Olympus OM-D E-M5

Hi folks,

I've judt used my Nauticam OM-D housing for the first time yesterday, with 12-50mm and austrian zoom gear, all in the macro port.

I was thinking that I could reach the macro mode's max magnification by zooming at 43mm, but it seems i didn't: couln't get close enough to make them big enough.

Question then: does the "macro" mode of the 12-50 lens do anything else than zooming at 43mm? I thought it was just a matter of focal, but maybe I am wrong.

Cheers

Nicolas

Hi folks,

I've judt used my Nauticam OM-D housing for the first time yesterday, with 12-50mm and austrian zoom gear, all in the macro port.

I was thinking that I could reach the macro mode's max magnification by zooming at 43mm, but it seems i didn't: couln't get close enough to make them big enough.

Question then: does the "macro" mode of the 12-50 lens do anything else than zooming at 43mm? I thought it was just a matter of focal, but maybe I am wrong.

Cheers

Nicolas

Nicolas,

yes, you are wrong: 43mm standard has less magnification than 43mm Macro - just check with your lens with the closest possible distance on land!

As it was written somwhere here in this endless the Nauticam zoom port is more versatile by itself. The discussion about alternative solutions came up because of the high price of this port. Alex Mustard uses this camera as his backup-system, so he did not want to spend that much on the port. With the Austrian zoom (100$ ?) gear you obviously can zoom, but you will loose the (high magnification) macro mode. If you already own a macro port and an adaptor like the Subsee (225$), you will just have to buy the flip diopter holder (220$) to get access to high magnification (or, if you are brave, carry it in your vest and screw it onto the port everytime you want to use it).

But if you start from the scratch it is, IMHO, more advisable to buy the Nauticam macro port, which is what I did and do not regret.

Greetings,

Jock

Hi folks,

 

I've judt used my Nauticam OM-D housing for the first time yesterday, with 12-50mm and austrian zoom gear, all in the macro port.

I was thinking that I could reach the macro mode's max magnification by zooming at 43mm, but it seems i didn't: couln't get close enough to make them big enough.

 

Question then: does the "macro" mode of the 12-50 lens do anything else than zooming at 43mm? I thought it was just a matter of focal, but maybe I am wrong.

 

Cheers

Nicolas

When you engage 'macro' mode with the 12 - 50mm it locks at 43mm but the 'macro' allows you to get closer to increase the magnification, whereas if you are just at 43mm you can not close focus enough to get that magnification - i.e. the when in macro mode the close focusing distance is shorter than when at 43mm standard.

A work around this problem is to attach M67 wet lenses / dioptres to the front of the macro port and with the lens set at 50mm and depending on the strength of the wet lens your working distance from the subject is reduced and this allows for the increased magnification. I do this when I use the 12 - 50mm in the macro port and it works well.

Hope this helps.

Karl

thanks both for the explanations, /0:-)

When researching the 12-50 mm lens for the OM-D there is a lot of talk about macro wet lenses but I can't seem to find any relevant info regarding WA wet lenses. I really love the idea of using this lens as an all purpose and would love it if someone knows if there are any WA wet lenses on the market that will work with it? (sorry if the question has already been asked an answered I've been searching for quite a while).

I did a quick test above water at 100% pixel crop in this thread. 50mm + diopter is better than the macro mode on that lens alone, but it doesn't do a whole lot more even. Macro mode + diopter is a no-no.

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=46536&p=325112

When researching the 12-50 mm lens for the OM-D there is a lot of talk about macro wet lenses but I can't seem to find any relevant info regarding WA wet lenses. I really love the idea of using this lens as an all purpose and would love it if someone knows if there are any WA wet lenses on the market that will work with it? (sorry if the question has already been asked an answered I've been searching for quite a while).

I did a quick test above water at 100% pixel crop in this thread. 50mm + diopter is better than the macro mode on that lens alone, but it doesn't do a whole lot more even. Macro mode + diopter is a no-no.

 

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=46536&p=325112

 

 

Thanks Trig! I am actually looking for any possible way to extend the wide angle capabilities of the 12 - 50 mm, preferably using a wet lens.

I don't know, most wet lenses are 67mm but the 12-50mm port (36161) has 77mm so I imagine it needs the wider glass for the 12mm end. Try it and le us know

I'll try and do that, just have to find a place where I can rent/borrow the wet lenses, don't wanna spend €400 on an Inon that doesn't work with the 12-50 / my rig (trying to sell a used wet lens in Sweden is a bit tricky, it's a niche product in an extremely niche market )

Here, you can see test photos, with a Inon WA lens, and a 12-50mm inside 60mm port: http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=49639

Hello everybody.
After years of playing with my Canon G12 I am going to move to OMD EM-5.
I have reviewed this forum since it is my only source of information about OMD EM-5 stuff.
I would be very thankful for any comments and suggestions for the following combination which I want to get soon:

Nauticam Housing
Lens: ED 12-50 mm f.3.5-6.3 EZ
Nauticam Macro Port for 12-50 mm f.3.5-6.3 EZ
Nauticam Zoom Ring for 12-50 mm f.3.5-6.3 EZ
Wet close up maro lens M67 ( +8) - from my present setup
M67 Flip diopter holder for M77
Focus light - may get one


For wide angle photography:
Lens: Panasonic Lumix G 8 mm Fisheye F.35
Nauticam 4.33'' Fisheye Dome port

I am going to use my present strobes: 2 x Inon S2000

What do you think of this setup ?

