will let you focus, but these, and other macro wet lenses, will decrease your minimum focus distance and allow for better maximum magnification. I bet that shrimp is significantly smaller than a clownfish.

If you are happy with the magnification of your macro images and don't want to worry about the added focus difficulties don't worry about it, but most people I know are happy with them and you can learn to use them like anything else. Many people said they like to use two, which will decrease your depth of field even more making it even harder to focus, so you can try one and then add a second if you like. Also, they are wet lenses so you can removes them underwater if you feel like you want a wider shot or that you don't want to risk a particular subject being out of focus.

Why can't I just get closer to said critters? That shrimp looks about the same size as a clownfish?

And I don't know how I feel about how difficult the lenses are to use.. haha Would you leave it maxed out the whole time?

If you can fill your entire screen with a subject the size of your pinky fingernail (and you're happy with that), there's no need to add macro lenses. Unless you want to photograph things the size of a grain of rice.

Generally, if you want to photograph truly tiny subjects, the add-on lenses increase the abilities of the camera.

If you can fill your entire screen with a subject the size of your pinky fingernail (and you're happy with that), there's no need to add macro lenses. Unless you want to photograph things the size of a grain of rice.

 

Generally, if you want to photograph truly tiny subjects, the add-on lenses increase the abilities of the camera.

Cue gratuitous shots of macro subjects.......

Exactly, I needed a pair of stacked Inon macro lenses for this Pygmy, no chance of filling the frame without them. There is a limit to how close you can get, wet lenses are invaluable for compact cameras.

This was about the size of a grain of rice. Not the greatest photo, but at 30m in a current, with a compact, it will do for me Next time, I will have D90 power