What do you think of this setup ?

 

 

Excellent choice. I've got the same rig with S&S YS-D1s. Love it.

All this info is making it even harder for me . I am now torn between 3 options (all options are with the Nauticam housing):

A: 12-50 with the Austrian zoom gear and 4" semi dome with subsee +5 or +10 in a flip diopter. This will be a versatile set-up with better WA but I am worried that the macro will suffer compared to the 12-50 gear/port where I have access to the macro button and have a flat port.

B: 12-50 with dedicated flat port/gear. Versatile and good macro with access to the macro button but will suffer on the wide angle due to flat port.

C: Getting just the hosuing without 12-50 (saves me a bit) and buying the Oly 9-18mm WA and the 60mm macro lenses with gear in the 4" semi dome, suprisingly this isn't that much more expensive than option B. I am worried about the macro results in the semi dome as I have never shot macro in a dome before but as I see it I trade versatility for two better lenses.

Any thoughts?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

linder,

If I were you I would buy the 12-50 port plus gear. This is a great all-around setup.

The 60mm is sort of an extreme lens, not for "everyday use".

When I started with uw-photography with a Motormarine camera I wanted to have a camera-lens combination for every situation I might encounter during a dive. So I carried with me two macro lenses and a wide angle wet lens. I ended up with not getting decent photos at all, because I was busy changing lenses and looking for small and big stuff at the same time, which is IMHO just counter-productive. As soon as I accepted that I might miss something due to the wrong lens and went down with macro OR w/a only, I relaxed and shot photos that were not as bad as before.

This said, I would not buy the dome port. Just my 2 cents...

Jock

linder,

 

If I were you I would buy the 12-50 port plus gear. This is a great all-around setup.

 

The 60mm is sort of an extreme lens, not for "everyday use".

 

When I started with uw-photography with a Motormarine camera I wanted to have a camera-lens combination for every situation I might encounter during a dive. So I carried with me two macro lenses and a wide angle wet lens. I ended up with not getting decent photos at all, because I was busy changing lenses and looking for small and big stuff at the same time, which is IMHO just counter-productive. As soon as I accepted that I might miss something due to the wrong lens and went down with macro OR w/a only, I relaxed and shot photos that were not as bad as before.

 

This said, I would not buy the dome port. Just my 2 cents...

 

Jock

Thanks for the reply Jock!

I was leaning towards that but when I saw Wisnus shots with the 60mm in 4" dome I started to melt a little bit (yes I know I am not anywhere near his skill level, but I have been shooting for 5 years under water and many years above, so a boy can dream right ). http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/olympus-outlet/444966-omd-60mm-lembeh.html

I believe the 12mm end in the flat port just isn't wide enough. So I thought that if I use the 12-50 with the Austrian zoom gear and the 4" semi-dome I get access to the full 12-50 mm range and the dome will give me significantly better wide angle options. If I combine this with the flip adapter and a +5 or +10 Subsee I'm guessing that the macro will be similarly capable compared to the dedicated 43 mm macro function. The flip also means very fast switching from macro to WA. Or am I thinking wrong?

I guess the question I should be asking is how will the macro abilities of the 12-50mm in a 4" semi-dome with a +5 or +10 Subsee compare to the same lens in the dedicated flat port with the macro button activated? (with the flat port I wouldn't be using a diopter).

Sorry for all the questions. I really spend hours trying to find answers so that I don't spam the forum with questions that have already been asked, but it's difficult to find the right answers in the vast discussions that are going on and it is a big investment for me so I really want to get it right.

Thomas: your setup sounds perfect. Focus light is "important" for macro, but only just so.

BTW: if funds are an issue, you can forgo the gears for your 12-50, since you "can" use the underwater scene mode to select a gross choice of zoom. This isn't perfect, but the money may be better spent elsewhere, or on a dedicated macro lens.

Thomas: your setup sounds perfect. Focus light is "important" for macro, but only just so.

 

BTW: if funds are an issue, you can forgo the gears for your 12-50, since you "can" use the underwater scene mode to select a gross choice of zoom. This isn't perfect, but the money may be better spent elsewhere, or on a dedicated macro lens.

Thank you for suggestion.

If you want to stick to one port only, then go with 4" dome port + flip diopter where you can use for 12-50mm, 60mm and 9-18mm.

for 12-50mm, you don't really need zoom gear - just assign Fn to switch to UW macro mode (50mm, and you need diopter) or WA mode (12mm). Set or return to M mode for more control.

Indeed, the dome port will return/reduce the magnification 25%, but still not very difficult to shoot pigmy sea horse with this arrangement.

These 3 lens will give you more flexibility with one port.

If you don't know what you will see at site, use 12-50mm, then if you wish you can repeat with the more suitable lens - 60mm or 9-18mm.

 

for 12-50mm, you don't really need zoom gear - just assign Fn to switch to UW macro mode (50mm, and you need diopter) or WA mode (12mm). Set or return to M mode for more control.

Indeed, the dome port will return/reduce the magnification 25%, but still not very difficult to shoot pigmy sea horse with this arrangement.

Thank you Mamel for your suggestion about zoom gear. I shoot quite a lot in macro, do you think going without zoom gear would be convenient for me ?

Kind regards,